LIFE - Environment in action - European Commission...

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LIFE - Environment in action

56 new success stories for Europe’s environment

LIFE - Environment in action —

56 new success stories for Europe’s environm

ent

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H-32-00-039-E

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LIFE - Environment in action

56 new success stories for Europe’s environment

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Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2001

ISBN 92-894-0272-5

© European Communities, 2001Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.

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FOREWORD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

AIR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

The AIM (air quality and integrated monitoring) project for London . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Emission Control System for the simultaneous scrubbing of SO2and particulates from

boiler flue gases, giving pH-correction of an alkaline effluent stream and significant heat recovery, at Wyeth Nutritionals Ireland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Macbeth: Urban benzene and population exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Coupling of Corinair data to cost-effective emission reduction strategies based on critical thresholds . . . . . . . . 16

INDUSTRY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Substitution of cadmium-based pigments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Demonstration and documentation of the potential for replacing chemical protection of wood with protection through design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Programme of awareness-raising and training in environmental management for artisanal enterprises . . . . . . . . 24

Development of a process to improve the durability and dimensional stability of timber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

EMAS demonstration project: promoting EMAS as an integral part of total quality management . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Clean waste water thanks to a new process for manufacturing sintered-glass diodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

High-speed sawing without cooling lubricants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

LAND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Integrated Environmental Management of the Agios Nikolaos Park and the River Arapitsa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Alto Nabão environmental tourism project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Miribel Jonage Park: Rehabilitation of a natural fluvial environment to play a multiple role in a suburban area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Città, Castelli, Ciliegi (cities, castles, cherry trees) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Environmental/economic evaluation and optimal remediation of contaminated sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Restoring and enhancing the historical and archaeological heritage of Elvas and integrating it into theenvironment: prospects for tourism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Conservation, improvement and economic promotion of the suburban agricultural area around Barcelona . . 48

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Rehabilitation of the urban environment and biodiversity of Aranjuez . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Goya’s 250th anniversary: nature in Fuendetodos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Coastal change, climate and instability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Demonstration of methods of monitoring sustainable forestry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Nature in the garden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

URBAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Promotion of a regional landscape in the shadow of the capital of Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

The Respect-house: respecting man and the environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Creation of an information platform for urban and environmental planning and management in municipalities, open to media participation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Building the eco-city. An environmentally sound approach to local administration through cooperation between the local authorities and the local community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Development, introduction and implementation of an environmental management system in medium-sized municipalities in Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

The Iguana project demonstrates affordable bio-ecological houses constructed with a fully- environmental approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Sylvie `Systematic improvements to inner-city residential areas´ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

WASTE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Rehabilitation management and protection of the biological reserve at the neolithical lake settlement of lake Kastoria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Research and development of technologies for the safe and environmentally-optimal recovery and disposal of explosive waste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Pontex-les-Forges household waste processing plant; seasonal peak-shaving by temporary storage of bales of household refuse and the like . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Guaranteeing the quality of sewage sludge for agricultural use by start-to-finish management of the sewerage system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

New process for the extraction of terpenes and other products with high added-value from the residues of citrus fruits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Recycling old car tyres (LIFE-ruenuv) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Development of a method for the controlled closure and after-care of landfills, using waste materials from energy production and industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Implementing a refractory waste management and recycling process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Development and installation of a pilot unit to recover solid waste and sludge from the marble industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Pilot-plant tests and development of the PyroArc process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Disposal management system for utilisation of industrial phosphogypsum and fly ash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Reclamation of plastic waste from hospitals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Demonstrating the feasibility of recovering and reusing complex waste solvent streams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Minimising waste production in the aluminium slag recovery process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

4

WATER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

`The Krasfidon vision´: Integration of the Riverbed Krasfidon into a sensitive urban environment . . . . . . . . . . 108

Restoration of the River Pelenna: a constructed wetland treatment system for the rehabilitation of sites contaminated by mine-water discharges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

A remote-sensing system for coastal zone management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Wood-based fibreboards — Production process and environmental issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

LIFE Lestijoki: management of acid sulphate soils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Waters: water data acquisition in real time for coastal eco-systems research and services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

Zaragoza: a city saving water. Small steps. Major solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

Sustainable land use in groundwater catchment areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

The wash & circulation system: cost-effective cleaning with integrated purification and recycling of water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

Integrated environmental management system in the chemical industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

Lake Turingen remedial project: isolation of mercury contaminated sediments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

Lake Pyhäjärvi restoration project: mathematical tool development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

5

The key objective of LIFE-Environment is to implement Community environmental policies and legislation forthe promotion of sustainable development. Sustainable development requires industry to find innovativesolutions to reduce total life-cycle costs in terms of raw materials, energy consumption and environmental impactwhile reusing products at the end of their lives. LIFE-Environment provides support for both industry and localauthorities.

During the LIFE Week held in Brussels in 1999, I had the opportunity to meet with industrialists, NGOmembers and local and national representatives actively involved in LIFE-Environment projects, and I wasimpressed by the results achieved in many priority areas: reduction of air and water pollution, improvement ofwaste management, cleaner production methods, public transport, urban planning initiatives and land-usedevelopment.

This book presents a number of successful projects financed by LIFE-Environment, projects which validate theidea that environment policy is about opportunities, solutions and success stories.

The new LIFE Regulation (2000-2004) approved in July 2000 opens up opportunities for planning new projects tohelp deliver innovative solutions to the environmental challenges we will be facing in the years to come, whilebuilding on the experience gained in the previous phases of LIFE.

Commissioner Margot WallströmCommissioner responsible for the environmentMember of the European Commission

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f o r e w o r d

The New LIFE regulat ion → LIFE-Envi ronment I I I

On 17 July 2000, the European Parliament and the Council adopted Regulation 2000/1655/EC concerning theFinancial Instrument for the Environment (LIFE), published in the Official Journal of the EuropeanCommunities on 28 July 2000.

The Regulation establishes the financial framework for the entire duration of the third phase of LIFE. It covers aperiod of five years, ending on 31 December 2004.

LIFE is made up of three thematic components: LIFE-Nature, LIFE-Environment and LIFE-Third Countries.

Life-Environment III relates to innovative demonstration actions for economic activities and local authorities, aswell as preparatory actions to support Community legislation and policies.

The specific objective of LIFE-Environment is to contribute to the development of innovative and integratedtechniques and methods and to further the development of Community environment policy; demonstrationprojects should also have one of the following specific objectives:

(a) Land use development and planning: to integrate environmental and sustainable developmentconsiderations into land-use development and planning, including in urban and coastal areas, or

(b) Water management: to promote the sustainable management of groundwater and surface water, or

(c) Impact of economic activities: to minimise the environmental impact of economic activities, notablythrough the development of clean technologies and by placing the emphasis on prevention, including thereduction of greenhouse gas emissions, or

(d) Waste management: to prevent, reuse, recover and recycle waste of all kinds and to ensure the soundmanagement of waste streams, or

(e) Integrated product policy: to reduce the environmental impact of products through an integratedapproach to production, distribution, consumption and end-of-life handling, including the development ofenvironmentally friendly products.

The total budget approved for LIFE Phase III is EUR 640 million, of which 47% is for actions under LIFE-Environment.

Further information is available on the LIFE-Environment home page, e.g. how to apply for funding and howprojects are selected. A searchable database contains brief descriptions of projects from all funding years, i.e. 1992and onwards. Full texts of the LIFE-Environment Information Package and the LIFE Regulation are available onthe homepage, which also allows users to download application forms and guidelines for LIFE-Environmentdemonstration projects (published in the Official Journal of the European Communities on 27 October 2000).

The LIFE-Environment homepage can be found on Europa, the European Union’s server, at the followingaddress:

http://europa.eu.int/comm/life/envir/index.htm

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Introduct ion

Deteriorating air quality in London has becomea major concern for both the public and localand central governments. Similar concerns alsoapply to most other capitals and conurbationsacross the European Community.

Air quality management initiatives are anattempt to provide a solution to the problem ofpoor air quality, but a complete understandingof air quality is first required in order todetermine the extent of the problem. Scientificassessment of air quality will enable accuratejudgements to be made and avoid the risk ofimplementing very expensive measures whichfail to tackle the overriding issue.

This LIFE project, based in London, involveddeveloping an air-quality management systemcapable of providing an understanding of bothcurrent and future air quality across an area ofalmost 2 000 km2. The area studied was thatbounded by the M25 (the orbital motorwaysurrounding the Greater London area). Thescheme was intended to assist both local andcentral government bodies in their air-qualitymanagement tasks.

This was an extremely ambitious project, asLondon is one of the largest cities in Europe.The project also became even timelier in view ofthe specific air-quality management

responsibilities and duties that weresubsequently entrusted to local authorities bythe UK Government.

Descr ipt ion of the problem

London's air pollution derives from a whole range ofsources, the most significant being emissions fromtransport, particularly road transport, and from theindustrial, business and domestic sectors.Concentrations of these pollutants in the outdoorenvironment are regularly monitored at manydifferent locations. To understand air quality morethoroughly it was necessary to develop techniquesand methods for both spatial and temporalinterpretation of pollution, for example at locationswhere pollution is not currently monitored, and forthe future (or past).

Technical so lut ion

The overall project aim was to develop and integratesix recognised components (continuous air-qualitymonitoring, data archiving, emissions estimation,dispersion modelling, statistical analysis and publicinformation) into an integrated air-qualitymonitoring system for London.

The AIM (air quality and integrated monitoring) project for London

Total eligible cost: EUR 668 660.16LIFE contribution: EUR 321 977.98 (48.15 %)

Beneficiary: South East Institute of Public HealthBroomhall HouseDavid Salomon's EstateBroomhall RoadTunbridge WellsKent TN3 0XTUnited Kingdom

Contact: Mr Stephen HedleyTel.: (44-1892) 51 51 53Fax: (44-1892) 51 63 44

E-mail: [email protected] site: http://www.seiph.umds.ac.uk

Duration: 1 November 1994 to 1 November1996

L I F E 9 4 E N V / U K / 8 1 3

a i r p r o j e c t s1 0

An air-quality management toolkit was proposed andbuilt, with a series of inputs, tools and outputs,including an ability to validate the use of the tools(most specifically the dispersion software). Furtherimprovements reflected that:

1. the system needs to be dynamic and not static,since many of the inputs are highly uncertain andare therefore being constantly revised;

2. the main strength of the system relates to thecontinuous air-quality monitoring beingundertaken by the London air quality networkand adjoining networks.

The pollutants considered included: carbonmonoxide, nitrogen oxides (including nitrogendioxide), sulphur dioxide, lead, volatile hydrocarbons(including benzene and 1,3-butadiene), PM10, ozone.

The London atmospheric emissions inventoryrequired the development of new methodologiesfixed firmly to the production of up-to-date emissionestimates of atmospheric pollutants, rather thanusing other aggregated data which are thenapportioned on the basis of a surrogate statistic.

As the dominant source of emissions in London,road vehicles required the application of the mostdetailed emissions methodology possible based onsmall-scale traffic estimates, i.e. link by link time-resolved flow, average speed, and vehicle mix. Thisdata was used to estimate emissions. The followingspecific areas were also included in the newinventory: methods for inclusion of the effect of coldstarts, ambient temperature, hot soak emissions,speed and vehicle mix estimates for motor vehicles.

The initial priorities for the project ensured thatdetailed emissions information was provided from:

• transport and large-scale industrial sources,comprising line and point source emissions, and

• area/other sources, comprising many smallemission sources that, for a specific area, could beaggregated to form an area source; specificexamples included emissions from the use ofsmall-scale heating boilers in residential andcommercial areas and vehicles on minor roads.

The other major part of the project was thedevelopment of the integrated air-quality monitoringsystem. This included building the prototype toolkitfrom its principal components. Production of thetoolkit was vital to permit the integrated analysis ofdifferent air-quality scenarios. The intention indesigning and producing the toolkit was to develop asystem that runs on PCs, using widely availablesoftware.

The integrated monitoring system comprised theMonnet network operating system, relationaldatabases for both air-quality data and emissionsinformation and the kit of air-quality managementtools. The air-quality management tools includestatistical/contouring/extended spreadsheet softwarepackages, as well as a GIS and prediction models.

The Monnet system provided comprehensivenetwork operating software, which allows automaticdata capture, storage and validation. Data were storedin a relational database. The data available from themonitoring network were used to provide thefeedback loop for air-quality management, whereasthe data in the air-quality archive were used forvalidating air-quality modelling. The system was suchthat it is ideal for developing empirical methods forpredicting pollution.

Monnet e-mail and the Monnet web site were usedfor the dissemination of data to site operators andthe Internet. This allowed rapid publicising of dataduring pollution episodes. Data were alsodisseminated on the Internet by both daily andhourly bulletins.

Results and impact

The major success of the project is that it enabledkey building blocks to be built, which subsequentlyassisted the majority of local authorities in andaround London with their statutory responsibilities.These building blocks have been widely used at thelocal level by local government, as well as at theLondon-wide strategic level, to understand future airquality in London and refine the understanding ofthe link between traffic management and air quality.

The air-quality management process is stillcontinuing and it is anticipated that later versions ofthe system will continue to be improved and to bewidely used, as it will focus more fully on key areasof interest, including local transport anddevelopment policy.

The monitoring of air quality is a significantmainstay of the project and the systems developedhave since been used in other parts of the UnitedKingdom. International interest, especially in othercapital cities in the European Union, has beenmaintained, and similar techniques are currentlybeing tested. Thus the project has made a significantcontribution to the European knowledge base onurban air quality.


Introduct ion

Wyeth Nutritionals Ireland (WNI), a subsidiaryof American Home Products Corporation, is oneof the largest infant nutritional manufacturingfacilities in the world, with European affiliatesin 12 of the 15 EU Member States. The Askeatonplant manufactures both powder and liquidinfant formulas and employs 500 people.


At the time of project conception, WNI operatedthree steam boilers consuming approximately 11million litres of heavy fuel oil per annum and as aconsequence generating emissions of sulphur dioxideand particulates.

WNI also generated approximately 115 milliongallons of dairy waste water per annum. This waste

water underwent full biological treatment prior tolocal discharge. The micro-organisms essential to thetreatment process require the untreated waste waterto register within the pH band 6.0-8.5. A fundamentalelement of the waste-water treatment process withinWNI was thus pH-correction of an alkaline waste bythe addition of hydrochloric acid.


WNI identified the potential for applying a singlesolution to the two problems of atmosphericemissions and effluent pH-correction by combiningthe two waste streams in an innovative way.Significant savings in plant operating costs were apotential added benefit.

The idea was to utilise the untreated dairy wastewater as a boiler exhaust gas-scrubbing medium in anon-clogging fluidised bed scrubber system. This

Emission control system for the simultaneous scrubbing of SO

2and particulates from boilerflue gases, giving pH-correctionof an alkaline effluent streamand significant heat recovery,at Wyeth Nutritionals Ireland


Beneficiary: AHP Manufacturing BVAskeatonLimerickIreland

Contact: Austin GeraghtyTel: (353-61) 39 21 68

Fax: (353-61) 39 24 40Duration: 1 August 1996 to 1 August 1998

L I F E 9 6 E N V / I R L / 9 1


results in pH-correction of the waste water prior tobiological treatment and thus allows a substantialreduction in the volume of acid previously used forthis purpose. Finally, the waste heat energy from theboilers is recovered from the exhaust gases, creatingadditional savings in energy consumption.

The first stage of heat recovery then takes place ineconomisers, where the heat is removed from theflue gases and put into the boiler feed water. Theflue gases then pass through the scrubber tower,where contact with the dairy waste water strips SO

2

and particulates from them. The cleaned gases arereheated and exhausted to the atmosphere.

The dairy waste water is circulated continuously overthe scrubber tower, with raw effluent make-up andoverflow bleed-off. Thesecondary stage of heatrecovery takes place whenheat is removed from thisliquid and put into theboiler fresh-water make-upsystem.

The recirculated wastewater becomes acidicfollowing the take-up ofSO

2. The overflow is

discharged to the effluenttreatment plant accordingto pH-correctionrequirements, thuseliminating the need forhydrochloric acid for thispurpose. The particulatesare also carried off into thetreatment plant, where theyare combined with thenormal sludge for disposal.

Results and impact

SO2removal

The baseline established at the plant was around 2 400 mg/Nm3. The recognised emissions standard is1 700 mg/Nm3. The equipment consistently operatesat a level below 600 mg/Nm3, which has become arequirement of the integrated pollution controllicence at the plant. The system has the capability of99 % removal of SO

2.

Particulate removal

The system removes particulates below 15 mg/Nm3,well in excess of the recognised standard of 30 mg/Nm3.

Energy savings

The system has been shown to achieve energy savingsof around 1.4 MW. This equates to savings of aroundIEP 175 000 per year. There is also a surplus of heatthat has no use in this application. In theory, 2.64 MW is available.

Chemical use savings

The management information systems in the planthave proven that the use of HCl in pH-correctionhas been virtually eliminated as a result of theinstallation of this system. This generates savings ofaround IEP 124 000 per year.


Introduct ion

This Life project was designed to help enforcecommon policies and laws on environmentalprotection by providing European legislatorswith a correlation between urban benzenepollution levels and human exposure, the goalbeing to protect people against atmosphericpollution.


Benzene pollution from motor traffic can causeleukaemia, the risk being estimated at around fourcases per million among people who experiencelifelong exposure to benzene concentrations of 1µg·m-3 in the air.

The environmental benzene pollution datacommonly available are quite variable and oftencontradictory, due to striking differences betweensampling and analysis procedures, weatherconditions, the time of year at which data arecollected and the economic development and lifestyle of the investigated areas. While useful forconveying a general idea of the problem, such dataare of little use in establishing a relationship betweenenvironmental pollution and personal exposure.


The Macbeth (Monitoring of AtmosphericConcentration of Benzene in European Towns andHomes) project employed a new sampling device tomonitor both these parameters.

Six European towns and cities were chosen to hostapproximately one hundred sampling sites each, thesite locations being distributed over a multi-scale griddrawn over the city map. The site breakdown was:85% background sites, 10% hot spots and 5%suburban sites. On six occasions over a one-yearperiod, each site was monitored uninterruptedlyfrom Monday morning to Friday afternoon.

At the same time, fifty volunteers and their homesunderwent personal monitoring. The volunteers werenon-smokers, divided into equal groups of peopleexposed to traffic fumes as part of their job and thosenot exposed. Personal and domestic monitoring wascarried out using the same technique and over thesame period as the environmental monitoring. Thevolunteers’ movements within the city areas wererecorded in individual diaries, making it possible tolink exposure levels with exposure locations.

All monitoring was carried out using the "radiello"radial symmetry passive sampler. The sampler,devised by the project coordinator, works by thespontaneous transfer of gaseous molecules through adiffusive barrier. It comprises a microporouscylindrical diffusive body into which an adsorbingcartridge is placed. Once assembled (the whole unitweighs about 10 grams), radiello is exposed and onlythe date and time of the beginning and end ofexposure need to be known.

The experimental database contains 6 205measurements, distributed equally over the six cities,comprising 3 147 environmental data, 1 559 personalexposure data and 1 499 home pollution data. Theinnovative methodological approach made it possibleto compile highly space-resolved isolevel maps of

Total eligible cost: EUR 1 988 215.43LIFE contribution: EUR 783 374.56 (39.40 %)

Beneficiary: Fondazione Salvatore Maugeri — IRCCSVia Svizzera, 16I-35127 Padova

Contact: Vincenzo CocheoTel.: (39-049) 806 45 11Fax: (39-049) 806 45 55

E-mail: [email protected] site: http://pc4.fsm.it:81/padova/

homepage.htmlDuration: 1 January 1997 to 1 July 1999

L I F E 9 6 E N V / I T / 7 0


Macbeth:Exposure of theurban population to benzene

benzene concentration for each of the cities,providing the public administration with a powerfultool for making planning decisions regarding trafficand the road network.

The low cost of the operation is also of great interest.The optimum sampling grid is composed of 125 pointsper 100 km2 of territory, roughly equivalent to a townof 300 000-400 000 inhabitants. An entire samplingcampaign would cost about EUR 6 000, but if a citywere to undergo twelve measurement campaigns in ayear the overall cost would be less than EUR 72 000, i.e.equal to the cost of purchasing and running just oneautomated continuous instrument for one year.

Results and impactThe results have been judged excellent:measurements carried out by six different Europeanlaboratories have shown an overall relativeuncertainty lower than that offered by the best fieldinstrumentation presently available.

1) Urban benzene pollution levels increase fromthe north to the south of Europe

The experimental data show annual average benzeneconcentrations to range from 3.1 µg·m-3 inCopenhagen to 20.7 µg·m-3 in Athens. Several factorscould explain this, including a difference inprevailing meteorological conditions: during eachsampling campaign the average pollution level wasfound to be lower where the average wind speed washigher. However, this trend is not reflected by thepersonal exposure and home monitoring data.

2) On average, European citizens are exposed todouble the mean level of urban pollution

The experimental data suggest an explanation of thisphenomenon: people in cities tend to be on theroads at the times of day when urban pollution is atits highest.

Daily benzene concentrations oscillate between verylow values at night and very high values in the middleof the day and in the evening. Since most people areon the streets when the benzene concentration is 1.5-2.5 times higher than the daily average, actual outdoor

exposure may be estimated to be about twice thatcalculated on the basis of the daily average urbanconcentration and the time spent outdoors.

3) Pollution is considerably worse in homes thanoutdoors

The average pollution level in the home turned outto be 1.51 times the outdoor level.

This experimental finding is surprising since it wasreasonable to suppose that home pollution camefrom outdoor pollution, and should not thereforehave exceeded it.

The reason why indoor pollution is generally higherthan outdoor pollution might be an imbalancebetween the inflow of pollutants from outside andtheir removal from inside. In other words, the houseitself might act as a flywheel created by the adsorbentsurfaces of walls, floors, furniture and furnishings.The hypothesis is interesting, since it wasdemonstrated that the domestic-to-urban pollutionratio rises from southern to northern Europe, andthis difference could result from the different indoorcoverings used in the north and the south.

Conclus ions

These surprising results are a consequence of thecombined action of urban and indoor pollution. Theformer has a heavier relative influence in southerntowns, the latter in northern ones, though theexperimental data suggest that pollution in the homederives in any event from urban pollution.

The different geographical, climatic, economic andsocial features of the six Macbeth cities ought tomake the situations observed there representative ofthe average European situation. If the amount ofgathered data and the strict validation processes theyunderwent are also considered, the Macbeth resultsmay reasonably be concluded to form a knowledgebase of high scientific value.

Macbeth’s innovative methodological approach isnow being adopted by small and large Europeantowns, including Paris, Rome and Brussels.


Benzene urbanpollution seems

to increasefrom northern

to southernEuropean

towns.

Radiello shown in the verticalassembly for personal sampling and

in the horizontal manner forenvironmental sampling, together

with its adsorbing cartridge.

Introduct ion

This project was carried out between 1997 and2000 by an international consortium of partnersfrom Denmark, Finland, Spain and Sweden, andwas coordinated by the Finnish EnvironmentInstitute.

The main aim was to develop and apply data,methods and tools in integrated modelling todetermine precisely what impact atmosphericpollution is having on the environment andevaluate the need for further emissionreductions at national level. The activities wereclosely connected to the background work ondeveloping a European emission-reductionstrategy.

Essentially, the work involved the furtherdevelopment and application of a set of toolsalready being used for cost-effective emission-reduction scenarios to minimise environmentalimpact in European countries. The resultingmethodology allowed emission abatement andecosystems impact to be studied simultaneouslyand in detail, giving the countries involved

further options for cost-effective application ofemission controls.


The detrimental effects of atmospheric pollutionhave been recognised as a leading environmentalproblem in many countries. Local episodic pollutionevents pose a threat to human health and produceharmful long-term effects on ecosystems at regionallevel. The long-range transport of pollutants acrossnational borders makes air pollution a trulyinternational problem, and one that is hard to tacklewith any means other than emission control atsource. This situation has prompted intensive andextensive international cooperation on bothscientific research and policy-making.

Assessment of the acid rain problem currentlyencompasses several related pollutants (sulphur andnitrogen oxides, ammonia, volatile organiccompounds) and effects (acidification,eutrophication and ground-level ozone). Theresulting highly complex model and policyassessment is often referred to as the multi-pollutant/multi-effect approach.

Coupling of 'Corinair' data to cost-effective emission-reduction strategies based oncritical thresholds

Total eligible cost: EUR 924 235.18LIFE contribution: EUR 452 823.44

Beneficiary: Finnish EnvironmentInstitute/Impacts Research DivisionPO Box 140FIN-00251 Helsinki

Contact: Martin ForsiusTel.: (358-9) 40 30 03 02Fax: (358-9) 40 30 03 90

E-mail: [email protected] site: http://www.vyh.fi/eng/research/

euproj/lifeiea/life2.htmDuration: 1 October 1997 to 31 May 2000

L I F E 9 7 E N V / F I N / 3 3 6



Covering the multi-pollutant/multi-effect problemframe at the national level, the project was split intofour country-specific subprojects, each of whichinvolved emission and impact tasks as well asmanagement and dissemination. All the tasksrequired in-depth expertise on the subject and itsapplication to integrated modelling and assessment.

The tasks covered:

• current and future air pollutant emissions fromdifferent sources, possibilities for emission controland related costs;

• detailed estimates of local concentration anddeposition levels, variability in modelleddeposition;

• use of critical loads as long-term environmentalprotection targets, soil acidification modelling,ground-level ozone effects on human health andvegetation;

• reliability of integrated modelling results,uncertainty in the whole calculation system and itsmodules;

• dissemination of results, with technical documentsand laymen's presentations aimed at national andinternational air pollution experts, policy-makersand the general public.

Mathematical models were developed and appliedfor these tasks, and linked to one another to formintegrated model systems. The same data andmethods were employed wherever possible, includingthe emission-reduction scenariosdeveloped by the EU and the UN–ECE/CLRTAP, to unify theresults and to relate the findings tointernational and national policy-making processes.

Results and impact

The project tackled some of thekey issues on the Community'senvironmental agenda. The aimwas to take existing emissioninventories, models and other dataon acidification, eutrophicationand ground-level ozone and usethem to develop emission-reduction strategies based oncritical thresholds. The result wasthat the data, methods and tools

used for policy support were harmonised, integratedand documented. The work also paralleled, andprovided timely support for, the internationalnegotiations on emission reduction.

The work on national emission scenariosdemonstrated a promising method of estimatingfuture emissions and reduction potential, and this,along with the work on data aggregation, thederivation of national cost curves and the relevantdocumentation, has laid the foundation forevaluating other pollutants. The work on theconnections between dynamic soil acidificationprocesses and long-term environmental targetsrepresented by steady-state critical loadsdemonstrated the feasibility of using variousindicators of the current state and potential risk ofenvironmental impact. This information supports thecritical load concept, which is becoming increasinglyimportant in the near-future integrated modellingnetwork.

The newly-created data and methods applicable toemission control, atmospheric transport ofpollutants and environmental impact have extendedthe variety of tools available for integrated modelling.These resources may now be used in futureassessments.

The new data and methods are available to a varietyof users. The results can be applied to emission-reduction trading schemes and for the economicoptimisation of regional compliance with climatechange conventions.


20 000

Figure 1. The potential effect of the European Union's proposed new largecombustion plants directive on emissions of nitrogen oxides from existinglarge combustion plants in Finland in 2010. (Source: FEI, Finland.)

15 000

12 000

8 000

4 000

0Coal Peat Wood Gas turbines

Base case with 1995 emission factors

New LCPD for existing boilers

National limits (new) for existing boilers

t NOx

/a

i n d u s t r y

Introduct ion

Discovered during the 19th and early 20thcenturies, rare earths are a family of 16 naturalelements, just like iron, sodium, calcium or zinc.

They include the series of 14 lanthanides, plusyttrium and scandium.

Their specific electronic structure means thatthey have very similar chemical properties,making them difficult to separate, and physicalproperties which can be used for manyapplications such as catalysis, luminescence,optics, magnetism, electronics and coloration ofmaterials. Rare earths are above all used forobtaining colours in the ceramics industry, butare also used as an agent for colouring ordiscolouring glass.

Cerium is also already widely used to depollutediesel engines and in the catalytic converters ofpetrol engines.


The red and orange shades in plastic materials (andalso in inks, paints and ceramics) and the red coloursin lamps and luminescent diodes are usuallyobtained from pigments based on cadmiumsulphide.

But the use of cadmium, as of other heavy metals, isbeing increasingly regulated on account of its proven

toxicity. Countries such as the United States ofAmerica and Sweden have prohibited its use forsome applications, e.g. in automobile plastics andtoys.

Faced with this demand for environmentally-friendlypigments, the Rhodia Company, which had beenundertaking research into the properties of ceriumsulphide for a number of years (with a patent filed in1994), set out to study the conditions for theindustrial use of this new mineral pigment.


The aim of the LIFE project undertaken by RhodiaRare Earths SA was to develop and define conditionsfor the industrial use of a new technology to producecoloured pigments without cadmium.

The project went through four phases:

• a preliminary study of calcination technologiesand the determination of key parameters in alaboratory furnace,

• creation of a pilot plant unit to synthesise ceriumsulphide (producing 10 tonnes/year),

• industrial evaluation of products obtained in themain polymer families, in the form of colourconcentrates or masterbatches,

• completion of a study with a view to obtaining allthe regulatory accreditations needed for the widestpossible commercialisation.

Substitution of cadmium-based pigments

Total eligible cost: EUR 3 088 680.27LIFE contribution: EUR 772 170.07 (25 %)

Beneficiary: Rhodia Chimie26, Quai Alphonse Le GalloF-92512 Boulogne-Billancourt Cedex

Contact: Mr Jo GolowskiTel.: (33-5) 46 68 34 56Fax: (33-5) 46 68 34 40

E-mail: [email protected] site: http://www.rhodia-rare-earths.com

Duration: 1 May 1994 to 1 March 1997

L I F E 9 4 E N V / F / 7 6 3

i n d u s t r y p r o j e c t s2 0

Results and impact

This LIFE project delivered thedevelopment and industrialisation ofmineral pigments based on rare earthsulphides and posing no risk to health orthe environment.

Marketed under the name NeolorTMsince 1997, they meet the technicalspecifications laid down by industry,namely: very high thermal stability,weather and ultraviolet light fastness,excellent opacity, dimensional stability,facility of dispersion, etc.

NeolorTM pigments comply withEuropean regulations on contact withfoodstuffs (Directive 90/128/EEC) andwith the toys standard (European standard 71).

The current colour range extends from light orangethrough red to burgundy.

Thanks to their technical features, NeolorTMpigments may be used to colour paints (powders, coilcoatings, car paints) and for all plastics technologies(ABS, polycarbonate, polyamide, polypropylene, PVC,etc.).

A total of FRF 87 million has been invested inindustrial plant in order to produce these newpigments, and deployed at Rhodia's three sites in LaRochelle, Les Roches de Condrieu and Clamecy.

Since this project will permit the rules restricting theuse of cadmium to be applied more rigorously, it canbe considered an environmental, technical andeconomic success.


Introduct ion

The project set out to show that chemicalprotection of wood can be replaced partially orentirely by using special designs for theexteriors of buildings. The exteriors of houses,and other outdoor constructions such as noisebarriers, can be protected by designing them insuch a way that the wood does not accumulatemoisture. This is called wood protectionthrough design.

Application of this method to wood withadequate natural durability will reduce the needto use wood which has been treated withchemicals. It will thus reduce the demand fornatural durable hardwood and impregnatedwood, and so relieve pressure on theenvironment.


Every year in the European Union millions of cubicmetres of wood are impregnated with chemicalagents, primarily as a protection against

biodegradation. A large proportion of this wood isused in the construction industry. However,chemically-treated wood constitutes anenvironmental problem, from production and useright through to disposal after end use.

Wood is a popular building material because it isenvironmentally friendly. Adding chemicals topreserve wood runs counter to its green image, butconsumers and industry demand reasonabledurability. There is thus a need to develop orrediscover alternative preservation methods.


The project included laboratory trials (involvingaccelerated, hard climate stresses), field trials andfull-scale demonstrations.

The first step was to identify parameters influencingthe life expectancy of wood in outdoorconstructions. In selecting the parameters,consideration was also given to how easily designersand builders using traditional methods could complywith the new requirements.

Demonstration and documentation of thepotential for replacingchemical protection of woodwith protection through design


Beneficiary: Danish Technological Institute — DTICentre for Wood and FurniturePO Box 141DK-2630 Taastrup

Contact: Martin VestergaardTel.: (45) 43 50 43 50Fax: (45) 43 50 40 24

E-mail: [email protected]: 1 August 1995 to 31 October 1998

L I F E 9 5 E N V / D K / 1 2 1 7


Long-term natural exposure is usually required inorder to document the service life of wood andwooden structures, but accelerated testing wasemployed here due to lack of time. The effect of thedesign parameters was measured by exposing thewood to a significantly harder climate than it wouldnormally be exposed to. These tests took place in thelaboratory. However, not all the design details weresuitable for laboratory testing and, since the resultshad to be verified, field trials were conducted usingthe same test parameters.

The protection afforded by different types of painteddrip caps was tested in a driving rain chamber. A'four seasons' climate simulator was used to evaluatea number of selected test parameters. The sampleswere exposed to artificial ageing in the form of cyclicexposure to heat, UV radiation, rain, frost and thaw.Six wood species as well as various surface treatmentswere tested. An exterior wall unit was tested in a largeclimate simulator. To verify these laboratory tests, afull-scale field test was also carried out in a field testarea.

Non-impregnated wood was used to constructapproximately 8 km of wooden noise barriers atvarious locations in Denmark in 1997–98. Thesestructures incorporated protection through design.

Results and impact

This project demonstrated and documented the factthat wood protection through design (designingconstructions in such a way that the wood does notaccumulate moisture) reduces, and to some extentremoves, the need to use impregnated wood,allowing clean wood to be used instead. It isanticipated that around 50 % of the 3–4 million m3 ofwood currently used each year can be protectedthrough design or, in some cases, through the use ofless hazardous chemicals.

In cases where a service lifetime of only 15–20 years isrequired (e.g. for noise barriers), a relativelyinexpensive, low-grade wood can be used to lowerthe cost, thus giving builders an incentive to useclean wood. However, the overall economic benefitsare not substantial, and using clean wood as analternative to chemically-treated wood is less a matterof saving money than of protecting the environment.

The project results have already been used on somereal construction projects, where clean wood wassubstituted for chemically-treated wood.


Introduct ion

The main objective of ECO-Conseil Entreprise,the Mulhouse Section of the EnvironmentalCounselling Association, is to promoteawareness of the environment among artisanal,industrial and agricultural enterprises in Alsace,and particularly among SMEs, small andmedium-sized industries and artisanalundertakings. After an initial pilot programmededicated to designing educational tools forenvironmental awareness in the wood and painttrades, supported as part of the Directorate-General for the Environment's awarenesscampaigns in 1994, ECO-Conseil Entreprisedecided to step up its efforts by widening itsapproach to include new sectors of artisanalindustry and new tools.


Small artisanal enterprises are one of the pillars ofAlsace's economy, and their presence throughout theregion sustains economic activity and provides jobsboth in rural areas and in small municipalities.

However, these diffuse activities are a potentialsource of pollution and nuisance which may affectthe lives of those living close by and the quality oftheir environment. It is often no easy matter,however, to persuade artisanal enterprises to take onboard concern for the environment. The size of suchundertakings, the unwillingness of artisans,ignorance of the regulations and a lack of resourcesto fall into line with standards, as is sometimesnecessary, are all factors militating against increasedawareness on the part of those involved.

ECO-Conseil Entreprise therefore took up the taskof devising and leading a campaign to make artisansin Alsace more aware of the environment.


ECO-Conseil Entreprise's campaign was targeted atsix artisanal sectors, represented by some 7 000businesses in Alsace: painting, secondary woodprocessing, the car industry, printing, heating &plumbing, and building. A number of awareness-raising tools were used as support material,including:

Programme of awareness-raising and trainingin environmental managementfor artisanal enterprises

Total eligible cost: EUR 710 105LIFE contribution: EUR 352 601

Beneficiary: ECO-Conseil, Institut européen pourle conseil en environnement(European Institute forEnvironmental Counselling)7, rue GoetheF-67000 Strasbourg

Contact: Mrs Pascale Dautheuil, Mr SergeHygen

Tel.: (33-3) 88 60 16 19Fax: (33-3) 88 61 07 12

Web site: www.ecoconseil.orgDuration: 1 January 1996 to 1 June 1999

L I F E 9 5 E N V / F / 8 4 5


• ECO-Guides describing the impact ofactivities on the environment,informing artisans of the regulationsin force and recommending a fewsimple practices to follow to reducesuch impact; four ECO-Guides wereproduced (for the car, printing, heating& plumbing, and building sectors);

• the 'environmental self-diagnosis kit'enabling artisans to assess theenvironmental position of theirbusiness;

• educational toolkits entitled 'My trade,our environment' for occupationaltraining in the artisanal sectorsconcerned (painting, wood and carindustries).

Training exercises using some or all ofthese tools were also undertaken,including educational talks in schools oraimed at members of a particular trade,detailed environmental diagnoses inenterprises which requested them, etc.

ECO-Conseil Entreprise also endeavouredto make the transfer of these tools andactions an integral part of the project.

Results and impact

Although the tools are only just beginning to beused in the field, the project led by ECO-Conseilmay already be considered a success for the followingreasons.

• The broad range of people involved, the projecthaving brought together various professionals,trainers and local authorities (the project washeavily cofinanced by the Region and theDepartments of Alsace), the ADEME (Agency forthe Environment and Energy Management), theRhine-Meuse Water Agency, etc. The BanquePopulaire du Haut-Rhin made the ECO-ConseilEntreprise diagnosis one of its preconditions forawarding low-interest loans for environmentalinvestments.

• The diversity of the various tools and the supportfrom current and future professionals for theapproach adopted. The quality of the tools wasuniversally acclaimed and further proof of theirvalue provided by the award of the Territoria prizein 1999 and the Fibres d'or de l'École du bois, ofRennes, prize in 1998.

• Transfer operations were successfully performed;for example, two vocational ECO-Guides and twoeducational toolkits were adapted in Picardy, theECO-Guide for the printing trade may be adaptedfor use at national level, creation of an ECO-Guidefor the various trades of the food industry(caterers, butchers, bakers, etc.).


Introduct ion

Wood is used the world over as a reliableconstruction material lending itself to a broadrange of applications. The huge variety of woodsavailable guarantees that one meeting thedemands of the intended application can alwaysbe found. For this reason, timber products arehighly valued throughout the world.

Building traditions and construction methodsvary considerably from one country and cultureto another, but two demands are commonlymade of timber: high durability, by which wemean resistance to woodrot, mould and insects,and good dimensional stability, a measure ofany changes in the shape or size of timber inresponse to fluctuations in humidity.

Durability and dimensional stability bothdepend to a large extent on intrinsic biologicalfactors, but technologies are now availablewhich can deliver major improvements in boththese properties, thereby extending product life.

'Plato' is one such technology for upgrading thedurability and stability of non-durable types ofwood, using a process now patented in manycountries. LIFE-Environment has providedsubstantial support for development of theprocess.

Fast-growing, non-durable (plantation) timbers inparticular can be upgraded with the Plato process.Though in abundant supply all over the world, theirpoor durability and stability mean they are of onlylimited use. One alternative would be high-quality(durable) tropical types, but these are relativelyscarce, and felling could make an undesirablecontribution to over-deforestation.


Wood is a biodegradable material. This, in itself, isuseful, since deadwood and other plant waste wouldnot otherwise be broken down naturally. However, inproducts made of wood, biodegradation (rotting)becomes a disadvantage. Rotting wooden window-frames look unsightly, are weaker and could result inbreakage of the double-glazing they support.Wooden pillars in buildings weaken and eventuallysnap. Rotten wood must be replaced, at financialexpense.

The commonest sign of dimensional (in)stability iswhen doors jam repeatedly during wet weather. Thewood absorbs some of the moisture from the air,expands and loses shape. Expansion is also a problemin wooden constructions, where distortion canproduce cracks forming weak spots in the product.Moisture can be retained in the cracks, creating idealconditions for woodrot.

Development of a process to improve the durability anddimensional stability of timber


Beneficiary: Plato Hout BVWildekamp 1B6704 AT WageningenNetherlands

Contact: Mr G. T. PottTel.: (317) 42 11 14Fax: (317) 42 47 16

E-mail: [email protected]: 1 January 1996 to 1 October 1999

L I F E 9 5 E N V / N L / 2 7 7


These two problems therefore share the blame foraccelerated ageing of wood products and prematuredeterioration of paintwork and joints.


Plato is a three-stage treatment process, involving lowenergy and water (steam) consumption. The timber isfirst exposed to high-temperature, high-pressuresaturated steam, then dried in a heated chamber and,finally, cured in a kiln. This three-stage process altersthe wood so that it can absorb far less water fromthe air. The wood remains permanently drier. In thisway, both durability and stability can be upgraded inone go.

This is quite apparent as regards dimensionalstability: since the wood soaks up less moisture fromthe air, it no longer loses shape. It is more resistantto woodrot, mainly because there is not enoughwater in the timber for mould to grow. What ismore, the components susceptible to rot areselectively converted, simply removing the nutrientson which woodrot thrives. Another advantage is thatdurability can be improved without applying toxicsubstances. Plato timber is even less toxic than theoriginal raw material.

The Plato process is the fruit of almost eight years ofdevelopment work. For example, it had first to bedetermined how long the wood needed to be treated,and at which temperatures, in order to obtain a high-quality product. Stability and rot-resistance are notthe only important things: a great deal of researchhas focused on timber strength and workability(sawing, drilling, planing, nailing, screwing, paintingand gluing). The end result is a mill which nowproduces 50 000 m3 of timber a year using the Platotechnology (see photograph).

Results and impact

The first batches of Plato timber have already beenon sale to professional users at do-it-yourself chainsin the Netherlands. The product is also provingattractive outside the Netherlands: companies inother (European) countries are showing interest inbuilding mills to apply the Plato process to timberfrom local sources. The environmental benefits areconsiderable, since this is an economicallycompetitive, environmentally-sustainable process forobtaining a high-quality product suitable for large-scale applications. The environmental benefits weredemonstrated conclusively in an LCA (life-cycleanalysis) by an independent consultant.


Introduct ion

Environmental management systems such as ISO14001 and EMAS have received a lukewarmreception in Belgium. By March 2000 some 130firms had an environmental managementsystem certified in accordance with ISO 14001,while by June 2000 only nine companies hadopted for EMAS registration. This is in sharpcontrast to the large number of companies –already over 3 000 – with certified qualitymanagement systems conforming to ISO 9000.


The particularly low number of EMAS registrationsin Flanders is a matter of particular concern forFlanders and for Belgium as a whole. The relativelack of success of environmental managementsystems is partly attributable to the exactingenvironmental legislation that applies in Flanders,but the low priority many companies give to acertified environmental management system asopposed to quality management schemes is also amajor contributing factor. Many companies preferinitiatives such as environment charters (Presti 4programme on waste prevention) and responsiblecare, because schemes of this type ensure that

environmental concerns are integrated into companypolicy and are more performance-oriented, with theadded advantage of involving less administrativework.

The objective of this LIFE project is to demonstratethat:

• environmental concerns are an integral part oftotal quality management,

• integrating environmental management into othermanagement systems is easy and within the reachof every company,

• there are many advantages to applying integratedmanagement systems.

It is hoped that this will lead to environmentalmanagement systems (EMAS and ISO 14001) beingused more widely in Flanders (and Belgium).


A total of 24 firms, divided into three groups, aretaking part in the project. Individual support andjoint training sessions are organised to explain therequirements of EMAS and ISO 14001. Theenvironmental management system and a qualitymanagement system are to be introduced in the first

EMAS demonstration project: promoting EMAS as anintegral part of total qualitymanagement


Beneficiary: GOM – West-VlaanderenBaron Ruzettelaan 33B-8310 Assbroek/Brugge

Contact: Philippe TavernierTel.: (32-50) 36 71 00Fax: (32-50) 36 31 86

E-mail: [email protected] site: http://www.gomwvl.be

Duration: 1 August 1998 to 31 July 2001

L I F E 9 8 E N V / B / 2 6 2


group. Companies in the second group already havea quality management system, so their task is tomarry it with an environmental management system.The objective of the third group is to integrate theenvironmental management system into the safetymanagement system. Each group also includes anadditional company which committed itself at theoutset to seek EMAS registration and is thereforereceiving intensive individual support.

Results and impact

The group sessions have now been completed.Approximately two thirds of the firms are able tokeep to the pre-arranged timetable. In other words,they have successfully completed the initialenvironmental analysis and are currently engaged indrawing up procedures and instructions for theircompany. The first certifications/verifications areexpected towards the end of 2000 or the beginning of2001.

It appears from the training and the experiencealready gained that integrating environmentalmanagement into other types of management systemposes no problem in many cases. Every managementsystem has more or less the same structure and isbased on the same principles. Furthermore, there are

various areas of overlap between the differentmanagement systems, so that certain procedures arecommon to all and need only be written once.Companies which combine the various managementsystems in an optimum whole thereby save a greatdeal of time and trouble and take a significant steptowards total quality management.

Contrary to the project's original objective, many ofthe participating companies are choosing not to aimimmediately for EMAS verification, but to seek ISO14001 certification first. Because it involves a publicenvironmental statement, EMAS goes a great dealfurther in terms of environmental policy. Experiencefrom the project has shown that this is too big a stepfor many companies. Nevertheless, some companiesregard their ISO 14001 certification as preparation forEMAS. The new version of EMAS (2000)acknowledges this trend and provides for easytransition from an ISO 14001 management system toEMAS. Four or so companies will probably aim forimmediate EMAS registration.

The example set by this project and its methodologyare already being followed, with the same consultantssupporting the introduction of an environmentalmanagement system (possibly coupled with a qualitymanagement system) at nine waste incinerationfacilities.


Introduct ion

With this completely new production processVishay Semiconductor GmbH in Vöcklabruckplans to stop polluting the waste waterdischarged from its sintered-glass diodeproduction plant within 36 months. TheEuropean Union is contributing 30 % of the costof the EUR 1 million project from the LIFE IIfinancial instrument.


Vishay Semiconductor Austria produces about 200million diodes a year at its site in Vöcklabruck. Theseare used as fast rectifiers in a wide range ofapplications in monitors, switching circuits andfluorescent light tubes, as well as PCs, TV sets andelectronic components for cars.

Production of the diodes involves the use of sinteredmolybdenum pins. In the past, these have had to beetched with nitric, sulphuric and hydrochloric acidbefore being used in the production process. Thewaste water generated thereby is neutralised andthen discharged into the river Vöckla with amolybdenum content of not more than 18 mg/l,within the legal limit.


Vishay Semiconductor Austria has now developed anew process in which no heavy metals at all will getinto the waste water. The molybdenum pins will becoated rather than etched, the type of coating beingselected in each case on the basis of a catalogue oftechnical requirements relating to the surfaceproperties required for industrial application.

This clean technology once again meets the goal ofprotecting the environment which the company hasset for all its 480 staff. The company's environmentalstatement declares that 'Everyone working withtechnologies stretching far into the future bears aparticular responsibility for the environment'. Backin 1998, Vishay Semiconductor Austria obtainedcertification under the DIN ISO 14001 internationalstandard on environmental management systems.

The Vöcklabruck plant was founded in 1965 by AEG-Telefunken. Today it is owned by VishayIntertechnology Inc., a worldwide operator withsome 4 600 employees in the EU alone. Within thiscorporation the Vöcklabruck plant is of centralimportance for diode production. The ultra-modernsemiconductor plant by the river Vöckla is one of theworld's leading producers of high-quality diodes,with a turnover of around ATS 1 700 million a year.Investment in research and development, e.g. inclean production processes, enables the company toremain at the forefront of technology.

Clean waste water thanks to a new process for manufacturingsintered-glass diodes


Beneficiary: Vishay Semiconductor Austria GmbHTelefunkenstraße 5A-4840 Vöcklabruck

Contact: Mr Franz MatheTel.: (43-7672) 724 51Fax: (43-7672) 780 81

E-mail: [email protected] site: http://www.vishay.de

Duration: 1 February 1999 to 1 October 2001

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Results and impact

The required properties of the coated surfaces havebeen established, and possible deviations andacceptable tolerances have been determined. Theprocess has been optimised at the laboratory scale.Defining the acceptable parameters in this way is anessential step in designing the production processand achieving the planned reduction in emissions(September 1999 to February 2000).

Selection of the manufacturing processTest runs have been conducted on availableequipment to select the process giving the bestoverall results. A prototype soldering furnace hasbeen acquired to ensure that the selected processmeets requirements in terms of environmentalperformance, quality and cost (October 1999 toOctober 2000).

Reliability, release, notificationVishay has given an undertaking to test importantproduct modifications and announce them to itscustomers. The proposal to replace the pollutingetching process with the pre-soldering process is onesuch change which will have to be announced(November 2000 to January 2001).

Transfer to productionThe new processes will be adapted to the productionplant (January 2001 to August 2001).

Observation and optimisationChecks and analyses will be stepped up in order toensure product quality and environmental quality.Old equipment will be taken out of service (February2001 to March 2002).


Introduct ion

High-speed sawing without cooling lubricantsmeans more environmentally-friendly sawingtechniques in the manufacture of tubes andprofiles in the metalworking industry. Theproject tackles the problem of coolinglubricants and aims to show how they can bedispensed with completely.


Cooling lubricants are used in traditional sawing aswell as generally in metal cutting. At the present time,little is done in this field without such lubricants.They optimise cutting by cooling the tool and theworkpiece, reduce friction heat and minimise wear ofthe tool. In spite of the technological benefits, theuse of cooling lubricants brings problems. These liein the disposal of the cooling lubricants and thecosts connected therewith. Added to these are thehigh cost of maintenance, supervision, energy,handling and logistics. However, it is not only thedisposal of the cooling lubricants which isproblematic, but also the waste disposal of offcutscontaminated with the lubricant.

An important aspect is the harmful effect on thehealth of workers coming into contact with thecoolants. Through skin contact or by being breathedin, cooling lubricants can have harmful effects onhealth, ranging from skin irritations and breathingdifficulties to incapacity for work. Added to this areodour nuisances caused by the topping up of the

chemical solution, which results in the frequentchanging of the coolant. This has an ecologicalimpact on both the air and the soil.


This is the starting point for our project. Based onthe favourable experience with portable, tipped,metal circular saw blades as already used on buildingsites and the specially-developed thin-cut saw blades,we designed the 'Dry tech' cold circular saws forindustry, which do without cooling lubricants. Theaim was to completely exclude cooling lubricantsfrom the manufacturing cycle. As a result of thispreventive measure, there is none of the negativeimpact on the environment as in conventionalsawing.

Dry cut technology is based on the fact that thetipped saw blade is very thin. This thin cuttingtechnology combined with load-dependent feedregulation means that the energy required for sawingis relatively low, as then is that part converted intoheat energy. This is largely dissipated through thecuttings and the tool.

Cutting speeds of 500 to 1 500 m/min mean that inspite of a very high overall feed speed, the speed pertooth is very low. This means that burr formation isconsiderably reduced compared with conventionalsawing techniques.

A comprehensive machine design was developedwhich covers both semi- and fully-automatic as well

High-speed sawing without cooling lubricants

Total eligible cost: EUR 400 085.9LIFE contribution: EUR 118 973.53 (29,74 %)

Beneficiary: ITEC GmbHErnst Abbe Str. 5D-52249 Eschweiler

Contact: Nikola NestlerTel.: (49-2403) 98 94 21Fax: (49 2403) 98 94 73

E-mail: [email protected]/[email protected] site: http://www.drytech.de

Duration: 1 January 1999 to 1 January 2003

L I F E 9 9 E N V / D / 4 3 5


as manual machines and self-propelled saws forprofile or tube plants.

Results and impact

This sawing technology saves every user an enormousamount of time when sawing tubes and profilesbecause of the high cutting speeds and reduced toolcosts of the saw blades through multiple regrinding.In the medium term, dry cutting technology willbecome established throughout the metalworkingindustry and in the long term will replace traditionalcutting processes.

The use of this new technology will preventpollution, i.e. lower the impact on groundwater,reduce transport needs by eliminating agents andavoid direct physical effects for the operator. This isof direct benefit not only for metalworking firms butalso society at large.

Dry cutting technology is the future of sawing:

Rapid – Little burr – Environmentally friendly.


l a n d

Introduct ion

The Agios Nikolaos Park to the south-east of thetown of Naousa in the region of West Macedoniais an area of rare beauty. The main goal of theproject was to develop this park and the RiverArapitsa for tourism, and included the rationaldevelopment of recreational activities, withenvironmental constraints also being taken intoaccount. The project also set out to protect theecosystem, create new jobs, foster thedevelopment of the region and create theconditions for environmental education to takeplace.


The Agios Nikolaos Park occupies an area of 4 000 m2. The salient features of this area are theRiver Arapitsa and a centuries-old sycamore forest.For many years the park was a recreational area forNaousa's citizens, but was used so intensively, withphenomena such as illegal driving and parking insidethe park, that the environment was jeopardised in anumber of ways, engendering:

• water pollution,

• loss of plants alongside the river,

• soil attrition caused by pedestrians and vehicles,

• disappearance of flora and fauna species,

• noise pollution,

• deterioration of general appearance,

• increased risk of fire.


The approved landscape works divided the area into 9 sections according to 9 different activities andutilisations, as follows:

• the park entrance;

• the area around the existing hotel and thebuildings for environmental education;

• the recreational area (for picnics, etc.);

• the area around the church;

Integrated environmental management of the AgiosNikolaos Park and the RiverArapitsa

Total eligible cost: EUR 814 109.82LIFE contribution: EUR 407 054.91 (50 %)

Beneficiary: Municipality of Naousa30 Dimarchias SquareGR-59200 Naousa

Contact: Mr Paul KiriakidisTel.: (30-332) 222 08Fax: (30-332) 242 60

Duration: 20 March 1995 to 20 August 1997

L I F E 9 4 E N V / G R / 1 3 4 8

l a n d p r o j e c t s3 6

A view of the Agios Nikolaos Park showing project works.

• the playground, the lake and a second building forvisitor recreation;

• the water features;

• the sports centre;

• the parking area;

• the section of the River Arapitsa beside theMonument to the Sacrifice of the Women ofNaousa during the Greek Revolution.

Results and impact

The project succeeded in restoring and safeguardingthe ecosystem, promoted alternative forms ofrecreation and tourism and helped regionaldevelopment. It also played a significant role in theenvironmental education field and raised localpeople's awareness of the environment.

The Agios Nikolaos Park now draws many visitors,who have the opportunity not only to enjoy thebenefits of the park, but also to become acquaintedwith Naousa and its products.

The municipality of Naousa proved a very effectivelocal authority in implementing this project, whichwas awarded a European prize in the field of regionaland urban planning in 1998.


A detailed map indicating the project activities in the AgiosNikolaos Park Area.

Introduct ion

The Alto Nabão environmental tourism projectgrew up around Agroal, a very special locationhalfway down the River Nabão where a carsticspring rises to the surface and flows abundantlythroughout the year, guaranteeing the river areasonable flow all the way to its outfall intothe River Zêzere, a tributary of the Tagus.

The Agroal spring emerges from the left bank ofthe Nabão, at the bottom of a deep valleysurrounded by extremely arid stone cliffscovered with dense Mediterranean brushwood.

From where the spring rises, the river hasforged a steep-sided fluvial-carstic canyonthrough the rock over a distance of some 2 km.Thanks to its isolation, the canyon supports arich biodiversity, including eagle owls (Bubobubo), otters (Lutra lutra), blue rock thrushes(Monticola solitarius), kingfishers (Alcedo atthis)and many other species.

The site has attracted humans for millennia,probably on account of the abundance of water,fish and game, as testified by the many remainsfound in local settlements (Iron Age hilltopvillages) and caverns.

To understand the attraction Agroal holds forlocal communities, it must be appreciated that,on the one hand, this area is a kind of greenoasis in an extremely arid region and, on theother, people have believed for many decadesthat the waters of the spring are medicinal andcan cure skin diseases.


Tourism is restricted to the summer season, at whichpoint tourists arrive in their hundreds. Nonetheless,the business they provide is meagre, so that both thespring itself and the banks of the river have beenoccupied by temporary constructions, no better thanhuts, where food and drink are sold without even abasic concern for hygiene.

At the point where the spring water flows into theriver, a kind of swimming pool has been improvisedwith stones and boards, where bathers gather in thesummer.

Alto Nabão environmental tourism project


Beneficiary: QUERCUS Associação Nacional deConservação da NaturezaApartado 122P-2490 Ourém (Portugal)

Contact: Eng. José Antonio NevesTel.: (351-249) 544 500Fax: (351-249) 544 500

E-mail: [email protected] site http://www.quercus.pt

Duration: 1 December 1994 to 31 December1997

L I F E 9 4 E N V / P / 1 1 5 6


Despite the area's shabby appearance and the largenumbers of people visiting it in the hottest months,vegetation has managed to survive beside the riverboth in the canyon and in the areas closest to it,forming a strong contrast with the hillsides and theircharacteristic Mediterranean shrub cover.


The LIFE project was a starting point for carryingout studies and creating infrastructure in order tomake the most of existing resources and create aprotected area.

The value of environmental tourism is that it makesit possible to publicise a region and to createprospects for improving the living conditions of thelocal population. With this goal in mind, the projecthad the following priority objectives:

• to make the most of the environmental andtraditional resources of Alto Nabão;

• to create a network to promote tourism;• to create infrastructure to support tourism,

entities to inform the public and promoteendogenous resources;

• to reverse the trend of the population exodus awayfrom Alto Nabão;

• to foster an outlook among local people conduciveto balanced management of the region's naturalresources.

These objectives were attained by means of thefollowing:

• a systematic study of the natural qualities of AltoNabão;

• publicising of these qualities through publicinformation channels, publications, exhibitions,videos, day trips, awareness campaigns, guidedtours, holiday camps, the promotion of tourism;

• signposting of routes with explanations forpedestrians in Agroal and the areas closest to it;

• erection of information boards and descriptionsof the countryside in the area most visited by thepublic;

• publication of two brochures, production of aposter and a sticker;

• production of a video on Alto Nabão;• organisation of 20 educational camps attended by

about 600 young people from around the country;• annual organisation of 'environment days' in

Ourém;• direction of guided tours for schools, associations,

groups of explorers, environmental clubs, etc.;• drawing up of a plan for a campsite in Agroal,

already approved;

• drawing up of a detailed plan to restore the Agroalarea, currently being approved;

• drawing up of an application for inclusion on thenational list of sites to be included in the Natura2000 network.

Results and impact

Agroal and the Alto Nabão are now knownthroughout the region and in much of Portugal.

They have been added to traditional tourist routes,and now feature in tours passing through Fátima,Ourém, Tomar and Albufeira do Castelo de Bode.

They are also popular destinations for exponents ofrock climbing, rappelling, pot-holing and canoeing,which are promoted by Regional DevelopmentAssociations, private companies and culturalassociations.

Another area in which the project has had a majorinfluence is the shaping of public opinion,prompting calls for better conditions at Agroal.Articles regularly appear in the regional press callingfor healthier and safer conditions at the site.

Access roads to Agroal have already been improvedand two water treatment plants are currently beingbuilt about 2 km upstream, which will improve thequality of the water.

In terms of nature conservation, the project'sachievements are nudging both public and officialopinion towards preserving the countryside, theflora and the fauna of this region in the centre ofPortugal.


Introduct ion

This project in the Greater Lyons area (1.2 millioninhabitants) set out to reorganise and bring newvalue to natural areas, and in particular wetlandsof ecological interest, within a large recreationalpark: the Miribel Jonage Park.

The park occupies 2 200 ha of a vast, 4 000 haalluvial plain, rich in natural heritage. Most ofthe park's visitors now head for the 'leisurezone' and the adjacent sports areas (tenniscourts, horse-riding centre, fitness area, etc.). Allthese facilities make the park the largest andmost popular recreational destination in theGreater Lyons area.

The project aim was to suggest new uses andfunctions for natural areas on the outskirts oftowns.


The park covers a large natural and semi-natural areamade up of wetlands, ponds, oxbows of the Rhône,alluvial forest, meadows, etc., which was not only not

being used to best effect but was in fact subject todiverse and sometimes contradictory uses liable tocompromise the sustainability of its resources. Forinstance, the park's water areas were created by theextraction of gravel, but this had an adverse impacton the environment: lowering of the water table,problems with floodwaters, disappearance of certaintracts of water.

There were also such environmentally-unfriendlypractices as motor-cycle scrambling, unauthorisedcamping and the dumping of rubbish.

Miribel Jonage Park: rehabilitation of anatural fluvial environment toplay a multiple role in asuburban area

Total eligible cost: EUR 1 829 333LIFE contribution: EUR 914 666

Beneficiary: SymalimChemin de la BlettaF-69120 Vaulx-en-Velin

Contact: Mr André GrangeTel.: (33-4) 78 80 30 67Fax: (33-4) 72 04 07 95

E-mail: [email protected]: 1 January 1996 to 1 January 1999

L I F E 9 5 E N V / F / 5 0 1


Lastly, the former farming land,the open spaces and the Rhôneoxbows were in a state of generalneglect, synonymous once againwith the changes to the watersystem and the impoverishment ofthe environment.


To bring new value to these naturalspaces and to encourage overallmanagement of the local watersystem, Symalim (the syndicatewhich owns the Miribel JonagePark) decided to make the parklayout more coherent by creating asmooth transition between therecreational areas and the naturalareas. Implementation of thispolicy was entrusted to Segapal, asemi-public company responsiblefor the managing the park.

This involved the following:

• rehabilitation of a 60 ha tract ofwater next to a recreational lake,to encourage greater biodiversity, reduce theeutrophication of the lake and maintain waterlevels;

• rehabilitation of degraded sites to accommodaterare species of flora and fauna and for use asnature-discovery areas, with the active involvementof the quarry companies;

• protection and rehabilitation of natural habitats:ban on mechanised sports, restoration of theRhône oxbows, integration of species protectioninto the management of recreational spaces, etc.;

• educational 'nature presentation' activities aimednot just at visitors, but also at the residents ofnearby areas.

Results and impact

The project culminated with a public opening andthe inauguration of the newly-created natural spaces.

The success of the initiative has already beenunderscored by the site's inclusion on the Natura2000 list for the Rhône Department.

The partnerships set up in order to carry out theproject are one of its interesting features: the local

authorities, the quarry companies and the localwater management partners (Agence de l'Eau, VoiesNavigables de France, EDF) were all involved eithertechnically or financially.

Lastly, Symalim's efforts and concerns in this projectare emblematic of the central issues now affectingnatural recreational areas at the edges of Europe'surban zones.

The growing number of uses to which these spacesare put, and the growing number of visitors to them,are forcing their managers to reconcile thesatisfaction of society's many demands with theprotection of a natural asset of increasing value tourban Europe.

The solutions put forward for Miribel Jonage in thisLIFE project, and now being discussed within theFédénatur international network of suburban parks,are exemplary in their capacity to meet theseseemingly contradictory requirements.


Introduct ion

This project focused on the relationshipbetween towns and their surrounding areas, andthe environmental consequences thereof.

Geographically, it covered a hilly andmountainous area stretching over 14municipalities (25 000 ha and 40 000inhabitants), equally distributed between theprovinces of Bologna and Modena in the Italianregion of Emilia Romagna.


Since the early 1980s, the hilly territory in the vicinityof Bologna and Modena has been subject to growingpressure from the expansion of a great many newsettlements, both residential and industrial.

In 1993, the three municipalities of the Panaro valley– Vignola, Savignano and Marano – decided to drawup a new municipal town planning scheme.Essentially, the project focused on the consequencesof the close relationship between the towns and theirsurrounding areas.

The greatest difficulties arose at the outset, when itcame to defining an approach and a method ofgovernance for handling issues relating to rural areasby means of an 'institutional tool' such as the townplanning scheme, which was designed essentially foruse in urban areas. A typical problem facing all localauthorities is the rigidity of institutional planningmethods, which often give rise to inefficiency inpublic action on the environment.

The other problem concerned criteria and methodsfor selecting and managing public and private actorscapable of helping to protect rural areas from asustainable development perspective. For this reason,the project set out not only to consider the naturalheritage and the historical dimension, but also towork with the existing economic structure. Thismeant dealing with questions relating to typicalforms of agricultural production and local industry,and their impact on the environment.


The first decision was that financing would only begranted to new projects, to the exclusion of existingactivities, in order to foster new approaches andtargets. A communication network was then set upbetween all the local actors deemed to be potentialpartners in the project, with particular attention alsoto other players (e.g. consultants, private enterprises,tourist agencies) in a position to contribute theirknowledge to the overall process.

The work lasted two years, and was financed by theEmilia Romagna Region (EUR 270 000) and the LIFEprogramme (around EUR 180 000). The regional andlocal authorities provided further funding forcollateral initiatives not co-financed by LIFE (localpromotion and seminars, web site, publications), foran amount of about EUR 100 000.

The project was directed by the Tourist Office of theEmilia Romagna Region, which acted as projectleader. All the local municipalities and authoritieswere involved from the outset, and took part in thebasic decisions regarding project methodologies and

Città, Castelli, Ciliegi (cities, castles, cherry trees)

Total eligible cost: EUR 457 561LIFE contribution: EUR 181 651 (39.70 %)

Beneficiary: Regione Emilia RomagnaViale Aldo Moro, 30I-40127 Bologna

Contact: Mr Stefano VanniniTel.: (39-051) 28 33 53Fax: (39-051) 28 33 80


L I F E 9 5 E N V / I T / 1 5 4


expenditure. Under thisapproach, the entire network oflocal actors agreed on thedistribution and aims offunding, preferring to focus ona limited number of strategicactions rather than spread thefunds too thinly.

The Emilia Romagna Regionwas supported by 'ECO&ECO',the company which conceivedthe 'core idea' of the project, bythe Centro DivulgazioneAgricola (Agricultural AdvisoryCentre) of the Province ofBologna, specialists in theagricultural and agro-environmental sector, and by'Promappennino', a tourismpromotion firm operating inthe area covered by the project.

To overcome the difficulties caused by the rigidity ofthe traditional institutional planning processes, arange of actions were promoted and added to theplanning activities in order to vary the actions thatimpact on the local environment. These activities fallinto four broad categories:

• local environment information systems (maps ofthe area, indicating typical local products;hypertext of the territory);

• promotional activity (creation of a cherry and fruitfarms network; river clean-ups involving thegeneral public; creation of gastronomic routes);

• communication and training activities (meetingsand seminars; teacher training: Conoscere il bosco(Getting to know the woods) course for officials inthe tourist sector; communication pavilion; schoolevents; multimedia productions);

• events (theatre productions; photo exhibitions;musical events; competitions among schools).

Results and impact

• Increased feeling of 'belonging' among localauthorities and population, and greater 'generalknowledge' of environmental problems.

• A three-year programme agreement signed by 16different municipalities to tap into localenvironmental assets.

• Introduction of new flexible methods for localplanning.

• Cooperation between local municipalities on landand environmental management.

• Creation of a touristic food and wine itinerary,based on typical local products.

• New job opportunities for young people in thearea, relating to the exploitation of typical localproducts and activities and connecting thehistorical heritage with cultural initiatives (theatre,music, literature, etc.).

• Promotion of a new fair to advertise all the localproducts, especially the new forms of sustainableproduction methods.

• New perspectives and patterns in educationalschemes in school curricula.

• Increasing the number of visitors and farmholidays.

• Creation of an animal oasis near an existingregional park, with training for 10 new'environmental couriers' whose job it is towelcome visitors and guide them through thepark.


Introduct ion

The project, located in Copenhagen, Denmark,dealt with the remediation of contaminatedsites. Its purpose was to devise a methodologyfor selecting whichever remediation technique isnot only the most effective but also involves theleast financial and environmental cost for anygiven site. The main aim was to remediate soiland groundwater at sites contaminated by oiland halogenated/chlorinated solvents from therailway industry.

The project developed a decision-making modeland a calculation tool to determine the costsand benefits connected with remediationprocedures.


Soil deterioration through contamination is animportant issue in central, western and northernEurope. Twelve of the EU Member States are thoughtto have as many as 1 500 000 potentiallycontaminated sites between them, of which morethan 300 000 have been identified. In most cases, sitesare contaminated with oil or halogenated products.

Contaminated sites present problems for theirowners, their users and society as a whole. The mostserious problem is the threat to human health andthe surrounding environment, includinggroundwater. Contaminated land can damagestructures, pollute surface waters, affect adjacent landand air and be an economic burden. Contaminantsmove slowly in the ground and it may be decadesbefore the damage is noticed. The need to treatcontaminated land is urgent.

The purpose of remediation projects is to produceenvironmental benefits, defined in relation to futureland use, groundwater resources and surface waterresources. These benefits usually consist of areduction of the toxicological effects on humansfrom exposure to pollutants or their dispersion inthe ecosystem.

Remediation of soil pollution used to be limited toexcavating the soil and then either cleansing ordisposing of it. Other techniques were subsequentlyintroduced in which only the mobile contaminantswere removed. Excavation with subsequent ex situsoil treatment continues to be the most widely usedremediation technique.

Environmental/economic evaluation andoptimal remediation ofcontaminated sites

Total eligible cost: EUR 2 104 790.60LIFE contribution: EUR 1 052 395.29

Beneficiary: ScanRail Consult A/SPilestraede 58DK-1112 Copenhagen K

Contact: Lars DeigaardTel.: (45) 33 76 50 00Fax: (45) 33 91 71 18

E-mail: [email protected]: 1 May 1996 to 28 February 2000

L I F E 9 6 E N V / D K / 1 6



A methodology was devised for including overallenvironmental impact in the decision-makingparameters, along with the usual financial andtechnical aspects. This methodology was tested in anumber of demonstration projects where severalremediation techniques were used, includingbiosparging, bioventing, excavation with ex situbiological soil cleansing, reactive wall and biologicalwall treatments. The chosen techniques representlikely future options for remediating sites whichcontain contaminants typically produced by therailway industry.

Remediation demonstrations were carried out onsoils and groundwater contaminated by oil andchlorinated solvents. The testing of remediationtechniques took place over 18 months at thefollowing sites: Svendborg, contaminated by dieseloil; Randers, contaminated by diesel oil; Vojens,contaminated by diesel oil; Copenhagen freight yard,contaminated by chlorinated solvents. At each sitethe environmental costs and benefits were estimatedand compared. The ultimate goal was to reduce thecontamination level at each of the demonstrationsites.

Results and impact

At the oil-polluted sites, the most effective clean-upwas achieved with excavation. Biosparging andbioventing were less effective, but also less expensive,than excavation. For all three techniques, the mainenvironmental benefit was reduced toxicity tohumans from groundwater.

At the sites polluted with chlorinated solvents, boththe permeable walls were relatively expensive inrelation to the volume of treated groundwater. Thereactive wall proved technically efficient, apart fromsome reduced permeability, possibly caused byprecipitations of calcium and other ions. Again, themain environmental benefit of both permeable wallsconsisted in reduced groundwater toxicity tohumans.

This study successfully demonstrated a methodologyfor combining environmental assessment withtechnical and economic parameters in the evaluationand comparison of site remediation techniques.

The new methodology will be widely applicable inthe EU for selecting appropriate remediationtechniques for polluted sites. It can also be used toanalyse the environmental consequences of changesrelated to a specific remediation technique.


Introduct ion

The character of rural and urban Elvas, and inparticular the town's military configuration, hasbeen stamped by the local population's longinteraction with the local area andenvironment, making its historical,archaeological and environmental heritage anemblem of the modern municipality and town.

The town council's wish to restore the vast, andextremely rich, historical, archaeological andenvironmental heritage of this northernAlentejo municipality, and the potential fortourism in the area, led to an agreement to planthis project on a rational basis in such a waythat, with moderate expenditure, it would bepossible gradually to restore and enhance afeature of great potential for the municipality.

Attention focused on three aspects of theproblem: enhancing the local heritage,protecting the environment and developing the

tourist industry. The aim was to resolve priorityheritage and environmental problems withinthe context of promoting tourism.

Restoring and enhancing the historical and archaeologicalheritage of Elvas andintegrating it into theenvironment: prospects fortourism


Beneficiary: Câmara Municipal de ElvasComissão Municipal de TurismoRua Isabel María Picão. Apartado 70P-7351 Elvas

Contact: Dra. Elsa GriloTel.: (351-268) 63 97 40Fax: (351-268) 62 90 60

E-mail: [email protected]: 1 January 1997 to 31 March 1999

L I F E 9 6 E N V / P / 6 0 8


Descr ipt ion of theproblem

Elvas' geographical position hasensured it a military role of greatimportance throughout thecenturies, culminating in itsbecoming a stronghold during the17th and 18th centuries,surrounded by major fortificationsand forts such as those of SãoPedro, São Mamede, Piedade (orSão Domingos) and São Francisco.

These forts were in a state ofabandonment. Their externalappearance, some of them coveredwith weeds, made it impossible toimagine the grandeur of thedefensive structure they hadconstituted. Illegal constructionshad been erected in some of them,causing further deterioration. All of them had beenused to dump rubble and rubbish, preventing theiruse as a typical regional resource.

Thus a resource with the potential to attract tourists,especially from Spain, and of great value as part ofthe economic development of a border town, wasgoing to waste.


Even today, the forts are still fulfilling their originalvocation, in a sense, but whereas before they werelook-out posts, they now serve as points from whichto contemplate the surrounding countryside. Builtfor defence, they now blend into Elvas' natural andurban landscape.

Restoration of the forts in their natural contextinvolved the following tasks:

• cleaning up the sites and clearing them ofvegetation;

• demolition of unstable structures;

• consolidation/rebuilding of walled enclosures;

• upgrading and paving of access paths;

• installation of signposts and information panels;

• environmental restoration and integration throughsowing and planting;

• information and dissemination through publicinformation channels, publications, etc.

Results and impact

The project's objectives were achieved withconsiderable success.

It is worth stressing that the restoration of Elvas'historic and archaeological heritage includedelements of environmental integration not previouslytaken into consideration. Attention to thisdimension has resulted in genuine cultural tourism,in line with what has been happening in other townsin the Alentejo.

This project focused on promoting a type of tourismwhich sets out to publicise and spread knowledge ofPortuguese culture in the larger Iberian context, therestored monuments having played a fundamentalrole in the town's military history.

Tourism was developed in a harmonious andbalanced fashion, with the restoration of thedamaged historic and cultural buildings enhancingthe monuments themselves and embellishing theenvironment, enriching people's lives and bringingprosperity to the municipality of Elvas.

The success of the initiative suggests that thisapproach would be applicable to other geographicalareas, other areas of activity and even other types ofproblem, provided a concerted effort is made toinform local people and raise their awareness so as toencourage attitudes and behaviour consonant withthe conservation of, and respect for, the resourcesand potential assets which surround us.


Introduct ion

The Baix Llobregat district is situated at theheart of the Barcelona metropolitan region. Tothe south of this region, in the innermetropolitan fringe around Barcelona, lie theflood plains of the delta and the lower stretchesof the River Llobregat.

This traditionally rich farmland stretches across14 boroughs with a combined population of 730 000 out of the total of over 4 million in thecity.

In this region, farmland, the river and naturalor semi-natural sites must live side-by-side withan urban sprawl, with all the concomitantpopulation pressure and environmental impact.

Crops are grown on approximately 3 500 ha, 2 700 of which were designated as farmland inthe 1976 general metropolitan development plan.The principal crops are fruit and vegetables.


The eastern delta is occupied by major industrialareas, plus residential areas and service industries.

Part of the port of Barcelona is located along thecoastal strip. The only open areas are small marginalplots temporarily given over to farming.

The River Llobregat and its banks are under heavypressure from the roads running alongside them.Riverside vegetation has virtually disappeared and theartificial and generally degraded nature of the banksprevents public use of them as a more or less naturalhabitat.

Less than 50 % of the delta is covered by farmlandand natural habitats. In the lower valley, farmlandand rivers occupy approximately 70 % of the land,alongside urban development, industry andinfrastructure.

Agriculture in this region is semi-urban, shaped by aseries of effects the urban environment has on it.These include: the breaking-up of farmland intosmaller plots; penetration by marginal activitiesunconnected with agriculture; an increase in landprices fuelled by expectations; pollution of the air,water and soil; theft, destruction or deterioration ofagricultural infrastructure; difficult access to thefarming areas; constant expropriations forinfrastructure projects or services, with theconsequent break-up of holdings, etc.

Conservation, improvement and economic promotion of thesuburban agricultural areaaround Barcelona


Beneficiary: Diputación de BarcelonaC/ Londres, 55E-08036 Barcelona

Contact: Enric Llarch i PoyoTel.: (34-93) 402 25 24Fax: (34-93) 402 25 23

E-mail: [email protected] site: http://www.diba.es/parcagrari/

Duration: 1 July 1996 to 1 December 1999

L I F E 9 6 E N V / E / 2 6 4



To solve this problem, a new instrument was neededwith which to conserve farmland and itsenvironmental assets and develop it further, sincefarmland cannot be properly protected unless theconditions are created to make farms economicallyviable.

The first step was to publicise the objectives of theprogramme amongst the various farmingassociations and cooperatives in the region, the 14local councils responsible for the area and theregional government's departments of agriculture,public works and town and country planning.

The project initially met with reticence on the partof farmers, but this was overcome as the workadvanced. Today the agricultural park has signedcooperation agreements with 90 % of the region'scooperatives.

For a full diagnosis of the area, 12 sectoral studiesand a survey of the farming sector were conducted toidentify priority areas for action and produce amanagement and development plan and a specialurban development plan.

Throughout the project's implementation,demonstration projects and pilot tests wereconducted and grants were awarded, notably torecover traditional farming practices, promoteintegrated tomato growing, pay towards cratesbearing the logos of the LIFE programme and of theagricultural park, create and promote the Productofresco del Parque Agrario del Baix Llobregat (Freshproduce of the Baix Llobregat Agricultural Park)mark, and promote and implement a rural watchplan to improve the security of farmers and crops inthe area.

The conclusions of the diagnosis (studies andsurveys) and the experience gained from the pilottests in the first phase formed the basis for the twomost important documents in the project: the

management and development plan and the specialurban development plan.

The management and development plan set thepriorities for action in the agricultural sector, interms both of agricultural infrastructure and ofsectoral projects.

The special urban development plan set out thebroad lines of urban development to consolidate orreform the infrastructure vital for developingagriculture (roads, water mains, etc.).

Results and impact

The agricultural park has been the key, decisivefactor in finding a way out of the severe crisisafflicting semi-urban agriculture in the BaixLlobregat region, where disenchantment had creptinto the industry in recent years as it faced a host ofproblems day after day and its strength to resolvethem was sapped by the scale and diversity of thedifficulties.

The excellent economic rents which this farmlandcould command were not being fully achieved due tocompetition from other land further away but withlower production costs. At the same time, heavypressure from urban development was stifling anyfuture prospects.

With aid from the LIFE programme, the agriculturalpark has restored the confidence of the vast majorityof farmers and generated impetus to deliver qualityproduce at low environmental cost. New cooperativesand the arrival of young farmers in the industry aresure signs of the programme's success.

Society at large, in turn, has recovered a green beltwhich was in danger of disappearing. This will bepreserved and will continue to fulfil itsenvironmental functions as long as they are needed.


Introduct ion

The programme covered Aranjuez, thesouthernmost municipality of the Madridregion, extending over more than 19 000 ha onthe frontier with La Mancha. Aranjuez has apopulation of 41 000 and attracts over a millionvisitors every year. It is in the middle of an areaof sparsely populated villages, most of themgrowing dryland crops.

The River Tagus is the backbone of the Aranjuezregion. In this part of the central Spanishtableland, the waters of the Tagus have createdmagnificent water meadows with a uniqueenclave of palaces and historic gardens. Inaddition to the immense, well-knownarchitectural heritage of Aranjuez, twoprotected sites of great interest are located inthe municipality: the largest butterfly reserve inEurope and Lake Ontígola, the reservoir createdin the 16th century to irrigate the royal gardens.


Over the centuries human intervention at this richly-endowed site formed a literal oasis of agriculturalproductivity and biodiversity in the Castiliantableland. Two major additions to this closely-integrated complex are the royal gardens and theextensive market gardens, which used to produce an

extraordinary variety of fruit, vegetables and livestock,perfectly adapted to the natural local conditions.

The decline in agricultural activity which began inthe late 1960s triggered a process of abandonmentand deterioration of Aranjuez as a whole. Thewaning of agriculture not only damaged the localeconomy but also hit with full force the immensehistorical and natural heritage so closely linked toactivity in these water meadows. Dozens ofkilometres of avenues between centuries-old treeswere left to deteriorate through disuse and neglect.

The social situation in the municipality was alsodeteriorating sharply, with unemployment above theregional average and astronomical in comparisonwith the Community rate.

Rehabilitation of the urban environment andbiodiversity of Aranjuez


Beneficiary: Ayuntamiento de AranjuezPl. de la Constitución, s/nE-28300 Aranjuez (Madrid)

Contact: José María CepedaTel.: (34-91) 809 03 63Fax: (34-91) 892 32 57

E-mail: [email protected]: 1 January 1997 to 1 July 2000

L I F E 9 6 E N V / E / 3 0 8


Despite this abandonment, the natural environmentin Aranjuez is exceptionally beautiful and the basicnatural resources on which this prodigious complexwas built have survived virtually intact. The basicstructures of the river, water meadows, groves andgardens remain untouched, and this project set outto use them as a springboard for recovery andrevitalisation.


The objective of this programme to restore thebiodiversity of Aranjuez was to reverse thisdownward trend and implement a package of viablemeasures, setting an example and tailored to localconditions, as the first steps on the road torehabilitation of this richly-endowed site.

Another benefit of the programme was that it wouldrestore the agricultural landscape as a typicalcharacteristic complementing the urban environmentand natural habitats.

Action focused on two of Aranjuez's main features –the groves and the market gardens – and onrestoration of the traditional links between them,with the town itself and with its monuments.Following this basic approach, the project had twogeneral objectives.

1. Rehabilitation of the urban environment, centredon rehabilitation of the groves, the historicalavenues owned by the municipal and regionalauthorities, recovering their biological, landscape,historical and cultural value and harnessing theirpotential for use by the local population andtourists. This action will help provide training andjobs for a good number of Aranjuez's inhabitants.

2. Reintroduction of the extraordinary biodiversitywhich Aranjuez's natural environment supportedin the past, and could potentially support infuture. The project focused on reintroducingwidely-diversified fruit and vegetable farming inthe market gardens and on replanting andrenovating the groves. Another objective was tocreate links between this agriculture andconsumers in order to promote traditional crops.Finally, to close the cycle cleanly, the organicwaste would be composted and recycled.

Results and impact

The project successfully reversed the degradation anddeterioration of the biodiversity not only ofAranjuez's natural systems but also of its agriculture.This progress was achieved partly by taking specificaction and partly by instilling in the local populationand socioeconomic circles concerned a new way oflooking at, using and benefiting from their richnatural heritage and providing new sources of jobsbased on local produce.

It has brought Aranjuez closer to its water meadows.This entailed combining action of various kinds:rehabilitating the routes connecting the centre withthe meadows, generating new activities attractinginhabitants and encouraging them to put down rootsin the town, and environmental education schemesto raise public awareness of local resources andproduce.

As regards the urban environment, the projectsucceeded in defining an action programme settingpriorities for investment in, and rigorousmanagement of, the natural and urban heritage.

As regards agriculture, the objective was to encouragea shift towards production of and demand fortraditional produce. Various measures were taken toachieve this, including gradual conversion of farmsand the establishment of consumer networksproviding outlets making production of these cropsviable, all backed up by the newly created 'Aranjueznatural' mark.

Another objective was to improve the nutrient cycleby recovering and composting plant waste andreturning it to the soil. Restoration of this biologicalcycle solves some of the current problems, forexample by providing an outlet for the enormousvolume of plant waste from the gardens, streets andmarket gardens and improving the organic quality ofthe currently severely depleted soil.


Introduct ion

Fuendetodos, birthplace of the painter andengraver Francisco de Goya (1746-1828), situated44 km from Zaragoza, is a small villageendeavouring to tap into new resources fromcultural tourism in order to tackle the problemsit is facing, notably the decline of traditionalfarming, and depopulation caused by a lack ofthe services people require in today's society.

Fuendetodos enjoys a rich natural setting, itsbiodiversity enhanced by various plantcommunities. The village also boasts importantcultural sites: Goya's house, an engravingmuseum housing original work by the artist, theIgnacio Zuloaga exhibition hall and anengraving workshop.


To improve its economic and social situation,Fuendetodos needed to take a series of steps toenhance its natural and cultural heritage by makingenvironmentally-sound use of the natural resourcesof its Mediterranean brush landscape and bycapitalising on the life and work of Goya.


The 'Goya's 250th anniversary: nature inFuendetodos' project comprised a series of

demonstration and promotion activities, along withtechnical assistance to the local authorities, toencourage integration of the environmentaldimension into land-use and urban planning.

This involved the following:

• the 'Goya trails' network of local paths (nineroutes covering 114 km), signposting andrestoration of educational paths, creation ofeducational paths and restoration of vantage-pointstructures as integral parts of the network of localpaths;

• restoration and educational presentation ofstructures belonging to the snow and stoneindustries of the past;

• rehabilitation of environmentally damaged areas(slag heaps, roadsides, Parque de la Balsa), plantingof 4 000 native plants;

• creation of a nature hostel;

• setting-up of an educational nature hall, for use byprimary and secondary schools, specific groups ofvisitors, etc., containing material on the localfauna and flora and educational material teachingrespect for the environment;

• project publicity (presentations and inaugurations,seminars, attendance at shows, media, printing of61 000 brochures, etc.).

Results and impact

The project achieved its objective of integrating theenvironmental dimension into local land-use planning.

Goya's 250th anniversary: nature in Fuendetodos

Total eligible cost: EUR 451 598.24LIFE contribution: EUR 225 799

Beneficiary: Ayuntamiento de Fuendetodos(Zaragoza)C/ Zuloaga, nº 24E-50142 Fuendetodos (Zaragoza)

Contact: Joaquín Gimeno (Mayor)Tel.: (34-976) 14 38 01Fax: (34-976) 14 38 01

E-mail: [email protected]: 1 September 1997 to 31 December

1999.

L I F E 9 7 E N V / E / 3 0 4


The village managed to diversify itseconomy by creating a sustainabledevelopment model which organised itsvarious sectors of activity around thedevelopment of new environment-related tourist activities to create newjobs.

The area's natural heritage wasconserved thanks to a set of educationaland public information measures andhorizontal instruments. These helpedpublicise its wealth while protecting itagainst the growing number of visitingtourists.

A network of local paths wasestablished, comprising nine routescovering a total of 114 km. All the pathswere properly signposted andprovided with explanatorypanels.

Restoration work was carried outon important heritage featuresalong the paths, such as themedieval spring and the stoneand lime quarries, which formcomplementary attractions inthe environmental setting.

Environmentally-damaged localareas were rehabilitated by theplanting of 4 000 plants of nativespecies.

Green filtering was introducedto treat waste water.

Visitor numbers to Fuendetodoswere maintained and evenincreased over previous years (30 000 visitors a year), which will provide new jobs in themanagement of nature activitiesand in local development.


Introduct ion

The Isle of Wight Centre for the CoastalEnvironment within the Isle of Wight Council,UK, has been leading a three-year projectentitled 'Coastal change, climate and instability'with the support of the European Commission'sLIFE environment programme. The projectbrought together a team of internationalpartners from France, Italy and Ireland,acknowledged experts in the fields of coastal,geotechnical and archaeological studies, toundertake research on three linked tasks in thefields of coastal and climate change.

Research has been undertaken on how palaeo-environmental evidence can assist in providingan improved understanding of coastal changeand how unstable ground can be managed, witha view to the predicted impacts of climatechange on urban instability sites in both coastaland mountainous locations throughout Europe.


The three project tasks were as follows:

• to demonstrate the value of using archaeologicalevidence to predict the nature, scale and pace ofcoastal change;

• to study the relationship between rainfall,groundwater, erosion and ground movements,which will assist in developing a more reliablemethodology for landslide forecasting and riskassessments in developed coastal andmountainous areas;

• to develop risk assessment advice and a code ofpractice for decision-makers and other groupsconcerned with urban landslide areas.

The three tasks, and the hazards they arequantifying, are closely linked with respect to long-term responses to rising sea level and predictedshort-term changes in climatic and weather patterns.The aim of the project was therefore to examine howpredicted climate change may affect unstable coastaland mountainous areas and to assist in preparing forsuch changes.


For the archaeological task of the project, partners inFrance, Ireland and the UK have revealed thepotential contribution of archaeological (palaeo-environmental) evidence to assist in interpretation ofthe nature, scale and pace of coastal change.

• In the UK, research in the Solent estuary wasjointly undertaken by the Isle of Wight Council's

Coastal change, climate and instability

Total eligible cost: EUR 1 220 248.34LIFE contribution: EUR 610 124.17

Beneficiary: Coastal Manager / Project OfficerIsle of Wight Centre for the CoastalEnvironmentDirectorate of DevelopmentCounty HallNewport PO30 1UDIsle of WightUnited Kingdom

Contact: Mr Robin McInnes / Miss JennyJakeways

Tel.: (44-1983) 82 37 70Fax: (44-1983) 82 37 07

E-mail: [email protected]: 1 October 1997 to 1 October 2000

L I F E 9 7 E N V / U K / 5 1 0


Archaeology and Historic Environment Service,the Hampshire and Wight Trust for MaritimeArchaeology and the University of Southampton'sSchool of Ocean and Earth Science.

• In Ireland, the Shannon estuary, the lakelandregions and the harbours of Dublin, Cork andWaterford were investigated by the Discoveryprogramme.

• In France, the University of Bordeaux studied sitesof long-term coastal change around the Girondeestuary and along the North Medoc coast.

For the two geotechnical tasks, teams from the UK,France and Italy brought a range of experience andparticular areas of geotechnical expertise to theproject. Best practice advice in terms of instabilitymanagement is an output of their research.

• In the UK, the Isle of Wight Centre for theCoastal Environment, and their consultants High-Point Rendel, studied areas of coastal instability onthe Isle of Wight (the Ventnor undercliff, AftonDown and Sandown Bay cliffs), as well asinstability sites at Lyme Regis in Dorset, Barton-on-Sea in Hampshire, Overstrand in Norfolk, andScarborough and Robin Hood's Bay in NorthYorkshire.

• In Italy, IRPI (the National Research Council)investigated coastal landslides at the village ofSirolo and the town of Grottammare on theAdriatic coast, illustrating instability arising from arange of factors including seismicity.

• In France, BRGM (based in Marseille) offeredtheir expertise in the form of national hazardmonitoring and management, with detailedinstability case-study sites at Roquevaire nearMarseille, Criel-sur-Mer near Dieppe, Salins-les-Bains near Dijon, Léaz near Geneva andSéchilienne near Grenoble.

Results and impact

The project has produced a detailed reportof landslide risk and instabilitymanagement throughout each partnercountry and across the EU, stressing theimportance of understanding theimplications of present and future coastaland climatic change. This report includesintroductory information on instability andarchaeology and a review of the varyinglegislative and administrative arrangementsin each of the partner countries, to providethe reader with the background to drawtransferable 'lessons learnt' and valuableexperience from the project case-study areasacross Europe. In addition to the final

report and the layman's summary document, a 'Bestpractice guide' and 'Preferred approach to instabilityin urban areas' have been produced to disseminatethe project results to both non-technical andtechnical audiences.

The 'Best practice guide for urban instability'provides advice and information for a variety of usergroups affected by urban landslides, includingdecision-makers (e.g. local authorities), homeowners,builders and architects, insurance companies andestate agents. The guide includes understandable andaccessible information on landslide risk andmanagement, and practical advice on reducing therisks and impacts of instability.

The project outputs are being disseminated at local,national and international levels. In addition, a seriesof technical papers are being published and a highprofile occupied at international and nationalconferences in the fields of instability, palaeo-environmental archaeology and coastal change todisseminate the project to practitioners andresearchers, including instability engineers, coastalplanners and managers, local authorities and fieldleaders across Europe and internationally.


Introduct ion

This project has set out to enhance themonitoring of sustainable forestry policies bydemonstrating practical and effective methodsof assessment. Special emphasis will be given tothe validity, accuracy and cost-effectiveness ofthe methods used. The project is being carriedout by a partnership of forestry organisations inSweden, Denmark, Germany, Finland andFrance.

The project aims to support the individualcountries and the Commission in their work onsustainable forestry.


Almost every European country has found itselfhaving to deal with new circumstances when revisingits forestry policy in recent years. Some countrieshave defined new indicators to gauge thesustainability of their forestry stocks. However, someof these indicators are not operational, and in severalinstances further indicators are required. Some ofthe indicators that are operational cannot be assessedbecause data collection methods are still lacking orbecause existing methods are too costly. The problemis that countries need to act now to adapt theirmonitoring methods to the new forestry policies.

This is a common European challenge, but also anopportunity to achieve voluntary coordination beforeeach country adopts its own exclusive system.


The project is a practical response from forestry andenvironmental authorities to the call forsustainability expressed in several pan-European fora on sustainable forestry. It is a joint exercisecarried out by five EU countries and led by theSwedish beneficiary, the Swedish National Board ofForestry.

In the first phase, the participants proposedindicators, compared them and selected thoseappropriate for their own national context. Thepartners assessed 27 quantitative indicators. Variouscriteria and indicators were adopted by the expertsfor use within the pan-European process.

In the current execution phase, each country isassessing the selected indicators in its demonstrationareas. Organisations including environmental andagricultural authorities, forest owners' associationsand environmental NGOs have been invited toparticipate in this process. Activities include theimplementation, adaptation and development ofmonitoring methods to meet the requirements ofthe revised forestry policies.

Demonstration of methods of monitoring sustainableforestry


Beneficiary: National Board of ForestryS-55182 Jönköping

Contact: Erik SollanderTel.: (46-36) 15 56 00Fax: (46-36) 16 61 70

E-mail: [email protected] site: http://www.svo.se/eng/life/

default.htmDuration: 1 September 1998 to 31 December

2001

L I F E 9 8 E N V / S W E / 4 7 8


The final phase will begin in the autumn of 2001. Itwill include a workshop evaluation of the strengthsand weaknesses of the methods employed. Thisworkshop will take the results of the demonstrationsas the basis for a discussion on the degree ofsustainability achieved.

The project will deliver five different nationalmonitoring arrangements, along with gap analysesidentifying further development requirements, andthe national experiences will be compared. Theproject will also stimulate discussion andunderstanding of the subject in the relevantEuropean institutions, in the Member States and insome neighbouring countries. This will lend supportto the Commission's work on a European forestrystrategy and will help it obtain forestry statistics thatare comparable throughout Europe.

Results and impact

The forests in the five participating countriesrepresent more than 71 % of the total forest area ofthe Community. Forests and the forestry industryprovide major services to the Community butforestry may also cause environmental damage. Thisproject will provide tools to monitor such effects.

The project aims not only to enhance, coordinateand complement a wide range of activities but also todisseminate current monitoring methods and thosewhich will be validated in the near future betweenthe partner countries.

The project should lead to monitoring arrangementswhich cover all aspects of sustainable forestry in theregions concerned. A comparison of thesemonitoring arrangements will improve ourunderstanding of what sustainable forestry means inthe European Union. The results will assist theEuropean Commission in its work on a strategy forsustainable forestry.


The aim of the 'Nature in the garden' environmentproject is to promote the sustainable and ecologicaldevelopment of green spaces in built-up areas inLower Austria: in private gardens as well as publicgreen spaces. The aim is to foster and develop thetrend towards gardens as natural recreational areas,health-giving spaces and oases of natureconservation.

The significance of the nature garden project stemsfrom the fact that in Lower Austria there are 326 000gardens and two-thirds of the population usegardens. The total area of green spaces and gardens is15 000 ha. The project is being funded largely by theLAND and the LIFE Environment programme and isgoverned by the principles of Agenda 21 andCommunity environment policy. The followingobjectives are to be achieved over a total of five years:

• a 30 % reduction in the use of synthetic pesticides,mineral fertilisers and peat products (based on1999 figures of 3 000 tonnes of mineral fertilisersper year, 5 000 tonnes of peat per year and 70 000tonnes of active pesticide ingredients per year);

• increased use of robust indigenous plants andseeds;

— a more environmentally-friendly range of gardenproducts in 'partner enterprises';

— increased environmental awareness;

— upgrading of garden/green areas as leisurespaces.

Project partners are the coordinating office forenvironmental protection, the regional agriculturalauthorities and environmental consultants. Inimplementing the project, there is close cooperationwith local authorities, firms, initiatives, schools,nursery schools and the media.

Mix of measures and pro ject team

The nature garden project is being run using themulti-project management method withdevelopment oriented planning by a core team ofaround eight people, in which the main cooperationand implementation partners are represented. Thecoordination meetings are held every two to threeweeks, activities are summarised, future measures areupdated and questions relating to division ofresponsibilities and funding are settled.

The mix of measures comprises eight fields:

1. bases and monitoring of performance (specialiststudies, surveys, etc.);

2. advice for private gardens (garden hotline, on-sitegarden advice, talks for garden owners, naturegarden badge for natural gardens);

3. training, care and involvement of garden experts(vocational schools, training of specialists,specialist symposia);

4. public information (pictures and articles in massmedia, newspapers and radio);

Nature in the garden


Beneficiary: Amt der NÖ LandersregierungAbteilung RU4-Koordinierungsstellefür UmweltschutzLandhausplatz 1A-3109 St. Pölten

Contact: Peter SantnerTel.: (43-2742) 200 52 71Fax: (43-2742) 200 52 80

E-mail: [email protected] site: http://www.noel.gv.at/service/RU/

RU4/index.htmDuration: 1 February 1999 to 1 August 2003

L I F E 9 9 E N V / A / 3 9 6


5. events (garden bus, garden programmes at around10 fairs each year, festivals, award ceremonies);

6. own media (garden guide with six informationleaflets on specific topics every year, action folder,nature garden book, posters, etc.);

7. model municipalities and show gardens (creationof a network);

8. market and partners: promotion and advertising ofthe nature garden range of garden suppliers.

Project phases

The five-year project begins with a test phase, inwhich initial experiences are collected and expandedon in the three-year implementation phase. The finalevaluation and dissemination of results is scheduledfrom the fifth year.

Inter im results ( June 2000)

This year the action is being further expandedbecause of the great interest (68 % want moreinformation) and positive feedback (73 % find theaction generally very good or good), with the accentnow on herbs and vegetables – 'Delicious: crunchyvegetables and fresh herbs' (in 1999 the slogan was'Now your meadow is full of flowers').

Even in the first season (April-September 1999) theNÖ (Lower Austria) garden line had to deal with 2 400 enquiries. The number of on-the-spotconsultations given by environmental consultantsand the local agricultural authorities is increasing allthe time: while it was 670 in the 1999season, this year the record level of 530consultations was reached as early asthe end of April. As part of thisscheme, 320 private gardens wereawarded the coveted nature gardenbadge for ecological and naturalgardening.

Moreover, it has so far been possible torecruit 28 market gardens as partnerfirms (list on request) and they offerenvironmentally-friendly gardeningaids, suitable plants and seeds. Theorganic seed packets given out free ofcharge as part of the action are verypopular with garden owners. Last year12 000 meadow flower mixtures weredistributed, this year seeds for spinach,

radishes and salad rockets and thyme cuttings andherb seasoning are being given out.

The following written information has appeared sofar:

• garden guides (binder with complementarysubscription) with information leaflets on thetopics of nature gardening, Christmas trees andcandle scents, list of partner firms, vegetables,herbs, compost heaps;

• further information leaflets planned on gardenplanning, layout and care (summer) as well as onshrubs, trees and hedges (autumn);

• the book Naturgarten – der sanfte Weg zumGartenglück (Nature Garden – The gentle way togardening pleasure) by Werner Gamerith;

• posters, project folders, project advertisements, etc.

In model municipalities (such as Baden, Eschenauand Amstetten), there are demonstrations of howcontributions can be made to natural gardening evenat municipal level. The first show gardens have beenopened in the Sparkassenpark St Pölten, in thePropstei Eisgarn im Waldviertel and in Randegg imMostviertel ('Kräuterlebnis Hochperwarth'). Thenetwork is to be expanded as the project proceedsand publicised through garden guides and gardenexcursions.

The project is also enlivened by the many gardenfestivals held everywhere in Lower Austria, includingEschenau, Bad Fischau and the 'Noah's Ark' showgarden in Schiltern. Also very popular are theentertaining tips given in the course of fairs, gamesof chance or information days by the garden buswhich tours the whole of Lower Austria.


u r b a n


Despite the fact that nature conservation,landscape care and sustainable regionaldevelopment are generally accepted asimportant social themes, they are seldomintegrated in the policies of local authorities.

Socially, there is a great need to createmeaningful employment for semi- and unskilledworkers.

The open spaces in the sphere of influence ofBrussels, the capital of Europe, are underconstant heavy pressure from urbanisation.

In our economic order ideas like sustainabilitycontinue to take second place behind tendenciestowards dedicated land use and purely financialconsiderations of capital gain.

Methodology appl ied and pro jectobject ives

The LIFE project has paid heed to the problems ofurbanisation. In the methodology applied, muchweight has been given to:

• informing and sensitising the political and socialplayers concerned;

• developing activities which will make the openspaces more economically viable as acounterweight to urbanisation;

• creating or reinforcing emotional attachments tothe locality;

• establishing structural cooperative links betweenthe authorities and the players to guarantee theresults of the project into the future;

• demonstration projects as a concrete means ofshowing how the abstract objectives can be putinto practice.

Promotion of a regional landscape in the shadow ofthe capital of Europe

Total budget: EUR 1 679 851.35LIFE contribution: EUR 735 111.04 (43.76 %)

Beneficiary: EconetFelix Roggemanskaai 8B-1501 Halle

Contact: Johan De BeuleTel.: (32-2) 356 56 56Fax: (32-2) 356 38 39

E-mail: [email protected]: 1 April 1995 to 1 April 1997

L I F E 9 5 E N V / B / 1 8 4

u r b a n p r o j e c t s6 2

This has been translated into a number of specificproject objectives:

• setting up a regional landscape associationproviding a structure for all nature conservationgroups, most agricultural and tourist organisationsand at least 10 local authorities to cooperate onsustainable regional development;

• establishing landscape as the foundation forsustainable regional development by drawing upmunicipal nature development plans for at leastthree municipal authorities; substantiallyincreasing the budgets for naturedevelopment/landscape care in the municipalbudgets in the region; preparing and carrying outplans on a regional scale for rehabilitating sunkenpaths and creating a network of watering pondsfor livestock;

• developing tourism in a sustainable,environmentally friendly and socially acceptableway by promoting:

— regular tourist trips on the Brussels-Charleroicanal

— cycle touring;

• developing implementation plans for achievingother objectives.

Last ing results two years afterthe end of the pro ject

The promoter's philosophy for achieving lastingresults was to set up partnerships with specialistbodies for tackling the project objectives and toorganise 'spin-offs' able to carry on under their ownsteam after the end of the project itself.

At the moment, two years after the end of theproject, the Zenne, Zuun and Zoniën RegionalLandscape Association is a separate legal structurerecognised by the Flemish Government with, asmembers, all the social players concerned plus theFlemish Brabant provincial authority and 13municipalities. The recognition of the regionallandscape association guarantees structural annualfinancing of around EUR 175 000 and there arecurrently three members of staff employed.

Canal tourism is organised in the non-profit-makingassociations Kanaaltochten Brabant and Brussels byWater, in which the provincial government andvarious municipal authorities are participating. Some20 000 tourists now visit the regional landscape in aneco-friendly way every year on the boat trips.

In the Velotheek non-profit-making association asystem has been developed in which bicycles aremade available to tourism operators under amaintenance contract in order to rent them totourists. Various route-linked recreation projects (forcyclists, ramblers, horseriders, mountain-bikers) arebeing developed or carried out.

Very many projects are being implemented to boostthe landscape. As regards the project objectives,nature development plans have been drawn up in allmunicipalities in the region (and now they are beingcarried out year by year). This is increasing the shareof landscape care/nature development annually inthe various budgets. The promoter has put in about80 pools and a new environment-friendly procedurehas been developed for stabilising sunken paths.Some 30 km of sunken paths have already beenrestored in this way.

One of the most important results of the LIFEproject is the creation of jobs for semi- and unskilledworkers. At the moment, the promoter together witha number of local authorities is employing about 30semi- and unskilled workers full-time in inter-municipality nature and landscape teams and a socialworkplace. Fifty or sixty unemployed people a yearare being trained to be all-round environmentalworkers and taken to work. About 15 people areemployed full-time on the management side or aslandscape architects for the preparation of naturedevelopment projects.



This project set out to demonstrate that it isperfectly possible to build a house usingsecondary raw materials. The aim was to showthe parties involved, their connections andcontacts that it is possible, using selectedmaterials and techniques, to build quality homesat a reasonable cost and geared specificallytowards eventual dismantling and reuse. Inaddition to winning the acceptance of the partiesinvolved, a secondary objective was to win over(potential) purchasers and to gather broadersupport from society in general, includingstandardisation bodies and credit institutions.

The main project criterion was to address allaspects of sustainable construction, but with aparticular focus on integral chain managementof materials. As for the other aspects ofsustainable construction, the basic principle wasthat the Respect-houses would have to complywith the Eco ambition level of the NationalHouse-Building Regulations (Nationale PakketWoningbouw). At this particular ambition level,all fixed measures and 25 % of the variablemeasures of the National House-BuildingRegulations have to be implemented.

Pr inc ip les

The focus on integral chain management translatedinto five working principles.

• Construction of the Respect-houses should notinvolve the generation of construction ordemolition waste (prevention).

• Reuse of construction and demolition wasteshould be promoted (use of materials).

• Reuse of construction materials and componentsshould be promoted (reuse of products).

• Construction materials, components andtechniques should be used in such a way that thehouse can be dismantled and the materials reused.

• The use of environmentally-unfriendly materialsand substances should be avoided.


The systems employed are as indicated below.

1. A system designed especially for the Respect-houseseparates load-bearing elements and fixtures.Known as the 'Bestcon flex system', it comprises:

• the Bestcon system for floors and walls – this isa prefabricated concrete shell which can bedismantled and reused;

• flexible panel walls on the first floor, allowingthe space to be divided up easily;

• adherence to the requirement of 'separation ofload-bearing elements and fixtures'.Internal repartitioning and the relocation ofpipes and wires is possible without damagingthe floor.

• The TIARA connection in the kitchen, givinggreater flexibility in the connection of kitchenappliances.

• The WISA water-saving toilet system, enablingthe toilet to be flushed with small quantities ofwater and ensuring effective discharge into thesewer system.

The Respect-house: respecting man and the environment


Beneficiary: IBC – weg 2Postbus 75680 AA BestNetherlands

Contact: L. van de VenTel.: (31-499) 36 85 07Fax: (31-499) 36 85 07

E-mail: [email protected]: 1 January 1996 to 1 April 1999

L I F E 9 5 E N V / N L / 3 0 8


Other solutions are:

2. Straightforward reuse ofconstruction components(reuse of products):

• framework made ofreclaimed wood,

• roof construction: flatroof made of reclaimedrafters.

3. Construction materialswhich contain recycledmaterial and can beusefully re-employed when the house reaches theend of its life:

• window/door frames made of reclaimed wood,• cellulose insulation, made of recycled paper,• chipboard with low formaldehyde content, for

internal walls,• concrete with the highest possible percentage of

concrete granulate,• concrete with the gravel replaced by Lytag (fly

ash aggregate),• aerated concrete, with sand replaced as much as

possible by recycled aerated concrete,• PVC waste pipes with a centre layer of recycled

PVC,• PVC guttering with a centre layer of recycled

PVC,• concrete slabs with a particular granulate

percentage,• brick mortar with more lime than usual, so that

the bricks may be reused.

4. Durable materials which have low environmentalimpact and can be usefully re-employed when thehouse reaches the end of its life, and have apositive effect on the indoor environment:

• PPC for internal waste pipes,• the truss of the dome-shaped roof is made of

durable wood,• the wall coating is ready for papering,• internal doors are filled with cardboard,• untreated Western Red Cedar is used as an

external wall cladding on the first floor.

An anhydrite screed is used. This is made fromFGD gypsum, a waste product deriving from thedesulphurisation of flue gas in power stations.Anhydrite cannot be reused. To ensure that theconcrete floor beneath the anhydrite remainsrecyclable, the two are kept apart by a separatinglayer.

Durat ion

Ten houses were built as Respect-houses in themunicipality of Tilburg (as part of a larger 40-houseproject). Work proceeded according to the followingschedule:

• preparation January 1996 to September1996

• planning October 1996 to March 1997• construction September 1997 to April 1998• demonstration April 1998 to October 1998

Conclus ion

The Respect-houses provided an opportunity to carryout an exemplary building project. Despite a numberof practical sticking points during the constructionphase, it proved that reuse of building materials is apractical option. We expect the notion of the Respect-house to catch on and be more widely applied infuture. Provided a number of preconditions are met,there appears to be considerable scope for limitingthe production of waste by using secondary rawmaterials in construction.

It also proved possible to build houses without goingagainst the wishes and requirements of purchasers.Respect for the environment can thus easily go handin hand with people's personal preferences.


Introduct ion

The PCG or Plataforma Ciudad Global (GlobalCity Platform) is an interactive informationsystem for compiling data on the currentsituation and functioning of a municipality(environmental, urban, social and economicdata, and data on the rural and naturalenvironment), presenting those data byterritorial unit and facilitating their analysis.

The PCG uses the latest technologies(geographical information systems and theInternet) as a support for presentinginformation in an attractive and innovativefashion and for facilitating access, consultationand analysis. This will encourage stakeholders totake part in compiling, interpreting andforwarding such information.

The PCG is a tool for small and medium-sizedmunicipalities to help them develop and applyAgenda 21 policies locally, and generally todevise and implement policies aimed atsustainability.


There is currently no way of ensuring that theinformation available in a municipality reaches itsusers and is used to plan and carry out actionleading to sustainability. The PCG was designed toremedy that situation.

The basis of this project was a new communicationmodel which seeks to make good the deficiencies ofthe current model, which has proved manifestlyinadequate.

Creation of an information platform for urban andenvironmental planning andmanagement in municipalities,open to media participation


Beneficiary: Institut Catalá de Tecnologia. CEIAC/ Ciutat de Granada, 131E-08018 Barcelona

Contact: Joana Diaz i PontTel.: (34-93) 485 85 85/90Fax: (34-93) 485 85 88

E-mail: [email protected] site: http://www.ictnet.es/terrabit/

castella/ciutat/pcgims.htmlDuration: 1 November 1996 to 20 March 1999

L I F E 9 6 E N V / E / 2 8 4


The platform was designed essentially as a tool forurban management and planning, offering municipaltechnicians and decision-makers an overall picture ofthe situation they are dealing with and enabling themto perform joint analyses on data from different fields(social, urbanistic, environmental, economic, etc.). Suchglobal analysis is of great importance when studyingthe possible causes of environmental problems or theeffects of measures taken, and when devisingmunicipal policies geared towards sustainability.

The PCG has been designed with two types of userin mind: the municipal team responsible for policyand decision-making, and citizens.

Two versions of the application have been designedwith a view to satisfying the practical needs of thesetwo user groups: the local version and the Internetversion.


The local version of the PCG (PCG-L) is installed onthe local network of the town hall and access isrestricted to municipal staff. It was first installed as apilot scheme in the town hall of Manlleu.

The PCG-L was designed to take account of its users'needs in terms both of the information it containsand of the way the tool functions, by incorporating,for example:

• versatility of content: the informationrequirements of a town hall will vary according tothe measures and projects it is implementing; thetool therefore allows the information it containsto be easily altered and expanded;

• adaptation to the way the team works: a majoreffort was made to adapt the procedures forintroducing and maintaining the informationcontained in the PCG-L to the work routines usedin the town hall, by integrating the PCG-L to alarge extent into existing office automationsystems;

• user-friendliness: using the tool does not requireintensive training.

The Global City Platform is basically a tool forrepresenting, analysing and disseminating the actualsituation of a municipality, while at the same timegathering the various interpretations and opinions ofits citizens on that situation.

The Internet version is organised in two majorblocks: 'Find out' and 'Give your views'. The firstcontains all the addresses which PCG users mayaccess to obtain information about theirmunicipality; the second offers interactive tools foropinion and debate (discussion forum and electronicmail with the town hall).

Apart from the platform, which is the main address,the 'Find out' block contains other sections such as:'Manlleu in figures' (a calculator of overall figures forManlleu, enabling users to calculate their own ratiosand indices); documents relating to sustainability,green calculators (links to tools to calculate waterconsumption, CO

2emissions, etc.) and other

interesting links.

Results and impact

The policy-makers and technical employees of themunicipality now have access to an updatable systemwhich provides them with structured information onthe various elements which determine the way atown operates: its economy, society, the urbanenvironment, the environmental situation and therural and natural environment.

This is a highly useful tool for both dailymanagement and longer-term planning. The systemgathers data on the situation and trends in themunicipality and enables political and technicalstrategies to be drawn up to correct negative trendsand to improve still further the results of positivetrends.

In addition, the possibility which the platform offersof superposing and interrelating data makes itpossible to pinpoint causal links which without thiscapacity to integrate information would beapprehended only with difficulty.

For students and technicians of the urban system,the platform provides up-to-date and detailedinformation for their work and makes it possible toassess and draw conclusions about the way themunicipality is operating and improvements whichcould be made.

The platform's concentration and computerisedorganisation of data greatly facilitates the task ofinformation gathering for this user group. Theinformation can be copied and processed, and takenby users to produce analyses and maps for their ownrequirements.


Introduct ion

The aim of the project was to implementenvironmental policies in local urban planningby developing methods which createenvironmentally-sound local administration andgovernment.

The main task was to demonstrate a series ofmeasures supporting sustainable developmentin an area (30 000 inhabitants) of centralCopenhagen, Denmark, through cooperationbetween the local district council and grass-roots organisations. The project delivered amanual, which can be used to disseminatepractical results and experience with recyclingand reuse.


Until recently, only smaller municipalities andcommunities tended to adopt sustainabledevelopment policies. By contrast, large urbanadministrations have been less geared towardsimplementing policies that demand a bottom-upstrategy and the active participation of local players.

Most of Europe's population live in urban areas,which account for the lion's share of resourceconsumption, pollution and waste. It is essential, then,that sustainable development becomes a concern ofurban government. A step in this direction was takenin the 1990s, when experiments involving localadministration of large urban areas were carried outall over Europe. The strength of local administration isthat the units are smaller, more efficient, lessbureaucratic and closer to local residents.

Building the eco-city: an environmentally-soundapproach to localadministration throughcooperation between the localauthorities and the localcommunity


Beneficiary: District Council of Inner NørrebroPostboks 2238Sjællandgade 38DK-2200 Copenhagen N

Contact: Nathalie MarstrandTel.: (45) 35 30 66 34Fax: (45) 35 30 66 99

E-mail: [email protected] site: http://www.ecocity.dk

Duration: 1 February 1997 to 31 January 2000

L I F E 9 7 E N V / D K / 3 4 4



The ECO-city 97–99 project was a demonstrationmodel for the development of an environmentalurban district. The project consisted of several eco-improvement actions and was based on new forms ofcooperation between grass-roots organisations andthe district council, increased involvement of thelocal community and a change in social behaviour.The goal was increased environmental awareness andshared responsibility for sustainable development indensely populated urban areas. The project involvedcollaboration between two local urban districts:Indre Nørrebro, Copenhagen, Denmark, andLundby, Gothenburg, Sweden.

The eco-city project supported a wide variety ofprojects contributing to the environment and thequality of life in the district. For example,preparatory work and a number of pilot projectseventually led to the creation of recycling centresthroughout the district. The district kept greenaccounts, and this concept found its way intoinstitutions and housing associations. Environmentalnature-playgrounds, an environmentally-friendlytimber business, green jobs and many moreenvironmentally-sound elements were established.The project also tested ways of integratingenvironmental parameters into local planning andadministration, and supporting the development oflocal environmentally-friendly production andactivities.

Project results, innovations and resulting newknowledge have been summarised and synthesised ina green manual as a guide to building an eco-city.The green manual has been made available to thepublic on the Internet, and at the same timefunctions as a link between the project, local usersand the outside world.

Results and impact

The steps taken by the eco-city project should makeit more attractive to stay in the city. The projectsupported many environmentally-positive projects,which make the demonstration district greener thanbefore. A number of visible, practical results wereachieved, which can be divided into two main areas:

1. The development of a model of cooperationbetween NGOs, citizens, and the district council,in which all parties have the opportunity to usetheir resources optimally in working for asustainable district.

2. Devising and implementing concretedemonstration projects, which provide muchexperience and can be used as tools in futurecomprehensive developments of sustainable urbandistricts in accordance with the new objectives.

Practical work on the project improved the dialoguebetween the district's citizens and institutions. Closeand constructive cooperation was establishedbetween the district, the NGOs and the people,which is a tool for achieving more effectiveenvironmental planning.

The eco-city project demonstrated theenvironmentally-friendly establishment of nature-playgrounds/outdoor areas, gave an overview ofinstitutional resource consumption and enabledseveral institutions to achieve real savings.

The waste project proved that it is possible toincrease waste sorting and recycling considerably.Waste production was reduced by 40 %, in line withthe original target. The project also delivered apractical framework for increasing the amount ofconstruction waste that is recycled.

Green training/education programmes and new jobsand businesses were created under the project. Thisshows new scope for a green approach to productionand business.


Introduct ion

Recent experience has shown that theproliferation of laws and regulations has createdmore and more bureaucracy without anycommensurate improvement in environmentalprotection. By contrast, the current EU actionprogramme places greater emphasis oncooperation, with all groups of society sharingresponsibility for taking environmentalprotection into account in all business,administrative and domestic activities. This is aprecondition for sustainable development inline with Agenda 21.


Towns and municipalities play a major role in thisconnection because of their high consumption ofresources and emissions of pollutants. Town-dwellersare both polluters and victims of pollution in equalmeasure. Local authorities have to set an example ofenvironmental protection for their citizens to follow.They should practise exemplary environmentalbehaviour to keep pollution to a minimum. Oneeffective means of attaining these objectives is theenvironmental management system provided for inthe EC eco-audit regulation.


The objective of this project was to develop amethodology for local authorities and todemonstrate it in three towns in Europe. This systemshould put local authorities in a position to complywith the relevant environmental regulations and putenvironmental policy into practice.

Among other things, this will also ensure continuousimplementation of measures to improve theenvironment.

This project further developed the existing EC eco-audit scheme tailored to the needs of industrialfirms in order to adapt it to local authorities. In thiscontext, the environmental management system isnot yet another rulebook but an instrument fittinginto existing structures to make sure that localauthorities take account of the environmentaldimension.

The project was conducted simultaneously in threeEuropean towns: Regensburg (Germany), Wels(Austria) and Karditsa (Greece).

It was coordinated and headed by Dr Hoffmann,Head of the Department of the Environment inRegensburg, and ran from 1 September 1997 to 30August 2000.

Development, introduction andimplementation of anenvironmental managementsystem in medium-sizedmunicipalities in Europe


Beneficiary: Umweltreferat der Stadt RegensburgD-Martin-Luther-Straße 1D-93047 Regensburg

Contact: Hans-Joachim HoffmanTel.: (49-941) 507 10 07Fax: (49-941) 507 20 07

Duration: 1 September 1997 to 30 August 2000

L I F E 9 7 E N V / D / 4 4 7


Results and impact

Results

Selection of pilot departments

Three branches of the administration were chosen:the parks and gardens department, the vehicle fleetand the schools department.

Motivation and information

The key to successful development andimplementation of the environmental managementsystems in the pilot departments was to keep thestaff fully informed. Working parties were formed,briefing sessions were organised and the work wascarried out in close cooperation with the staffconcerned.

Organisational structure

The existing organisational structures dealingspecifically with the environment in the three townshad some points in common but there were also bigdifferences between them. For example, unlikeRegensburg and Wels, Karditsa had no Departmentof the Environment when the project started,although it has since set one up. The new bodiesorganising the environmental management systemwere successfully dovetailed with the existingstructures.

Environment policy (environmental guidelines)

All three towns developed a common environmentpolicy (environmental guidelines) which wasapproved by the municipal authorities responsible.

Environmental assessment

The environmental assessment was based onchecklists, materials balances and energy auditscompiled specially for each pilot department.

This included:

• inventory

• environmental analysis of jobs

• site inspections

• on-the-spot interviews.

The data collected from the inventory were evaluatedby the ZREU (Centre for Rational Use of Energy andEnvironment) together with local authority staff,focusing, in particular, on identifying room forimprovement and ways of achieving it. These studieslaid the foundation for drafting the environmentalprogramme and the environmental managementhandbook.

Environmental programme

An environmental programme containing specificmeasures for the next three years was compiled foreach pilot department in the three towns. Measureby measure, the members of staff responsible weredesignated and the resources available and schedulewere laid down.

Environmental management handbook

Environmental management handbooks werecompiled and presented to the departments and themunicipal authorities. Each consists of a generalsection, identical for all three towns, followed byspecific sections tailored to the different conditionsand organisational arrangements in each town.

Environment policy (environmental guidelines)

The environment policy for each town wasformulated, taking account of past decisions by themunicipal authorities on environmental matters. Acommon environment policy was adopted by allthree towns involved.

Impact

(a) The profile of the environment was raisedconsiderably in all three towns, since this project:

• considerably raised the awareness of staff andintensified their activities on environmentalissues;

• made it possible to gain recognition, with theaid of proposals to reduce consumption ofmaterials and fuel or to change processes;

• cut costs for energy and other purchases;• set targets leading to a process of continuous

improvement (Kaizen).

(b) The project led to the opening of a Departmentfor the Environment in Karditsa.

(c) The Regensburg Parks and Gardens Departmenthas already been validated. Preparations are nowbeing made to introduce the system in the otherpilot departments.

(d) Preparations are being made to transfer theresults to the other municipal departments.

(e) The project generated an intensive exchange ofexperience between the three towns, extendingbeyond the subject of the project itself. Forexample, Regensburg and Karditsa exchangedrefuse collection vehicles.

(f) Language was a formidable barrier, particularlywith staff on the spot. This made coordination ofthe project as a whole and on each siteparticularly important.


Introduct ion

The Iguana project consists of eight show homeswith one company house and presentation space.The original initiative came from HendrikGommer and Elsa Visser. When looking for anenvironmentally-friendly house in 1997 they keptdrawing a blank. 'Eco-friendly building' did notmean much more than putting in a bit moreinsulation and a water-saving showerhead.

Iguana homes, like the iguana, look to the sunfor their energy.


Present-day housebuilding has too great an impacton the environment. This impact makes itself feltthroughout the whole lifetime of the buildingmaterials. The main problems lie in the area ofenvironmentally-unfriendly materials, excessiveenergy consumption during construction andoccupation of the house, large amounts of buildingwaste during construction and demolition, and

sources of supply that are being used up.Consumers, building contractors, project developersand authorities are insufficiently convinced of thefeasibility and the advantages of bio-ecologicalhouses. The aim of the Iguana project is to publicisethe advantages of bio-ecological construction.


There is less environmental pollution from the use ofrenewable and/or recycled materials, while shape isimportant as well (e.g. orientation to the sun).

A balance was sought by using solutions bothcheaper and more expensive than traditionalbuilding methods. The result was a medium-budgethome. Cheaper than normal was the wooden frameconstruction and the use of EPDM as the roofingmaterial and larch as the facade coping. Moreexpensive was, in particular, the use of cellulose,loam insulating walls and a solar greenhouse.

This mode of construction, with 'breathing' wallsand vapour control/thermal buffer materials, can be

The Iguana project demonstrates affordable bio-ecologicalhouses constructed with afully-environmental approach

Total eligible cost: EUR 2.1 million (including PV panels)LIFE contribution: EUR 91 497

Beneficiary: De Groene Leguaan VOF (The GreenIguana)Middelweg 518715 EV StavorenNetherlands

Contact: Hendrik GommerTel.: (31-514) 68 24 52Fax: (31-514) 68 24 58

E-mail: [email protected] site: www.leguaan.com

www.leguaan.nl/pvwww.megapv.nl/mega

Duration: 1 February 1998 to 31 July 2000

L I F E 9 8 E N V / N L / 1 8 3


said to produce a pleasant interior climate. Iguanahouses also save a lot of energy by being oriented tothe sun: plenty of glass on the south side and a solargreenhouse. Through the use of natural materials thehouses are healthy as well.

Iguana houses are extremely suitable for heat pumpsand PV (photovoltaic) systems, so every Iguana housecan eventually become an energy-neutral home. Thisis demonstrated in Stavoren.

Conclus ion: results and impact

The Iguana project has received considerableattention in the media. Just about every tradejournal has carried an article on it. Three films havebeen made, including one by the EC. The Iguanahouses have above all been a source of inspiration.But not many have been built so far. The technicalsolution did not turn out to be the main problem inthe short term. Creating a bio-ecological house is acomplex business, too complex to be solved with asingle project. The client, the architect, the estateagent, the provincial council, the town council, theproject developer, the contractor, the subcontractorand the building worker all have to be advised andconvinced. The construction of a bio-ecologicalhouse demands a great deal of know-how and theparties involved do not have enough. Accumulatingknow-how takes time and money and projectdevelopers want to invest too little. Every time a newcontractor is brought in the same mistakes are made.Lessons are learned only by practical experience.Many model houses will therefore haveto be built before really sustainablebuilding becomes the norm.

Nevertheless, the Iguana project can becalled a success. This has helped and ishelping to shake up the building world.A new Iguana house is now being built(July 2000) in Deventer. The Iguanaproject is still being studied (SBR, SEV,TNO-hout, NOVEM) and reports onthe Green Iguana still appear veryregularly in newspapers and/or tradejournals. An Internet publication(www.leguaan.nl) and a subsequentarticle have ensured extra attention forsustainable building in Friesland.

The typical shape of the house pointsto the need to orient new houses tothe sun. Building solar-oriented housesled to as many as 16 different PV

systems being installed on Iguana houses, makingthe Iguana project a testing area for PV systems inexisting structures. So much experience has beengathered that the Green Iguana can now be said tobe an authority on photovoltaics in existingbuildings. This in turn has led to the involvement ofthe MegaPV design office in the Iguana project,which in the coming years is going to carry out apractical experiment on the 'large-scale introductionof PV' in cooperation with Novem, Essent and thecity councils of Leeuwaarden, Groningen and Assen(www.megapv.nl/mega). One of the aims is to bringin environmentally-neutral construction in the wakeof the introduction of PV.

In the Netherlands and even in other parts ofEurope the Green Iguana has more or less grown tobecome a symbol of environmentally-neutralconstruction. It will therefore focus attention foryears on the need for environmentally-neutralconstruction. Thanks to the contributions of LIFE,IPR, Novem, Friesland Province and SEV it will nowbe able to stand on its own two feet and develop newinitiatives.


Introduct ion

The Sylvie project has set out to examine thescope for improving the noise situation in inner-city residential areas and to identify ways ofreducing not only objective noise pollution butalso subjective noise nuisances. An area of Viennahas already been selected in which to implementthe project. The practical results of the projectare to be turned into 'best practice' for use inother parts of Vienna and in other EU cities.


Noise is one of the most immediate environmentalproblems affecting the European public. Noisepollution in the densely-populated areas of Europeancities usually exceeds both limit and guidance values,while the subjective noise nuisance perceived by thepublic continues to increase. According to estimates,roughly 20 % of the European Union's population,i.e. some 80 million people, are exposed to noiselevels considered intolerable by scientists andmedical experts (1996 European Commission GreenPaper). Noise abatement is thus an essential part ofmunicipal environment policy. In contrast to otherareas of environment policy, however, very little hasbeen achieved so far in terms of noise abatementbecause of the ways in which noise operates and thephysical laws applying to it, and also because thoseinvolved are too reluctant to take action. Expert

assessments and conventional noise-abatementplanning have, as a rule, achieved too little.


The Sylvie project will do things differently. Acooperative noise abatement procedure will bedeveloped in accordance with the principles of LocalAgenda 21 with a view to reducing noise levels in theselected residential area. Sylvie has been designed toproduce action, which requires not only a dialecticalapproach to the advantages and drawbacks of urbansociety but also a methodical approach toimplementing the project. The project team will worktogether with the residents of the selected area toidentify the most important noise problems anddevelop ways of cutting noise levels. This will betranslated into action via pilot projects. Publicity willplay an important part in the Sylvie project. Anonline noise information system will be set up aspart of the project, and a Sylvie web site(http://www.sylvie.at), that will form part of thisinformation system, will describe the project for thepublic. The cooperative noise abatement procedurebegan in the autumn of 2000.

Results and impact

The following results are expected from Sylvie:

• noise abatement in the selected noise-abatementarea in the wake of successful pilot projects;

Sylvie 'systematicimprovements to inner-city residential areas'


Beneficiary: Magistrat der Stadt WienMagistratsabteilung 22 –UmweltschutzEbendorferstrasse 4A-1082 Wien

Contact: Ing. Wolfgang KhutterTel.: (43-1) 4000 99 88 211Fax: (43-1) 4000 99 88 215

E-mail: [email protected] site: http://www.sylvie.at

Duration: 1 October 1999 to 1 October 2002

L I F E 9 9 E N V / A / 3 9 4


• a modular online noise information system to beset up as a communication and planning tool forthe City of Vienna;

• improved communication and cooperation amongthose involved (public, experts, politicians,administration).

Work began on the project in October 1999. Theproject will be completed within three years. Aworkshop for international experts will be organisedduring the second half of the project in order toexchange results and experience.


w a s t e

Introduct ion

This LIFE project concerns the rehabilitationand management of the biologicalenvironmental reserve of Lake Kastoria locatednext to the paleo-environmental findings in thearea. The aim was to preserve and increase thebiological variety of the lake and to ensure thecoexistence of human-oriented actions andnatural environment.

The project involves a quite innovative anddemonstrative subject that promotes a not-so-well-known part of archaeology in Greece,coupled with a sustainable tourist activity forthe area of Kastoria.


In the area of Dispilio, located next to the KastoriaLake, there are remnants of a Neolithic settlementthat dates back to 6500 BC.

The settlement was discovered in 1937, after a severedrought, which caused a substantial decrease of thelake water level. However, the excavations and studiesof the findings did not start right away. A group ofarcheologists from the University of Thessaloniki,under the leadership of Professor Hourmouziadis,began the excavations four years ago. Since then,there have been many important findings includingmany clay vessels of various shapes and uses (forcooking, storage), stone tools such as axes, knives,stones for the rubbing of the cereals, stone bullets,hooks, weights, animal and fish bones and petrifiedseeds from the Neolithic Age. Three musicalinstruments made out of different bones, somestatuettes, one petrified boat and some traces ofwriting have also been found.

In that part of the lake there is no housing and nohuman activities take place. There is rich aquatic, aswell as shore vegetation and a great number of birds,which visit the area.

Taking into consideration the above facts, there was aneed to look for possibilities of developing all theabovementioned wealth from a recreational point of

Rehabilitation management and protection of thebiological reserve at theneolithical lake settlement ofLake Kastoria


Beneficiary: Municipality of MakednonTown of DispilioKastoriaGR-52100

Contact: Mr V. TsaparasTel.: (30-467) 834 41/834 42Fax: (30-467) 834 42

E-mail: [email protected]: 1 January 1996 to 31 October 1999

L I F E 9 5 E N V / G R / 1 0 5 7

w a s t e p r o j e c t s7 8

view, as well as protectingthe environment inconjunction with pertinenteducation and awarenessraising of the residents andvisitors.


The implementation of this project began essentiallywith the excavations in the settlement area. Thearcheological analysis of the findings conducted bythe University team determined the design of therepresentations (cabins, etc.) of the lake settlement.

Conclusions regarding the arrangement, size, shapeand materials used for the original cabins were veryuseful for the construction of the replica units. Inaddition, the tools and utensils found during theexcavations were used as models for therepresentations.

Regarding flora and fauna, the excavation findingsrevealed information about the species of animalsthat lived in the area, as well as about the plants andtrees growing then in the area.The latter information was alsoused for selecting the trees andshrubs that were planted in thecontext of the project, thuscreating a representation of theNeolithic forest.

Regarding the dissemination ofthe project works and results, thelocal residents as well as thecitizens of the Prefecture ofKastoria were informedconstantly via press releases, TVreports, town meetings, etc.

Special emphasis has been given in the informationand awareness-raising of children that have startedarriving from all over Greece. The scientific

community was also informedthrough scientific articles andannouncements and a finalconference organised by thebeneficiary. It is noteworthy,that the President of Greece,Mr Stephanopoulos,inaugurated the reconstructedNeolithic settlement.

Conclus ion: resultsand impact

The project consisted of the representation of theNeolithic Lake settlement (wooden cabins, platforms,utensils, tools, fenced fields, ovens, sheepfolds, dug-out canoes in the lake and other auxiliary facilities)and the Neolithic forest. It also includedconstruction of a visitor's centre and variousdissemination material and activities.

The project has been placed among the touristattractions of the municipality and it has alreadystarted receiving many visitors.

Currently, the beneficiary is formulating the plan forthe best projection of the project throughout Greece.Special emphasis will be given to the visits of schoolswhich will have an educational purpose. Through therepresentation of the lake settlement the visitor willhave the opportunity to come in contact with theflora and fauna of the lake and will be able to fullyunderstand that the socioeconomic activities ofpeople can coexist harmoniously with nature.


Introduct ion

This project set out to research and developmethods and technologies for recovering anddisposing of explosive waste. This includedhazardous industrial waste containingexplosives, and waste reacting explosively.

The beneficiary of this Danish project wasDemex Consulting Engineers A/S.


With the end of the Cold War, and the new politicalsituation in Europe, huge amounts of ammunitionand explosive waste, including waste substancescontaining explosives or reacting explosively, arebeing decommissioned every year in the EU MemberStates and other countries.

Unpublished NATO studies indicate that millions oftonnes of decommissioned ammunition is currentlybeing stockpiled in Europe, including EasternEurope. The total amount has not been assessed.

Ammunition and explosive waste has traditionallybeen disposed of by open burning and opendetonation, which is unacceptable from anenvironmental point of view. In recent years, muchattention has been paid to the problems of explosivewaste disposal, yet lack of technologies and facilities,and failure to enforce the EU's waste legislation, hasmeant that most European countries are still usingopen burning or open detonation to dispose ofexplosive waste in accordance with nationallegislation and waivers.

Demilitarisation processes are subject to a lengthylist of regulations at various administrative levels.Storage and transportation of military ammunitionand explosives are already covered by militarylegislation such as NATO legislation, whereas civiland military legislation on the management ofmaterials and waste still requires harmonisation.


The ultimate goal of the project was to seekemerging and available demilitarisation technologies.

Research and development of technologies for the safe andenvironmentally-optimalrecovery and disposal ofexplosive waste

Total eligible cost: EUR 1 268 454LIFE contribution: EUR 678 041.36

Beneficiary: Demex Consulting EngineersHejrevej 26DK-2400 Copenhagen

Contact: Steen Hjelm MadsenTel.: (45) 38 10 89 70Fax: (45) 38 33 13 17

E-mail: [email protected], [email protected],[email protected]

Web site: http://www.demex.dkDuration: 15 March 1997 to 15 March 2000

L I F E 9 6 E N V / D K / 1 8


The research and development work was carried outin six phases comprising 12 tasks. The project studiedthe sources, management, recovery and disposal ofexplosive waste in Europe. It also surveyed andanalysed the best available technologies for recoveryand disposal.

The test phase involved researching and developingselected methods for handling and disposing ofexplosive waste safely. First to be tested was theexplosive behaviour of a slurry consisting oftrinitrotoluene and water. Disposal tests alsoincluded mobile demilitarisation technologies andclosed detonation in chambers. With closeddetonation it was possible to treat whole devices orammunition parts. In addition, incineration trialswere conducted in a fluidised bed oven, in thelaboratory and finally at full scale.

In the last phase, the results were gathered, andrecommendations made for the management andrecovery of explosive waste.

Results and impact

The fluidised bed oven testswith trinitrotoluene proved thatit is possible to demilitariseexplosives in a safe, economicaland environmentally-acceptablemanner. The tests performed ina closed detonation chambershowed this method to be safeand environmentally sound, butvery time-consuming.Preliminary, unfinished safetytests of slurry containing theexplosive nitrocellulose revealedthat it is safe to incinerate theslurry in an existing non-specialised full-scale incinerator.

The findings of this projectresulted in 10 recommendationsconcerning legislation,demilitarisation activities, cost-effectiveness studies of thedisposal of explosive waste,information and education ondemilitarisation actions,research into explosive waste,manufacturers' responsibilityfor disposal of munitions, etc.


Figure 2. Illustration of typical demilitarisation sequences.

Removal from storage

Transportation and intermediate storage

Preparation and pre-treatment

Downsizing

TreatmentRecycling Waste handing

Serapmetal

Paper, rubber, plastic

Disposal in the

environment

Cleaning of waste stream

Picture of the experiment set-up for the UN-GAP test.

The test was applied on a non-explosive shurry containing a

large percentage ofNitrocellulose (NC).

Søren Larsen, fromDemex ConsultingEngineers Als withpart of the UN-test

equipment.

Introduct ion

The project run by the intercommunalassociation SIVOM du Pays de Born deals withthe management of household refuseproduction peaks in areas where there are verywide annual variations in population, with aview to minimising the extra annual investmentand operating costs associated with this seasonaltrend.

The population of the Canton of Born (in thesouth of the Bassin d'Arcachon, close to theAtlantic Ocean) jumps from 33 000 to 100 000during the summer months because it is a verypopular tourist region in the south-west ofFrance.


The project's purpose was to set up a technology andan infrastructure for absorbing as cheaply as possiblean output of household waste which follows thesame pattern as the population trend. The localcommunities in the SIVOM association wanted tofind a non-polluting solution which would make it

possible to shave the waste production peaks byprocessing the waste so that it could be stored forsubsequent energy recovery in the new incinerationplant that was being built at the same time.

With storage it would be unnecessary to design anover-large incineration plant to cope with thesummer population influx and the incinerator'sturbine-alternator could be kept supplied over thewinter months with a view to selling the electricityproduced during this high-demand period.


The household-waste production peaks were shavedby two complementary technical means: a balingpress and bale storage boxes.

The 500 kg bales are stored for six months in 16covered boxes (each of 500 m3), giving a storagecapacity of 6 800 tonnes. Each box is fitted with abiofiltration system which neutralises the odours.The waste can be stored in optimum safetyconditions thanks to a fire protection system withpermanent monitoring of the temperature inside theboxes. The juices produced by the action of the

Pontex-les-Forges household waste processing plant: seasonalpeak-shaving by temporarystorage of bales of householdrefuse and the like


Beneficiary: SIVOM du Pays de BornPlace du Général de GaulleBP 33F-40161 Parentis-en-Born

Contact: Mrs Caroline JarryTel.: (33-5) 58 78 56 00Fax: (33-5) 58 78 91 36

Duration: 1 August 1996 to 31 August 1998

L I F E 9 6 E N V / F / 3 7 0


baling press and the rainwater that may be broughtin during handling of the bales are collected andtreated in an aerated lagoon.

The industrial partner in this project is the firmCyclergie in the EDF (Electricité de France) group,which designed, built and now operates thehousehold waste incineration plant.

ADEME, the Agency for the Environment andEnergy Management, has provided technical andfinancial assistance for the project.

The Pontex-les-Forges plant has the capacity to treat40 000 tonnes of waste per year and can deliver 24 MW of power for 7 500 hours per year (i.e. theconsumption of 2 000 families).


This project is very innovative in its concept and inthe simple techniques applied.

It is reproducible in numerous situations where theproduction of household waste is subject to strongseasonal variation (tourist areas, temporary events).

SIVOM du Pays de Born's project has shown that it ispossible to minimise overall investment by optimising the size of the installation (saving FRF 42 million), optimise heat recovery byincinerating the waste during the period when theenergy can be sold to the national grid at the mostexpensive rate (in the first months of operationrevenue was found to have increased due to storage ofthe waste by some FRF 600 000) and stop the dumpingof untreated waste at peak production times andduring annual shutdowns for maintenance.

In addition it offers important guarantees as regardsenvironmental management (containment ofrainwater coming into contact with the bales) andmanagement of fire risk (partitioning of boxes).

Since the plant went into operation it has beenpossible to close five municipal landfills and theintercommunal landfill.

Eleven new jobs have been created in the frameworkof this project.

As regards publicity, SIVOM du Pays de Born and itsindustrial partner have produced a leaflet and amodel of the site which has been shown at a numberof events and shows. Talks have been given at schoolsin the towns and villages of the cantons concernedto show the children how the Pontex-les-Forgesincineration plant works and what benefits it willbring.

Cyclergie has several contacts on French territory fordeveloping units of the same type as that receivingLIFE aid.


Introduct ion

Recycling of the sludge from waste treatmentplants in agriculture is essential not onlybecause it provides an outlet for 2.5 milliontonnes of dry matter today and will do so forthree times that amount in 2005, but alsobecause of the value of this sludge as fertiliserand the relatively low cost of this procedure.

To avoid the agricultural use of waste treatmentby-products becoming a method of 'horizontallandfill', it is necessary to guarantee thephysical, chemical and biological quality ofsludge. The limitations of this method lie forone thing in the risks of contamination byorganic and metallic micropollutants containedin the industrial effluent entering the system,and for another in the risks of contaminationof the environment due to the presence ofpathogenic germs in the sludge.


Anjou Recherche, a water and waste-water researchcentre in the Vivendi Group, and its industrialpartners ORVAL, SEDE and SFDE have proposed aLIFE project aimed at guaranteeing the quality ofsewage sludge in order to ensure the sustainability ofthe agricultural recycling method; some methods

Guaranteeing the quality of sewage sludge for agriculturaluse by start-to-finishmanagement of the seweragesystem


Beneficiary: Anjou Recherche1, Place de TurenneF-94417 Saint-Maurice Cedex

Contacts: Mrs Catherine Savart and Mr Christophe Renner

Tel.: (33-1) 49 76 52 57/49 76 52 58Fax: (33-1) 49 76 52 79

E-mail: [email protected]

Duration: 2 September 1996 to 2 March 1999

L I F E 9 6 E N V / I R L / 4 1 0


have already had to be abandoned on account ofexcessive micropollutants in the sludge.

To this end it was necessary to seek out and identifythe weak points in this disposal method and then tosecure complete management of the disposal cyclefrom collecting the effluent from sewerage systemsto incorporating the sludge in agricultural soils, viathe treatment and conditioning of the sludge in thepollution control plant.


The demonstration programme was in three phases:

• evaluating areas of potential deterioration insludge quality throughout the production process;hazard analysis using AMDEC and HAZOPsoftware, accompanied by analysis of theagronomic value of the sludge;

• establishing action to be taken in the whole areaof sewage disposal and agricultural use of sewageonce the levels of guarantees provided to sludgeusers had been fixed;

• working out procedures for carrying out theabove, validating them and carrying out a financialevaluation.

The project was carried out on the Saint-Thibault-les-Vignes site in the department of Seine et Marne, thismunicipality's sewerage system collecting a goodproportion of household and industrial effluent; itslocation in a highly urbanised zone and thecomplete management of the treatment process(water and sludge) by the partners on the same sitemade it an ideal demonstration site.


The project made it possible to prepare a softwaretool for evaluating pollution hazards in thecollection network. Called Actipol, this tool makes itpossible to know and hierarchise the hazards fromthe discharge of pollutants connected with theeconomic activities carried out in the area of thesewerage system.

A real 'network policing' tool, Actipol can be used forpreparing an exhaustive list of non-domestic activitiespresent in a sewerage system, finding the emitters ofa particular pollutant, establishing a plan for drawingup special discharge agreements and knowing whichpollutants are likely to be emitted by a particularundertaking.

As regards agricultural use, it became apparent thatthe way to ensure the sustainability of the methodwas by increasing the frequency of monitoringrecords and making them easier to keep track of, andby improving management, in particular by storingsludge in batches and applying alarm thresholds tothe analysis results. Agronomic analysis of thefertilising and improving value (organic and calcic) ofthe sludge confirmed that spreading would bebeneficial.

Anjou Recherche's LIFE project has made it possibleto bring together all the players in the water cycle(industrialists, operators, local authorities andfarmers) in a constructive and original effort, tovalidate an innovative methodology which isreproducible in most sewerage systems producingsludge for agricultural use and to guarantee anecological solution for the long term (by taking intoaccount all the quality parameters – chemical,physical and biological – of the sludge) in order tomeet the challenge of the ever-increasing volumes ofsludge produced.


Introduct ion

In modern industrial plants, a tonne of orangesyields about 400 kg of juice and over 600 kg ofresidues. These residues are usually disposed ofas waste or require such expensive recyclingtreatments (i.e. traditional dehydrationtreatments) that they are regarded by producersas a major problem.

Disposal of the waste in the form of landfillcauses both environmental and economicdamage to the ground where it is buried.

The LIFE terpene project analysed the wholecitrus fruit production line, from cultivation tojuice production. This analysis comprised:

• environmental and economic evaluation ofthe processes used in the citrus line,

• identification of critical points in theprocessing,

• study of innovative applications forproduction residues,

• determination of the mean characteristics ofcitrus fruit residues,

• development of recycling processes in thelaboratory,

• experiments using the most promisingrecycling techniques from the laboratory withthe pilot plant,

• evaluation of the potential market for therecycled products obtained.


Traditional citrus fruit treatments do not make itpossible to derive economic benefits fromproduction wastes, both on account of thetechnology used and the low profit from the wholeprocess, which is not economically competitive.There is, however, great economic potential in thesubstances contained in citrus fruit.

The LIFE terpene project tested a technology on apilot scale to exploit the organic residues of citrussqueezing which are called 'citrus fruit pulp' andwhich include rind, seeds, and residues, to obtainmarketable products such as essential oils, terpene –the natural solvent in citrus fruit – pectin, pigments,thermal-insulation granules with features similar tothose of cork, flour for animal feedingstuffs,combustible material and filler for the production ofecological paper.


Two different innovative treatment techniques werecombined. The first is a thermo-mechanicaltreatment, recently patented under the name of'PIDIC', that is used to extract essential oils andterpenes from the utricles of citrus peel.

With this treatment, citrus fruit pulp undergoes asudden shift from high temperature and pressure

New process for the extraction of terpenes and other productswith high added-value fromthe residues of citrus fruits


Beneficiary: Contento Trade SrlVia Zorutti, 843I-3030 Campoformido – Udine

Contact: Mr Flavio CioffiTel.: (39-0432) 66 25 55Fax: (39-0432) 66 28 89

E-mail: [email protected]: 1 January 1997 to 1 January 1999

L I F E 9 6 E N V / I T / 1 4 2


conditions to a state of vacuum. This shift makes theutricles explode and the terpene is expelled involatile form. The terpenic mixture is collected andits ingredients are separated into essential oils andterpenes by means of a condensation system whichlasts for about two minutes but which can operatecontinuously, thanks to a dynamic supply system.

Citrus fruit pulp treated with the PIDIC systemgenerates micro-bubbles in the vegetal structure,clearly increasing the surface exposed to the air; theeffect produced is called 'texturisation'. Texturisationreduces the energy consumption of the subsequentprocesses needed to dehydrate the deterpenatedcitrus fruit pulp.

The second process – Vomm turbo-drying – involvesthe feeding of thin strata of material into acylindrical tank where it is subjected to intensiveturbulence and heat by convection from the hotairstream and by conduction from the heated tankwall, with great thermal efficiency. The material isthus dried rapidly, uniformly and without risk ofburning. The turbo-dried citrus fruit pulp can beprocessed to produce a determined size of granule;the granule size chosen depends on the final productto be obtained.

Results and impact

Using the two processes described in combination, itis possible to obtain different products from citrusfruit pulp with high environmental compatibility andat low cost.

Using only the PIDIC process, it is possible to obtain:

• deterpenated essential oils, usable in the foodindustry, with a very low oxidised terpene content(which causes allergies) and terpenic wax content(which causes instability in the product);

• terpene (d-limonene), anatural solvent which can besubstituted for highlypolluting chlorinated organicsolvents such astrichloroethane,trichloroethylene andperchloroethylene in manyindustrial applications.

Using the PIDIC processcombined with the turbo-dryingprocess it is possible to obtain,at competitive costs:

• pectin, usable in the foodindustry,

• pigments for colouring,

• fillers for paper, replacing the traditionally usedmineral fillers,

• combustible material with a high calorific value,• flour for animal feedingstuffs (very wholesome

and with excellent nutritional characteristics),• thermal-insulation granules with similar features

to cork.

The flour for animal feedingstuffs is obtainable atcosts which compare with those of vegetablefoodstuffs with similar nutritional characteristics (e.g.barley). For instance, a PIDIC plant capable oftreating 15 000 tonnes/year of citrus fruit pulp costsabout EUR 750 000 and has a 71-tonne/year output of99 % pure terpene; a Vomm turbo-drying plant costsabout EUR 1 500 000 and yields 3 384 000 tonnes/yearof flour for animal feedingstuffs.

Some innovative products based on the by-productsof citrus fruit pulp were obtained, such as:

• ecological 'citrus paper'• paints for wood and metal• impregnating agents for wood and stone• ecological paint for walls.

The extraction process is very efficient and allowsessential oils of very good quality to be obtainedusing little energy, as reported in the table below:


Essential Energy Efficiency oil quality consumption in

Thermal Process

of process (content extraction phase treatment

(= % of essential of aldehydes (for each kg duration

oils extracted) expressed in of extracted % of citral) essential oil)

New PIDIC process 94–96 % 1.2 % 1.4 kWh 2 m

Solvent extraction 98–100 % 1.0 % 250 kWh 4 h

Extraction using steam 98–100 % 0.8 % 130 kWh 1 h

Supercritical CO2extraction 98–100 % 1.3 % 100 kWh 1 h

Manual squeezing (excluding centrifugation) 45–50 % 1.3 % 1.0 kWh —

Introduct ion

Villarrobledo, a town of some 23 000 inhabitantsin the province of Albacete (Castile-La Mancha),is a road transport hub of major importance forcommunications in Spain.

This fact has made it home to a large-scaletransport industry, which has graduallyspecialised in the transportation of hazardousgoods.


Spain produces an estimated 250 000 tonnes of scraptyres every year. The size and shape of tyres makethem an awkward waste product and a specialchallenge for disposal and reutilization. One of themain objectives these days is to reduce the seriousenvironmental impact which the uncontrolled oreven controlled storage of such waste can produce.

When the project started, the autonomouscommunity of Castile-La Mancha had alreadyaccumulated around 36 000 tonnes of disused tyres,to which a further 9 000 tonnes were being addedeach year. This meant that 1.5 million tyres werebeing discarded in the region every year.

The disposal or destruction of such materials is one ofthe main problems confronting authorities concernedwith preserving the environment. Firstly, directexposure to the sun causes the materials to deteriorate

and to emit noxious vapours. Secondly, a pile of tyresharbours a large quantity of cavities in which water,dirt and animals can accumulate. All this leads to ahigh level of pollution and makes the storage anddestruction of tyres a matter of serious concern.

Proper management of such waste ought to involverecycling it and using the recovered materials as asource of energy or raw materials in order to helpconserve natural resources and use them rationally.Though there are problems with each stage in themanagement of scrap tyres, criteria can neverthelessbe applied to minimise them, with very positiveresults. New technologies make it possible to recoveralmost the entire outer cover of a tyre.

Options for disposal advocated up to now haveranged from retreading, for subsequent reuse, toburial and incineration, the latter two constituting asubstantial source of environmental damage.

The way to avoid harming the environment is topromote retreading, and appropriate reuse of thevarious components of tyres once they are scrapped.

From the economic point of view, the costsassociated with recycling processes are high, andthere is little legislative support for the recovery ofthis kind of material.


The Town Council of Villarrobledo, leader of theproject, secured the cooperation of the Higher

Recycling old car tyres (LIFE-ruenuv)


Beneficiary: Ayuntamiento de VillarrobledoPza. Ramón y Cajal, 1E-02600 Villarrobledo (Albacete)

Contact: Francisco Segovia Solana (Mayor)Tel.: (34) 967 14 50 79/967 14 70 71Fax: (34) 967 14 51 82

E-mail: [email protected] site: http://www.arrakis.es/~avdoadl/

life.htmDuration: 1 October 1996 to 7 January 1999

L I F E 9 6 E N V / E / 3 1 3


Technical School for Industrial Engineers, theFaculty of Chemical Sciences and the Institute forRegional Development of Castile-La ManchaUniversity, together with other companies andinstitutions. The aim of the participants' research wasto find satisfactory solutions to the problem of theuncontrolled storage of scrap tyres. Their effortsfocused on taking traditional techniques fordisposing of used tyres and adapting them toproduce a cost-effective way of turning the tyres intorubber powder.

The project delivered a pilot plant whichdemonstrated that the environmental problemcaused by the accumulation of scrap tyres can beresolved in an entirely environmentally-friendly waywhile making use of the main components of tyres,namely rubber and steel, to producethe following articles:

• noise barriers on roadways

• footwear products

• handles for cutlery and tools

• street furniture.

Results and impact

The technical solution makes itpossible to use tyre components(rubber, fabric and steel) to produceother consumer products and in thisway also contributes to the sustainabledevelopment of the recycling industry.

This initiative has shown that thetechnical problem of disposing of andrecovering tyres can be solved byemploying solutions effective at locallevel, without having to use majorprocessing plants around the country.This project is championing the real

use – by both traditional and innovatory industries –of the material obtained from scrap tyres.

These techniques can compete with alternativetechniques which are not significantly more efficientthan separation techniques (pyrolysis and cryogenicprocessing). At the same time, they are a much betteroption than techniques such as incineration withoutenergy recovery or the controlled or uncontrolleddumping of scrap tyres, with the environmentaldamage which that causes.

The LIFE ruenuv project has devised a local solutionwhich is nonetheless compatible with any centralisedsolutions that might be adopted.

What has been developed is a technology which canbe applied industrially to solve the problem ofstoring tyres in the open air, transforming theminstead into consumer products and so contributingto the sustainable development of the region'smanufacturing industries.


Introduct ion

This project set out to create a new method ofeconomical and environmentally sound landfillclosure. The aim was to reduce the amount ofnatural material used in landfills and topromote the reuse of industrial by-products andprevent their uncontrolled dumping.

As a pilot case, the Koivissilta landfill site atVihti, Finland, was closed and underwent after-care over the period 1997-98. The buildingmaterials used were fibre sludge from the forestindustry and fly and bottom ash from powerplants.


When old landfills are closed, they have to be buriedbeneath a 2-m-deep layered structure. The largeamounts of suitable natural material this requirescannot be used without enormous environmentalimpact.

In line with the principle of sustainabledevelopment, waste and landfill regulations nowrequire that waste be reduced and waste materialsutilised wherever possible. Landfill regulations alsospecify the characteristics of landfill structures, andcountries are finding it financially difficult tomodernise all their landfills to meet the new legalrequirements, so that for several sites the only optionis closure and after-care.

Use of non-renewable natural soil material causessubstantial changes to the landscape, theenvironment and the ecosystem. Moreover, it is oftendifficult to find suitable natural materials, whichmeans synthetic materials have to be used, andbecause these products are industrial they tend to befairly expensive.


Closure and after-care were implemented at theKoivissilta landfill at Vihti, Finland. The methodincluded instructions for the materials studies andpreliminary landfill surveys as well as for structuralplanning and construction. Environmental impact

Development of a method for the controlled closure and after-care of landfills, usingwaste materials from energyproduction and industry


Beneficiary: Solid Waste Management of WestUusimaa Ltd.Lohjanharjuntie 480FIN-08100 Lohja

Contact: Stig LönnqvistTel.: (358-19) 357 55 55Fax: (358-19) 357 55 57

E-mail: [email protected]: 1 June 1997 to 31 December 1998

L I F E 9 7 E N V / F I N / 3 2 6


assessment and monitoring were also a vital projectcomponent.

The first step was to study the conditions prevailingat the pilot site landfill in order to determine wheretechnical measures were required. The landfill posed a potential risk as hazardous waste had beendumped in it. Field investigations were carried out inautumn 1997.

The geotechnical and environmental characteristicsof the waste materials were studied, and the resultscompared with the maximum permitted levels oftoxic substances in construction materials used inearthworks and with other current guidelines.

The environmental risks posed by the landfill werealso estimated, and existing information onprevailing conditions and environmental impact wasstudied carefully. Measurement technology andequipment had to be developed and customised forthe materials studies. The homogenisation of papersludge was tested in the laboratory. The compactnessof materials was determined using a whole range ofdynamic compaction workloads. Tests were alsomade of how the varying water content of materialsaffected compaction.

A monitoring programme was devised for theKoivissilta landfill test site and for landfill closure ingeneral. Monitoring was performed to check thetechnical quality of the construction work and tominimise the environmental risk.

Results and impact

This project demonstrated that the landfill structurescould be built almost entirely using waste materials.Large-scale use of natural materials in landfillprotection structures proved to be unnecessary.Building costs can thus be greatly reduced. Similarcost savings can be made in industrial wastemanagement. Demonstrated materials with potentialwere: fibre sludge from the forest industry, fly ashand bottom ash from power plants and compostedsewage sludge.

Use of waste materials promotes sustainabledevelopment by reducing the amount of wastedisposed of and the amount of natural soil neededfor construction purposes. It also provides newoptions for industrial waste management, which isotherwise becoming increasingly expensive. Landfillclosure requires huge amounts of earth: one hectareof protective surface covering requires about 3 000

lorry loads. In Finland alone hundreds of landfillswill be closed and given after-care in the near future.The use of natural earth has an enormous impact onthe environment, the landscape and the ecosystem.It is hard to find sufficient masses of earth, makingit necessary to use artificial materials and totransport materials long distances. This causes extraexpense and damages the environment.

The method developed here is suitable for localconstruction. Raw materials can often be obtainedfrom nearby paper mills and power plants (practically100 % of paper-mill waste can be utilised), and wastedisposal costs are reduced. Overall landfillconstruction costs are far lower than whentraditional materials are used.


SURFACE STRUCTURE

GAS VENTING WELL

COVER/VEGETATIONLAYER

≥ 1.0 m

≥ 0.5 m

≥ 0.5 m

Figure 1. When the old landfills are closed, a 2 m structure of coveringlayers is required. The use of this amount of suitable natural soilmaterials is not possible without enormous changes in the environment.

Introduct ion

Set up in 1987, the firm of Valoref specialises inthe selective demolition of glass kilns and therecycling of refractory waste after sorting andprocessing. At the end of its life a glass kilnproduces more than 40 different kinds ofrefractory waste.

Valoref manufactures a wide range of reusablematerials and secondary raw materials (powders,grains, refractory shapes, etc.); each of theseproducts meets precise specifications and iscovered by a factsheet. The raw materials aremarketed under registered trademarks.

In 1996 Valoref was treating 8 000 tonnes ofwaste per year with a recycle rate of 60 %. It isthe only firm of its kind in Europe.


Glassmakers have to demolish and rebuild their kilnsevery five to eight years. They alone thereforeproduce more than a quarter of the 250 000 tonnesof refractory waste created every year in Europe.Apart from that containing chromium, the refractorywaste in itself does not pose a threat to theenvironment, the problem is that it may becontaminated by certain heavy metals, such as lead,

which are used in the manufacture of special glasses,or by deposits left behind by the fuels used.

Valoref's LIFE project aims to double the wasterecycling rate by setting up a specialised andcomprehensive procedure incorporating aspects ofrationalisation of methods of sorting and bettercharacterisation of the sorting residues.


The project consists in the industrial validation ofcertain techniques and know-how developed byValoref on a new industrial site (Bollène river port)and the startup of an installation specialising in thegeneral treatment of refractory waste.

Implementing a refractory waste management and recyclingprocess


Beneficiary: Valoref SAZone Industrielle la CroisièreF-84500 Bollène

Contact: Marc FaverjonTel.: (33-4) 90 40 50 00Fax: (33-4) 90 40 13 42


Duration: 1 May 1997 to 30 April 2000

L I F E 9 7 E N V / F / 1 9 1


The proposed treatment comprises the followingstages: studying the kiln, optimising the selectivedemolition of the kiln, receiving and analysing thewaste, setting up a mobile selective sorting linepermitting on-site sorting of the demolition residues,sorting by categories and destinations, crushing andadditional cleaning treatments, inspecting andconditioning the secondary raw materials, treatingand managing the non-recyclable fraction beforedisposal.

This project is monitored and supported financiallyby ADEME (Agency for the Environment and EnergyManagement).


The equipment produced at the new site of Bollèneriver port permits optimised management of thewaste. Fifty per cent of the waste treated is recoveredin the form of secondary raw materials and 40 % asgranulate. Only 10 % goes to a final storage centre.Certain waste (siliceous refractories, waste containingchromium, electro-cast refractories of the AZS type)will from now on be completely recycled.

The average cost of treatment is FRF 325 per tonnetreated ex waste production site. Taking into accountthe development of European and French legislationthis treatment cost, coupled with efforts to recoverrecycled materials, makes it possible to achieve asuitable level of profitability for products which onthe face of it have low intrinsic value.

The closeness of the industrial site, with the riverlink, will favour the less polluting transport of thewaste by barge (62.50 % of the waste being broughtby this means).

The mobile sorting line will reduce the amount ofwaste transported because a large proportion of it(chiefly granulates) can be treated and recovered inthe kiln demolition zones.

The project has made it possible to create around 10new jobs and considerably improve the workers'working conditions. The methods and techniquesput to work have already allowed Valoref to developits activity in other industrial sectors using kilns,such as steelmaking and metallurgy, and at thenational level.

A leaflet and reports in the specialised press and atconferences and shows have made it possible todisseminate the environmental improvementsbrought by this LIFE project very widely.


Introduct ion

The area encompassing the municipality ofAlbox and its neighbouring municipalities inthe Province of Almería (Andalusia) has a longtradition, dating back to the fifth century, ofquarrying and working white marble. Thisactivity is still in full swing today, and directlyor indirectly it employs a large proportion ofthe local population.

The last decade has seen a notable increase inthe number of companies dealing with marble,the extraction and commercialisation of whichreached a peak in 1991, when approximately 1 million tonnes was quarried and marketed.


No more than 30 % of the white marble extractedfrom quarries and worked can be used forconstruction purposes, which means a large volumeof waste is also produced: this comprises quarriedstone which cannot be used for construction onaccount of its size or fragmentation, and cuttingsproduced in the workshop which consist of a water

and dust sludge containing approximately 20 % ofsolid elements.

Both the solid waste and the sludge constitute aspecific problem with severe environmentalrepercussions in that they are disposed of incontrolled tips, from which the sludge contaminatesthe water table, affecting neighbouring districts.

Up to now, two types of action have been taken tominimise the environmental problem: disposal of thesolid waste and sludge has been concentrated insemi-controlled tips, and containment dykes havebeen built at the ends of these tips to preventadjacent areas being affected, but this has notprevented a high degree of pollution in theenvironment and in the water table.


The Reverte company has sufficient knowhow as amanufacturer of CaCo

3to develop and run the

demonstration facility, which is capable of absorbingthis waste production. The new unit uses a drygrinding method developed by S.A. Reverte toprocess the solid waste and produce carbonates ofgreat whiteness, low grading and high quality, whichcan be used in a number of industries.

Development and installation of a pilot unit to recover solidwaste and sludge from themarble industry

Total eligible cost: EUR 1 246 914.84LIFE contribution: EUR 374 074 (17.59 %)

Beneficiary: S.A. ReverteC/Afueras, s/n Castellet i La GornalE-08720 Barcelona

Contact: Modesto RevertéTel.: (34) 93 85 20 52/977 168103Fax: (34) 93 85 22 52/977 168112

E-mail: [email protected]: 1 January 1997 to 1 November 1999

L I F E 9 7 E N V / E / 2 2 5


Essentially, then, the project consisted in designing apilot unit to recover waste generated by the marbleindustry, such waste products being easily classifiedaccording to their state, i.e. solids produced whenthe marble is quarried or is cut in the workshop, andwater/marble sludges produced in the cutting andpolishing workshops.

The facility, which is located close to the existinglandfills, has five basic processing operations:

• secondary grinding and drying

• dry micronising

• wet ultramicronising

• removal and loading into tanks

• bagging, palleting and loading into big bags.

Results and impact

The LIFE-financed part of this project(milling section) is the first suchexperiment in Europe to take solidand liquid marble waste andtransform it into calcium carbonate,for which there is considerableindustrial demand. At the same time,the environmental impact caused bystoring this kind of waste in quarriesand ponds is reduced.

The development of a pilot facilitycapable of recovering waste from themarble industry has producedsignificant benefits, bothtechnological and environmental,including:

• recovery of approximately 280 000tonnes of solid waste per year;

• transformation of that waste – using drymicronising – into calcium carbonates of differentgradings for applications in the painting, plastics,rubber, ceramics, cosmetics and pharmaceuticalsindustries;

• recovery of approximately 64 000 tonnes of whitemarble sludge from cutting and polishingworkshops in the area around the facility; this typeof waste has been causing serious pollution ofboth the soil and the water table;

• transformation of this sludge into wet-processultramicronised calcium carbonate slurries so thatit can be used by the paper industry tomanufacture paper and coating slips.

This demonstration project ispotentially reproducible throughoutthe calcium carbonate sector,especially in those areas with intensiveexploitation of white marble deposits.


Introduct ion

The PyroArc process was established to treat alltypes of waste and transform it into energy, non-leaching slag and recyclable metals. The mainobjective of this LIFE project was to produce thedata needed to build the first commercialPyroArc plant. Such a plant could form part ofan overall waste-handling system for municipal,industrial and hazardous waste in a communitynumbering 40 000–50 000 inhabitants.


There is keen demand throughout the world for amore environmentally-friendly and energy-efficientway of handling waste materials. As its only endproducts are energy, reusable slag and recyclablemetals, the PyroArc process is an attractive option.

The PyroArc process had already been developed ona small pilot-plant scale, and short tests had shownexcellent decomposition of organic hazardousmaterial and the ability to produce a leaching-resistant homogeneous slag from the inorganic partof the waste. Discussions with potential customershad made it clear that further tests on a larger scaleand of longer duration were required before theprocess could be brought into commercial use. ThisLIFE project was thus set up to transfer the wholeprocess to a larger scale, i.e. to increase the capacityof the pilot plant and the duration of the tests.


PyroArc is a waste gasification process that convertsalmost all types of waste material into a clean fuelgas and an inert amorphous slag usable as aconstruction material.

Organic material is converted into a fuel gas, which isused to generate electricity and produce steam andhot water. Inorganic components in the waste arerecovered as a non-leaching slag and as a metal alloy.The slag can be used for construction purposes,while the metal bullion can be sent to a refinery forthe recovery of valuable metals. Volatile metals arerecovered in the gas-cleaning system as oxides, andsupplied to a metal producer for metal recovery.

Energy can be recovered from the process as hotwater, steam and power. The bulk of the energy is inthe produced fuel gas, which can be used in a gasengine to generate power or simply be combusted toproduce steam or hot water. The other large energyflow from the process is the sensible heat of theproduced gas, which with a dry gas-cleaning system iscooled in a boiler where steam and/or hot water canbe produced.

The areas studied in the project were processparameters, material and energy balances andoptimisation of thermal efficiency. Optimising thedesign for the entire process, including materialshandling and gas cleaning, was one of the mainactivities. The environmental dimension was takeninto account by measuring the effluents for different

Pilot-plant tests and development of the PyroArc process


Beneficiary: ScanArc Plasma Technologies ABPO Box 41S-813 21 Hofors

Contact: Sven SanténTel.: (46-290) 230 50Fax: (46-290) 200 75

E-mail: [email protected] site: http://www.scanarc.se

Duration: 1 August 1997 to 31 December 1998

L I F E 9 7 E N V / S W E / 3 1 1


waste materials. Slag composition was optimised forgood leaching properties and metal recovery.

The waste materials used in the pilot-plant tests wereselected to reflect the types of waste generated in acommunity, i.e. sorted municipal waste, carshredding waste, tannery waste, electronic scrap andeven hazardous waste.

Results and impact

The upgrading of the pilot plant was successful. Thei ncreased capacity and the possibility of performinglonger tests made the approximation to commercialoperation more reliable.

The process has many advantages over wasteincineration. It minimises the amount of effluentthat needs to be disposed of, and completes thedecomposition of dioxins. The dioxin content of theproduced fuel gas is well below limit values evenbefore the gas is cleaned. In comparison, many wasteincinerators produce gas with a dioxin content 20–50times the limit value, which is then removed in thegas cleaning along with the fly ash. The PyroArcprocess can also deliver complete destruction of

halogenated compounds such as freons. Thus one ofthe first commercial applications of the process willprobably be for the destruction of freons, where theprocess is very effective and the investment costsrelatively small.

The main difference between the gas produced in thePyroArc process and gas from a conventional wasteincinerator is that the PyroArc gas is a combustiblefuel gas. Gas from conventional waste incinerators isalready fully combusted due to the presence of excessoxygen. For the same type of waste, the PyroArcprocess produces about half the amount of gasproduced by an incinerator. The advantage of this isthat the size of the gas-cleaning equipment isreduced, making for lower investment costs.

Tests with different waste materials demonstratedthat virtually all types of waste could be treated inthe process with good results. The main limits arethe heat value and carbon content of the waste.Where the waste contains a large amount of valuablemetal, this is tapped from the gasifier as moltenmetal. The best example is electronic scrap, where acopper alloy is produced which contains all thenoble metals found in such waste before it isprocessed.


Introduct ion

This project, locating in Siilinjärvi, Finland,deals with phosphogypsum, which is a by-product of phosphoric acid plants, and with flyash, which is a by product of energy plants. Theaim is to demonstrate a new managementsystem to increase the utilisation ofphosphogypsum and fly ash as soil constructionmaterials in an environmentally-safe way.

The new management system is being tested intwo construction sites, i.e. in renovation of frost-damaged roads and in covering a municipallandfill.


In Europe (including Russia) there are over 30phosphoric acid plants producing phosphogypsum asa by-product. The total annual production of thephosphogypsum is more than 21 million tonnes. Onlya small amount of this material can be utilised. Manyother branches of industry are also having similarproblems with their by-products. For example, thepower plants in the EU are producing 42 tonnes of flyash per year, for which they are constantly searchingnew recycling and utilisation methods.

The environmental benefits from utilising industrialby-products in soil construction are diverse. If thesematerials like phosphogypsum could be applied in acontrolled and environmentally-safe way inconstruction, the need for waste handling decreasesand rock and gravel are less needed. Thus thelandscape could stay virgin and untouched.


The increased utilisation of these by-productscontributes to the sustainable development by savingsignificant quantities of natural soil materials, byprotecting ground waters and natural landscape, andby reducing the amount of industrial wastes as wellas the need for landfills. The material managementsystem is a very new way to set aside the problems inconnection with the disposal of phosphogypsum andfly ash. The system is based on seven distinctinnovations the integration of which ensures that theproject objectives are met.

The project is carried out as two pilot structuresbased on the extensive use of phosphogypsum:

• renovation of a frost damaged gravel road inMaaninka municipality;

Disposal management system for utilisation ofindustrial phosphogypsum and fly ash


Beneficiary: Kemira Chemicals OyPO Box 20FIN-71801 Siilinjärvi

Contact: Asko SärkkäTel.: (358-10) 86 12 15Fax: (358-10) 862 60 00

E-mail: [email protected]: 1 September 1998 to 30 June 2001

L I F E 9 8 E N V / F I N / 5 6 6


• closing of a municipal landfill in Siilinjärvimunicipality.

The technical and environmental properties of thematerials will be tested and evaluated before, duringand after the constructions.

The demonstrative project for the utilisation ofphosphogypsum and fly ash will be carried out in aplant scale. There are three management tasks:laboratory tests for phosphogypsum and fly ash,construction of two demonstration pilot sites/roads,and technical and environmental impact assessment.

The project started in 1998 and will take three years.In summer 2000, the project is in mid-phase havingfinalised the pilot road constructions. The detailedfollow-up measurements and evaluation of results aregoing on. The laboratory tests on phosphogypsum'sand fly ash's applicability as a structural material forlandfills are proceeding. The landfill covering willstart in early summer 2000.


The project is going to have a significant impact onthe environment of the phosphoric acid industryand the power plants. With the system developed theneed for landfills or disposal sites for industrialwastes decreases, the quality of land use improvesand the former waste material substitutes for thetraditional construction materials from naturalsources.

The concrete environmental benefits can already beseen. In the pilot road approximately 3 200 tonnes ofby-product material containing mainlyphosphogypsum and fly ash have been used. If theconstruction were done using conventional materials,some 8 000 tonnes of gravel and crushed stone wouldhave been needed.


Introduct ion

This Finnish project is aiming to produce amodel set of actions for utilising the mixedplastic waste produced in hospitals. It involvesexperts from the plastics and other industries.Logistics and pre-treatment procedures will bedeveloped which take into account the specialfeatures of hospital waste. The reclamationmodel will allow plastics to be reused as rawmaterial for industry.

This is a three-year project involving theTampere University Hospital and three partnerhospitals. It began in 1998.


The amount of plastic used in medical applicationscontinues to rise. A large proportion of the resultingwaste is disposed of in landfills along with ordinarymunicipal waste, while part of it is incinerated inhazardous waste disposal plants. The fact that theplastic waste generated in hospitals is dirty andunsightly makes people reluctant to use it, despitethere being a demand for such high-quality plasticwaste materials. Reuse is being prevented by the lackof action models, so what is needed is a utilisationroute specially adapted to plastic materials.


As a first step, the hospitals involved in the projectquantified the volume of plastic waste they produce,breaking it down by type of plastic and type ofproduct. Preliminary results indicate that thehospitals use hundreds of different plastic productsmade of widely varying chemical compounds. Onceevery hospital has audited its current plastic wastesituation, collection and processing will get underway, organisation of which will include introducingguidelines and providing separation and collectionequipment.

The fractions suitable for landfill, incineration andreuse need to be separated as early as possible. Therequirements for transporting plastic waste, and forany after-treatment, burning and dumping atlandfills, are being studied. Options for reusing theproducts and/or recycling the plastic substances into

Reclamation of plastic waste from hospitals


Beneficiary: Tampere University HospitalPO Box 2000FIN-33251 Tampere

Contact: Kari SorolaTel.: (358-3) 2475 352Fax: (358-3) 2475 548

E-mail: [email protected] site: www.tays.fi

Duration: 1 September 1998 to 31 August 2001

L I F E 9 8 E N V / F I N / 5 7 7

w a s t e p r o j e c t s1 0 0

products seem to depend on the purity andhomogeneity of the plastic products and fractioncollected. The innovative part of the project relates tothe finding of products suitable for recycling.Potential reusers are small and medium-sized plasticscompanies.

One subtask is to resolve the problems connectedwith the sorting and temporary storage of theplastics and their transportation to the end user.Research is examining whether it is advantageous totransport different plastics collected in differenthospitals to one and the same reuser.

Results and impact

Environmental benefits could be obtained byimproving and changing all the stages of hospitalplastic waste handling. It will also be beneficial if theprocurement of materials can be changed and thevolume of plastics initially entering hospitalsreduced.

In the mid-phase of the project it was already clearthat plastics suppliers were not giving enoughconsideration to the life cycle of their products.Those responsible for collection and sorting ofplastic waste require information on the chemicalcharacteristics of the materials they are handling, i.e.which may call for special training.


Introduct ion

Novartis Ringaskiddy Ltd, a company registeredin Cork, Ireland, was incorporated in 1989. Itproduces bulk drug substances. The companywas registered under the European Union's eco-management and audit scheme (EMAS) in 1996,and was re-registered in 1998.

A general process-flow diagram formanufacturing bulk drug substances at NovartisRingaskiddy is given in Figure 1. Used solventstreams from production can be large, complexand multiphase, and are currently disposed ofby incineration. A study was undertaken toinvestigate the potential for reducing thevolume of solvent and for recovering andreusing the used solvents from one process. Thisapproach is in line with the hierarchy ofpreferred options for handling waste set out inthe European Union's fifth action programme(Figure 2).

Processes were developed at laboratory scale toseparate and purify the complex used solventstreams into their original components forreuse.

Demonstrating the feasibility of recovering and reusingcomplex waste solvent streams


Beneficiary: Novartis Ringaskiddy LtdRingaskiddyCo. CorkIreland

Contact: T. LeeTel.: (352-21) 86 20 00Fax: (352-21) 86 23 58

E-mail: [email protected]: 25 August 1998 to 2 November 1999

L I F E 9 8 E N V / I R L / 4 8 7


Chemical synthesis plantHeadtanks

Solids charging

Liquids

Solids

Rawmaterials

Products

Solventfor recovery

Leaf filters

Reactors

Pumps

Separators

Crystallisers

Centrifuges

Dryers

Dryer unloading

Figure 1: Typical process flow for chemical synthesis.

A key element in the sitemaster plan was theintegration of modernenvironmentalmanagement principles

AVOID

REDUCE

RECYCLE

CONTAIN

TREAT

Figure 2: Hierarchy of preferred options for handling waste.

Descr ipt ion of the problemThis project set out to demonstrate the feasibility ofdeveloping processes and installing a recovery plant toseparate multiphase used solvent streams derivingfrom the production of an active drug substance intotheir original components and purify them for reuse.This would result in fewer solvents having to beproduced, transported and destroyed, and would leadto a saving of resources, a reduction in environmentalimpact and reduced risk of an adverse incident.

Technical so lut ionThe project involved the completion of the design,installation, and operational and processqualification of a new large-scale plant to separateused solvent streams using three laboratory-developed processes. It involved operating the newrecovery unit with the complex used solvent streamsas feed material to demonstrate that tetrahydrofuranand ethylacetate can be purified to the desiredquality, throughput and yield. The three newlaboratory processes are as follows:

Process 1

Process 1 (see Figure 3) uses a continuous counter-current liquid extraction unit and two continuousvacuum pressure rectification units to recovertetrahydrofuran (THF) from hexane, heptane,isopropylalcohol, water and high boiling impuritiesin one used solvent stream. A small counter-currentextraction column is used to extract THF from thenon-polar impurities (hexane and heptane) in theaqueous phase. A two-pressure rectification system isused to separate water from THF.

Process 2

Process 2 (see Figure 4) uses a continuous counter-current liquid extraction unit, a continuousextractive rectification unit and two vacuumrectification units to recover tetrahydrofuran andethylacetate from methanol, ethanol, acetic acid,methylacetate, water and high boiling impurities inanother used solvent stream from the process. Thepolar components such as methanol, ethanol andacetic acid are separated in the counter-currentextraction column. The next step is a stripping

column, which is used to dewater the organic lightphase. The third column is a rectification column inwhich decane is separated from THF/ethylacetate.The fourth column is a rectification column inwhich THF and ethylacetate are separated at the topand bottom respectively.

Process 3

Process 3 (see Figure 5) uses two continuousrectification units to recover ethylacetate fromtetrahydrofuran, heptane, ethanol, acetic acid, waterand high boiling impurities in a third stream. Thefirst column is a dewatering column for ethylacetatewhich forms a two-phase azeotrope with water. Anadditional rectification column is added to eliminatehigh boilers.

Results and impactThe demonstration achieved the aims of the project.This new plant results in fewer solvents having to beproduced, transported and destroyed and so brings asaving of resources, a reduction in environmentalimpact and reduced risk of an adverse incident. Atmaximum throughput this project eliminates theneed to transport five 20 m3 tanks of fresh solventper week and six 20 m3 tanks of spent solvent perweek to and from Ireland.

The new processes support the full and realisticachievement of sustainable development in industrialactivities and demonstrate an integrated approach tothe environment and industry. This is in line with thehierarchy of preferred options for handling waste setout in the European Union's fifth action programmeand that required by participation in EMAS.


PROCESS 1: Recovery of tetrahydrofuran (THF)

Recycle of aqueous tetrahydrofuran

RecoveredTHF

High-pressurerectification

Low-pressurerectification

Extraction of nonpolar impurities

Aqueouswaste

Water

Wastematerial

Non polarcomponents

FEED

XXXXX

Figure 3. Process flow diagram for Process 1.

PROCESS 2: Recovery of Ethylacetate (ESTP)

Organic purge

Wastematerial

Aqueous phase

Recovered Ethylacetate

Elimination of highboiling imputities

Figure 4. Process flow diagram for Process 2.

PROCESS 2: Recovery of Ethylacetate / Tetrahydrofuran (THF)

RecoveredTHF

Extractionof polars

Aqueous waste

Water

Waste material

Stripping of water andnon polar volatiles

Recovered Ethylacetate

Separation of THFand Ethylacetate

Recovery ofDecene

Recycle of Decane

Decane

Purge of non polar impurities

XXXXX

Figure 5. Process Flow diagram for Process 3.

Introduct ion

Alcasa was set up in 1981 as an aluminiumrefinery. From the beginning, its activityconsisted in refining aluminium scrap and slagby melting it down and transforming it intoingots and/or baths of varying compositions(alloys) for subsequent use in smelting plants,generally for the manufacture of parts for theautomobile industry and related sectors.

Aluminium is recovered in order to obtainaluminium alloys with which to producecastings. Any material with enough aluminiummetal content to make the process worthwhilemay be used as a raw material.

Recovery of aluminium is of importance in bothenvironmental and energy terms since itprevents the generation of waste and at thesame time reduces the need to obtainaluminium by primary smelting, the cost ofwhich is extremely high.


Alcasa's aluminium slag recovery process used togenerate a total volume of 20 926 tonnes of waste peryear (potassium chloride, aluminium, fines and otherminority elements), the annual disposal cost ofwhich was EUR 880 000.


Essentially, the solution involves primary grinding ofthe slag using a bar impact mill without grates andwith deflecting plates, at the exit of which a selectionprocess removes any fragments larger than 100 mm.These are then conveyed directly to fusion. Aselection unit separates fragments measuringbetween 100 and 40 mm, and those between 40 and12 mm, continuously recirculating them between thegrinding unit and the selection unit. The finalproduct resulting from this selection process isconveyed directly to fusion.

Fragments measuring between 0 and 12 mm undergosecondary grinding in a bar mill until the optimumfusion calibre of between 12 and 0.6 mm is obtained.Fragments between 0 and 0.6 mm are separated outfor disposal via a modern filtering system.

Results and impact

This process broke new ground in the aluminiumslag recovery sector in Spain. Elimination of most ofthe impurities from the waste before starting thefusion process allows considerably less flux to beused and, as a result, far less waste is generatedthrough the fusion process and the amount ofhazardous waste is also much reduced.

The project brought about a considerable reductionin the weight of toxic waste the company was

Minimising waste production in the aluminium slag recovery process


Beneficiary: Aluminio Catalán SA (Alcasa)Polígono Industrial 'Pla de Llerona'E-08520 Les Franqueses del Vallés(Barcelona)

Contact: Miguel OllerTel.: (34) 938 49 12 33Fax: (34) 938 49 18 56

Duration: 1 January 1998 to 1 July 1999

L I F E 9 8 E N V / E / 3 6 5


producing and so cut the cost of waste management.A saving of 11 million tonnes of waste per year hasbeen achieved, disposal of which would have costEUR 400 000.

The project has contributed to the recycling goals setin the national waste plan.

This project could be reproduced throughout thesecondary fusion aluminium recovery sector, notonly in the European Union, but also in EasternEurope, Asia and Latin America, where majorproduction centres are facing similar environmentalproblems.


w a t e r

Introduct ion

This LIFE project, located in the region ofThessaly, focused on the development of theRiver Krasfidon area, which connects Volos withMount Pelion and at the same time forms aunique linear park in the urban area of Volos.The aim was to preserve the naturalenvironment bordering the river and to furtherdevelop it into an area of social activity andinteraction. The River Krasfidon divides twomunicipalities (Volos and Nea Ionia).

The goal was to protect an area that wouldotherwise be environmentally burdened, and atthe same time upgrade it aesthetically andgenerate new uses of the area and activitieswithin it.


The increasing awareness of the importance of theenvironment in the area was evident from the waylocal residents reacted against the proposal to turnthe Krasfidon riverbed into a major road. Similarly,the importance of open spaces within the town of

Volos was recognised, having previously beendiscounted or greatly underestimated.

The 12 km-long River Krasfidon connecting MountPelion with the Pagasitic Gulf rises in the village ofMakrinitsa and passes through the town of Volos. Itforms the boundary between the boroughs of Volosand Nea Ionia, two places with different historicaland cultural backgrounds. However, bothcommunities expressed the desire to preserve theriver and not to transform it into a road.

A way had to be found not only to protect thisnatural area, but also to create a more pleasant sightfor the inhabitants and to reduce pollution withinthe town.

Thus, the river project was a catalyst for socialinteraction leading to the transformation of apolluted and rundown disused area into an area ofrenewed social activity.


The project to upgrade the surrounding area wasimplemented in a number of phases and in differentseasons, taking into account different requirements.

'The Krasfidon vision': integration of the RiverbedKrasfidon into a sensitiveurban environment

Total eligible cost: EUR 1 902 199.95LIFE contribution: EUR 951 099.98 (50 %)

Beneficiary: Municipalities of Volos and N. Ionia(Demekav–Demka)The Town Hall,Riga Fereou 50GR-38001 Volos

Contact: C. BessasTel.: (30-421) 336 39Fax: (30-421) 359 44

Duration: 1 October 1993 to 30 June 1996

L I F E E N V / G R / 4 5 1 8

w a t e r p r o j e c t s1 0 8

The first phase comprised the construction of thenecessary infrastructure networks in the riverbeditself.

These included the formation of a stone canal alongthe riverbed, under which sewage pipes were placed,the construction of a water and sewage system alongthe entire length of the riverbed, and electrificationworks for the placement of lamp-posts along theriver.

The second phase aimed at upgrading the urban areanext to the riverbed. Activities included theconstruction of paths for pedestrians and cycletracks, bridges to link the two sides of the river andparking places. Roads for limited traffic were alsoopened at the riversideand existing recreationalareas were transformed.

Results andimpact

The project promoted theuse of alternative means oftransport by creating cycletracks and buildingbridges. Pedestrianprecincts made the areaaccessible to people withspecial needs. Action wasalso taken to enrich thenatural environment by extensive planting of trees,shrubs and flowering plants.

The results of the project were:

• protection of the River Krasfidon and its naturalenvironment through various interventions,

• increased local awareness of environmentalmatters,

• better cooperation between two municipalities onmatters concerning the environment,

• integration of Nea Ionia, which had been isolated,into the larger urban area through the linking ofthe two municipalities,

• development of the area into a place of socialactivity and commerce with the opening of newshops,

• new and improved uses for the buildings locatedat the sides of the river.

The proposal was innovative in that it represented anopportunity for cooperation between the public andprivate sectors, achieved a balance between thetraditional and the modern and advocated a newmethod of development. It introduced a planningstrategy which, while not disregarding historicalfeatures, minimised the negative effects of urban lifeand enhanced the contemporary city.


Introduct ion

This LIFE project, based in the Tonmawr area ofWest Glamorgan, Wales, involved the treatmentof mine-water discharges to tributaries of theRiver Pelenna, which in turn is a tributary of theRiver Afan. The scheme was intended to restorethe quality of the River Pelenna to support fishand other wildlife and remove unsightlydiscoloration caused by the mine water.

At the outset this project was the first attemptin Britain to restore river water quality by usingonly passive (biological) techniques.


The pollution to be combated resulted directly fromsuccessive and long-term changes to groundwater

levels associated with the working and subsequentclosure of collieries. While the mines in the areawere being worked, the water table was lowered bypumping, exposing iron pyrites to air and enablingthe creation of soluble compounds of iron.Following closure of the mines and cessation ofpumping, the water table recovered and the ironcompounds were washed into solution asgroundwater levels rose and the mines becameflooded. Eventually the contaminated water emergedand found its way to local watercourses.

The characteristic orange-yellow staining andblanketing of the gravel substrates in the Pelennacatchment was due to the precipitation and settlingout of the iron compounds or ochres that occurwhen the ferruginous mine water drained into areceiving watercourse.

Not only were these mine-water discharges directlytoxic to aquatic life due to the elevated

Restoration of the River Pelenna: a constructed wetlandtreatment system for therehabilitation of sitescontaminated by mine-waterdischarges

Total elegible cost: EUR 1 505 310.53LIFE contribution: EUR 647 283.53 (43 %)

Beneficiary: Neath Port Talbot County BoroughCouncilCivic CentreY Ganolfan DdinesigNeath SA11 3QZCastell-neddUnited Kingdom

Contact: Ms Cath RansonTel.: (44-1639) 76 42 93Fax: (44-1639) 76 41 29


L I F E 9 3 E N V / U K / 3 0 4 6


concentrations of dissolved iron in the receivingwatercourses, the blanketing of the substrata alsocaused more chronic effects on invertebrate habitatsand fish spawning gravels.


In order to rehabilitate the area, it was decided tocreate a large-scale wetland treatment system to treatthe discharges by using natural biological processes,without the use of machinery, pumping or chemicaltreatment, to reduce the amount of iron discharged tothe Nant Gwenffrwd by 95 % and to the Blaenpelennaby 50 % and ultimately to make the watercoursessuitable for recolonisation by salmonid fish.

After site investigations and surveys, wetland cellswere constructed from concrete, or concrete andbrick, and lined with an impermeable membrane orwith clay, with a peat-free compost substratethickness of 700 mm and a maximum standing waterlevel of 300 mm.

To help treat some of the more acidic discharges, sincea minimum level of alkalinity is required for thesystem to work effectively, it was necessary to have aseparate treatment prior to the wetland using burieddrains filled with limestone (anoxic limestone drains).

During later phases of the project, other featureswere introduced, including aeration cascades, ochreaccretion terraces and successive alkalinity producingsystems. An attenuation lagoon and settlementlagoons were constructed at certain points to bufferflow variations and pretreat water. Mushroomcompost (with less than 1 % peat content) was usedas a substrate vegetation derived from reed mace,bulrush, yellow flag or common reed. Groundwaterand surface run-off was controlled by land drains.

A number of demonstration features wereincorporated, including surface-flow wetlands (whichencourage aerobic iron removal processes), sub-surface-flow wetlands (which favour anaerobic processes, suchas bacterially-mediated sulphate reduction), differenttypes of substrate (mushroom compost and wood barkmulch) and differing plant types (nursery grown Typhaand the locally occurring Juneus).

Conclus ion: results and impacts

Significant success was achieved in the identificationand implementation of a sustainable long-termdemonstration system. Monitoring and evaluation has

demonstrated the effectiveness of the waterpurification, which restored river water quality to levelscapable of supporting salmonid fish life. Iron removalis currently estimated at 90 %. The improvement in thevisual appearance is taking longer as the irondeposition and staining, which has accumulated overmany years, is washed away only gradually.

Results show that operational costs are low whencompared to alternative systems and capital costs arealso comparatively low, with the systems providingadditional environmental benefits such as diversifiedwildlife habitat.

The project was influential in the establishment ofcomputer modelling systems for the concept designof wetland treatment systems. A major contributionwas made to understanding iron removal processes,sampling and analysis methodology anddevelopment design details.

The project also played a significant role in theeducational field as an environmental education andscience resource.

The project achieved a high profile in Britain, Europeand elsewhere as a demonstration of sustainablepassive methods for the removal of iron from minewater, of the detailed processes taking place withinthese systems, of engineering construction and ofdissemination methodology. Thus it made asignificant contribution to the European knowledgebase on mine-water treatment and was able todemonstrate the effectiveness of new treatmenttechniques and their potential for affectedwatercourses throughout the European Union.


Introduct ion

This Danish LIFE project set out to develop arobust, operational and cost-effective remote-sensing system to map submerged vegetation asa means of assessing the environmental qualityof coastal waters.

Remote sensing has proved effective in mappingterrestrial vegetation, but the method was notsuitable for mapping submerged coastalvegetation until this project took up thechallenge. The remote-sensing system presentedhere allows maps to be compiled which give anoptimal overview of the distribution ofvegetation types over large coastal areas.


Coastal zone management is an important elementof EU environment policy, and improved means ofassessing the environmental quality of coastal waterswould make it easier to implement, manage andevaluate EU measures to protect the marineenvironment.

Although submerged vegetation plays a key role incoastal ecosystems and acts as an indicator of theirenvironmental quality, adequate methods forsurveying and quantifying it on a large scale havebeen lacking. Remote sensing has proved effective inmapping terrestrial vegetation, and adaptation of the

method to the mapping of submerged coastalvegetation would provide a useful means of assessingthe environmental quality of coastal waters as a toolfor coastal zone management.


Technical work got under way with the selection ofstudy areas and the gathering of backgroundinformation (e.g. depth limits, sediments, light andsalinity requirements) on different vegetation types.Areas in the Bay of Aarhus, the Øresund andNorsminde Fjord were selected as study sites as theycontained a wide range of vegetation types.Calibration data were collected here, in parallel withthe acquisition of remote-sensing data, in 1996 and1997. The database structure and database tools weredesigned over a two-year period from 1996 to 1998.The image analyser was designed and programmed,and modules developed for pre-processing the imagedata, at the same time as the database was designed.Development of the decision-support system tookone year. Validation was carried out during 1998. Thefinal step was to demonstrate and implement thesystem, and this took place at the end of 1998.

Essentially, the work involved preparing andconducting field and image-acquisition campaigns,followed by the development tasks necessary foranalysis of the data. The new system combinesremotely-sensed data with data sets from thegeographic information system GIS (e.g. water depth)

A remote-sensing system for coastal zone management


Beneficiary: National Environment ResearchInstitute (NERI)PO Box 325Vejlsövej 25DK-8600 Silkeborg

Contact: Peter Bondo ChristensenTel.: (45-89) 20 14 00Fax: (45-89) 20 14 14

E-mail: [email protected], [email protected] site: http://www.dmu.dk/rescoman


L I F E 9 5 E N V / D K / 1 1 0


and background knowledge of vegetationcharacteristics, thereby considerably enhancing theinterpretation of submerged vegetation data obtainedby remote sensing. The remote-sensing system can beapplied to different geographical areas by adjustingthe background information. It can also be appliedto the mapping of other sedentary coastal waterbiota, e.g. mussel beds.

The remote-sensing system was accompanied by anon-line guide which explained how input data andanalysis methods can be selected to tailor the systemto the assessment of environmental quality indifferent coastal waters and for differentenvironmental management purposes. The guide wasavailable as a hypertext document.

Results and impact

The main product delivered by the project was anoperational and widely applicable remote-sensingsystem for assessing the environmental quality ofcoastal water, based on the optimal detection andmapping of submerged vegetation in coastal waters

using aerial photographs, airborne scanner dataand/or satellite images.

The environmental benefit is that it has becomeeasier to use remote sensing for monitoringsubmerged vegetation in coastal zone management.The project developed the options for using the areadistribution of benthic vegetation as a large-scalemonitoring tool to describe spatial and temporalgradients in water quality. This tool has severalpossible applications for coastal zone management.The experience gained from the project has alreadybeen incorporated into benthic vegetationmonitoring programmes.

The primary advantage of aerial photography is itshigh spatial resolution, which is useful both forstudies of vegetation dynamics and for detailedmapping of sea grasses. The major constraints are'noise' from surface-reflected light and the limitedcapacity to distinguish vegetation close to the lowerdepth limit.

The remote-sensing system can be applied todifferent geographical areas by adjusting thebackground information.


Figure 1. The complexity of the remote-sensing system used in mappingsubmerged vegetation. The mapping of bottom features in the opticalregion relies on information on those features showing up as variationsin the radiance directed towards the sensor. However, the signal thesensor receives is made up of contributions from a variety of sources, ofwhich bottom-reflected radiance is not necessarily the largestcomponent.

Identify groundcontrol points in map and master images

Image gro-correction process

Is coverage sufficient?

No Yes

Evaluate resulting image

Resample image to map

Calculate densified network of TIN tie pointsModel new GCp’s

Introduct ion

With the intention of overcoming principalenvironmental problems as well as certaintechnical difficulties regarding the productionof wood-based fibreboard, Silva, with the LIFEfinancial support, have started working on aproject to develop a new environmentally-friendly wood panel.

As the production of wood-based panels is stillsusceptible of causing some environmentalproblems, the aims of the project are tocombine the advantages of the wet hardboardwith the advantages of the dry productionprocess.

The product consists of a pure wood fibreboardcalled Ecorex®, which can adequately replaceother products at this time in the market.Indeed, The project combines ecology andproduction quality, respecting the environmentand assuring maximum protection for publichealth and maximum safety in the workplace.

Descr ipt ion

The project developed is a type of fibreboarddesigned to overcome principal environmentalproblems and certain technical limits connected withthe production process of other types of fibreboards

like HB and MDF. It is completely free ofsynthetically-based glues and produced by a drytechnology with a very low environmental impact. Itis obtained by using a dry environmentally friendlytechnique.

The new production process is similar in variousrespects to that of MDF. It differs mainly in thethermo-mechanical treatment the wood goesthrough during the fibre preparation process.

During this production phase, which is carried outin specific conditions of pressure and temperature, acontrolled hydrolysis of the hemicellulose and of thelignina – natural wooden based constituents – isobtained with the consequent formation ofsubstances with adhesive properties.

The substances obtained, called bioresins, cancompletely substitue the synthetic glues which are offundamental importance in the MDF production.

Features of the different production processes ofwood-based fibreboards can be seen in the figuresbelow.

With this method it is possible to eliminate thetempering and to considerably reduce the press cyclecompared to the wet process.

Having reduced the need to remove excess waterduring the pressing stage, this product also

Wood-based fibreboards: production process andenvironmental issues

Total eligible cost: EUR 5 459 826.13LIFE contribution: EUR 1 566 145.5 (28.68 %)

Beneficiary: Legnochimica spAVia Riviera, 197I-12087 Pamparato(Cuneo)

Contact: Pierluigi VienoTel.: (39-0174) 22 02 41Fax: (39-0174) 22 03 85

E-mail: [email protected] site: http://www.silvagroup.com

Duration: 1 April 1995 to 1 July 1997

L I F E 9 5 E N V / I T / 3 0 3


eliminates the need of the drainage meshes, which inhardboard cause the roughness, that is alwaysacceptable, on one side of the hardboard.

As with MDF it is possible to easily modify thewidth of the fibreboard produced and consequentlyreduce the quantity of offcuts and wastage, takingless time and obtaining a higher productivity rate.The production of medium and high thicknessfibreboard is also possible.

A distinguishing feature of Ecorex®, in respect toother fibreboards, is the fact that there is no'precuring' or drainage meshes, meaning that bothsides of the board are perfectly smooth. This makesit a better product and eliminates the need of costlysanding.

Depending on the technical characteristics required,the density of the panel can be designed accordingly.With values such as 850–900 kg/m3 it is possible toachieve a result which is equal to the HB or the bestMDF. This means a saving of 100–150 kg of wood or130–150 kg of glue per cubic metre of panelproduced. The higher the density, the more themechanical characteristics improve, creating possiblenew uses of the product. In addition, for the samedensity, the Ecorex fibreboard uses less wood thanthe HB, where a significant amount of the processedmaterial is lost or dissolved in the process water.

Conclus ions

• Density, resistance and flexibility: The density ofthe standard version of the new fibreboard isapproximately 900 kg/m3, bending strength above300 kg/cm2 and internal bond of 20 kg/cm2.

• Thickness: The thickness range of the boardsproduced goes from 2–10 mm.

• Usage: The fields where the fibreboard can beused are multiple: fruit packaging, doors, carindustry, children's toys, laminated floors, etc.Thanks to the complete absence of formaldehydebased resins, this product is particularly suitablefor indoor use, fruit and vegetable packaging andin cars.

A bio-mass power station is being built in the sameproduction site at present. The raw material for thefibreboard is mainly made up of waste material fromsawmills, recuperated wood or wooden discards nototherwise usable.

Finally, the wooden wastes from panel productionare then sent to the boiler for the production ofenergy. This integrated system means that we can usea natural resource as important as wood, efficientlyand completely, giving an economic significance toactivities, such as the cleaning and maintenance ofgreen areas, which are essential for the preservationof our forests.


Introduct ion

The principal aim of the LIFE Lestijoki projectwas to determine how suitable a drainagemethod based on lime filter drains would be forreducing the loading from acid sulphate soils.

The demonstration was carried out atcatchment area level so that the results could becollated and computed into an integrated actionmodel for renovating acid watercourses flowingthrough sulphate soils. The demonstration area,the River Lestijoki, is on the west coast ofFinland.


There are around 13 million ha worldwide ofnaturally acid sulphate soils. While this representsonly around 1 % of the world's field area, such soilscan create serious problems for both agriculture andthe environment at a regional level. Acid sulphatesoils cover considerable parts of the coastal plains ofwestern Finland, representing about 16 % of thecountry's overall cultivated field area.

Acid sulphate soils need to be drained effectively inorder to be farmed. During drainage the soils quicklybecome acid, and vast amounts of acid metals arereleased into the groundwater and drainage systems.

On the coast, where land uplift is taking place,acidification is a permanent phenomenon. Acidityreleased from such soils tends to causeenvironmental problems in the affected farmland.Acid sulphate soils have to be continuously andmassively limed in order to produce goodagricultural crops.

Acid sulphate soils are the main cause of riverwateracidification on the west coast of Finland.Acidification of riverwater stunts growth, increasesmortality, impoverishes species and upsets the wholeecosystem. The most disturbing effects can be seenin fish stocks.


The first project stage consisted of soil surveys tolocate the best area for the demonstration. In thesecond stage, lime filter drainage was provided in theselected subcatchment area. The third stage involvedrun-off and water-quality monitoring, while the lastphase focused on information and evaluation.

The soil screening method (profile drilling) was usedto locate the acid loading areas and determine theirpotential acidity within the River Lestijoki catchmentarea. Drilling revealed the most extensive areas ofacid sulphate soils to be located along the lowercourse of the river. Over half the fields here were on

Life Lestijoki: management of acid sulphate soils


Beneficiary: Regional Council of CentralOstrobothniaRantakatu 14FIN-67100 Kokkola

Contact: Marja-Leena Mikkonen-KarikkoTel.: (358-6) 860 57 07Fax: (358-6) 868 03 08


Duration: 1 August 1996 to 31 October 1998

L I F E 9 6 E N V / F I N / 6 3


acid sulphate soils, and most were found to beexposed to significant and long-term acidification.

It was decided that the best place for providing limefilter drainage was the Kinarehenoja subcatchmentarea on the lower course of the river, where most ofthe fields were very acid, the lowest measured pHbeing less than 3 (neutral = 7). A specially designedmachine was used to lay 32 km of lime filter drains,and over 100 ha of fields were drained.

In addition to soil screening and water and dischargestudies, a mathematical model was needed in orderto estimate the impact of lime filter drains on theriver.

Results and impact

Follow-up studies indicated lime filter draining to bea technological success. The mixture of lime andrefilled soil was homogeneous and the fields retainedtheir original appearance. In summer 1998, the drainsworked well despite rainy weather. A few farmsexperienced drainage problems, but this was due toinadequate district drains. Half the farmers reportedbetter crops than before.

Water acidity in the lime filter drains stabilised at afairly neutral level. Water quality differed sharplybetween the old drains and the lime filter drains, thecalculated mean pH being 4.1 in the former and 6.7in the latter.

Water-quality monitoring in the Kinarehenojatributary showed the water to be acid despite thelime filter drains. This was mainly because thetreated area was small: although the area with limefilters covered over 80 % of the fields in thesubcatchment area, this area accounted for only asmall fraction of the catchment area as a whole. Ifdrainage had been provided using a conventionalsystem, acidification would have almost doubled.Lime filter drainage systems can thus neutralise theadditional acidification caused by new drainage.

In acid sulphate soils, lime filter drains significantlyreduce regional acidification caused by drainage.Drainage systems should be extensive in order toimprove water quality.


1

2 4

3 7 6

5

1. Cultivated top soil

2. Transition zone,acid sulphate soil

3. Anaerobic soil

4. Quick lime +acid sulphate soil

5. Ground water level

6. Gravel bed

7. Pipe drain

Figure 1. Structure of a lime filter drain.

Figure 2. Mean acidity values in discharge water. Results of subsurfacedrain run-off monitoring in the Kinarehenoja subcatchment area in1998.

0

2

4

6

8

10

12Old trainsLime filter drains

acid

ity, m

mol

/l

7.5.98 6.6.98 20.8.98 19.10.98

Introduct ion

The essential aim of the Waters project was tocome up with an innovative methodology formonitoring water quality in all types of waterbody (coasts, lakes, river basins, lagoons, deltasand estuaries).

Waters set out to break through the currentscientific and technological frontier of watermonitoring, which is based solely on theinstallation of static units. Such units provide arelatively limited amount of data, which is thenprocessed using mathematical simulationmodels, employing probabilistic methods toidentify the sources, dissemination andtransport of pollutants.

By contrast, the Waters project explored atechnology for 'dynamic monitoring in realtime' using mobile units. These are installed onboats and are used to measure data as the boatsmove around in the course of their normalfunctions (transport of goods and passengers,refuse collection, etc.). This method makes itpossible to collect dynamic data; it alsominimises the use of simulation models while atthe same time increasing the quantity of datacollected.

Descr ipt ion

The partners

The two-year project was conceived and directed byAMAV (Venetian Environmental MultiserviceCompany), whose partners were the Venice CityCouncil, two research institutes (ISDGM – Institutefor the Study of Large Mass Dynamics, and IBM –Marine Biology Institute) belonging to the CNR(National Research Council) for the scientific side,and Archimedes Logica srl, a Rome-based company,for the technical and industrial side.

The location

The technology for 'dynamic monitoring in real time'was tested in the coastal area of Venice's lagoon usingten mobile collection stations installed on AMAVvessels which ply the lagoon basin constantly for thepurpose of waste collection.

The technology

The units were inserted into a small electro-mechanical lift, the 'Eco-lift', built entirely ofstainless steel and comprising two slidingcomponents, one fitting inside the other like atelescope, and placed inside a shaft in the bottom ofthe refuse collection boats. The structure, which candrop 2 m below the waterline, houses amultiparameter probe capable of measuring basic

Waters: water data acquisition in real time for coastal eco-systems research and services


Beneficiary: AMAV (Azienda MultiserviziAmbientali Veneziana)Cannaregio 996IT-30121 Venice

Phone: (39-041) 521 70 11Fax: (39-041) 521 78 73

E-mail: [email protected] site: www.amav.it


L I F E 9 6 E N V / I T / 1 0 3


chemical-physical parameters (temperature, salinity,acidity, percentage of dissolved oxygen, redoxpotential, turbidity, etc.) and performing other usefulfunctions as the boats follow their routes, includingwater sampling, bathymetric measurements, andvisual inspections using fibre-optic cameras.

One highly innovative aspect is the datamanagement: the data are given a precise space-timereference, obtained using the differential globalpositioning system, and transmitted by radio to theWaters control centre at 2 second intervals. The radiocover is wide enough for data to be transmittedwithin a 20 km radius of the historic centre.

In this way, it is possible to pinpoint the dynamicdispersion of the monitored elements in the water,and to verify the precise contribution of theindividual components (pollutants, water velocity,relationship between point sources of pollution anddiffuse substances, etc.).

The information is collected by an informationsystem in the Waters control centre, which is able toshare the data in real time with the partner CNRinstitutes. Staff in the control centre are thenresponsible for building up the environmentaldatabases, overall assessment of the state of thelagoon ecosystem, and the mapping of risk levels. Allthe gathered information can be accessed in realtime, even as the measurements are being taken.

For areas not covered by the AMAV vessels,environmental pollution data are furnished by theobservation of animal species, which are used asbiological indicators interlinked with the chemical-physical data. Analytical samples are taken by afloating laboratory (LIFE-lab) created thanks to theLIFE instrument. This vessel was designed tosupplement the standard dynamic measurementswith integrated monitoring exercises, either seasonalor targeted at specific areas of the lagoon atparticular risk.

Results

The project delivered both products and procedures,and came up with findings which are clearlyquantifiable in cost-benefit terms, and thereforereproducible in other situations, too.

All the elements of the monitoring system (units,Eco-lift, data production and management software,data geo-referencing system, etc.) were developedunder the LIFE project, and this made it possible

both to plan the overall system and to test theprototype.

In terms of procedure, the main innovative featureof the Waters project is the dynamic monitoring,with 540 000 readings being taken per year asopposed to around 1 000 readings in sample-measurement exercises carried out in previous yearsusing static systems. Despite this huge increase in theamount of data, the cost of installing the system andmaking it operational is less than half that ofconventional static monitoring. Similarly,maintenance, inspection, supply and replacementcosts are around one tenth of those usually incurredin such monitoring.

This saving is due to a number of factors.

• The units are installed on existing vessels whosefunction takes them constantly around the lagoon.This reduces the expenditure on vesselmanagement and maintenance.

• The technology employed in the lifts which housethe units allows the equipment to be removed forthe purpose of repair or replacement, ensuringboth flexibility in the system over time, and lowermaintenance costs.

• To perform static monitoring comparable to thatcarried out in the Waters project would requirearound 100 units, as opposed to the 10 used in theLIFE project in Venice.

The technology developed and tested in Venice hasbeen sought by cities such as Genoa, Rome (whichrecently undertook a pilot experiment for the TiberBasin and the bathing areas adjacent to the rivermouth), Ancona, Hamburg, Monte Carlo, Aqaba(Jordan) and Rio de Janeiro, which has begunmonitoring the Baia di Guanabara, Sepetiba and IlhaGrande, as well as the lagoons of the Rio municipalarea itself.


Introduct ion

The water shortage in Spain, affecting millionsof people, is due partly to low rainfall but moregenerally to Spain's water-wasting culture. Inrecent years, despite a 10 % decrease in rainfall,water consumption has increased by 20 %.

In 1995, 11 million Spaniards were exposed todaily water restrictions. That period also sawdemonstrations and clashes between Spain'sregions. The cause of the dispute: water. Thedebate at that time was about how to buildmore reservoirs, where to divert water from,where to find the huge sums needed to financethe work, etc. On top of this there was a tripleparadox: Spain had the world's third highestrate of water consumption per inhabitant, yetwater was in short supply and it was cheap.


This water-wasting culture was perpetuated in avicious circle: there were no regulations to encouragesaving, institutional policy was based on increasedsupply, people were unaware that water-savingtechnology could allow more efficient household useof water (a survey carried out in Zaragoza before thecampaign began showed that 60 % of people hadforgotten or did not know ways of saving water inthe home), the population placed little value onwater and so was wasteful in its daily use of thisresource.


The project set out to foster a new 'water culture', sothat this limited natural resource essential to lifemight be managed rationally. Its concrete objectivewas that households in the city of Zaragoza shouldsave a total of 1 000 million litres of water in thespace of one year. Certain steps were deemedessential for achieving this goal: consumers had to beencouraged to demand water-saving technology, themarket in such technology had to be stimulated, andpeople needed to be educated and informed.

Before the campaign began, a gap was found to existbetween the technology available on the market andthat found in people's homes: while the technologypeople had at home was wasteful, the market wasoffering a wide range of water-saving products anddevices for which there was no demand. Theindustry said there was no particular demand forwater-saving products, while users were unfamiliarwith them.

To bring about the desired shift, the existence ofwater-saving products was publicised, and their useencouraged by means of information and awareness-raising activities.

Six strategies were put forward to achieve the goal ofsaving 1 000 million litres:

• acquisition of new water-saving sanitaryware(toilets, taps, showers, etc.);

• installation of water-saving devices in oldequipment;

Zaragoza: a city saving water. Small steps. Major solutions


Beneficiary: Fundación Ecología y DesarrolloPlaza San Bruno, 9, 1ºE-50001 Zaragoza (Aragón)

Contact: Victor ViñualesTel.: (34-976) 298 282Fax: (34-976) 203 092

E-mail: [email protected] site: http://[email protected]

Duration: 1 October 1996 to 1 February 1999

L I F E 9 6 E N V / E / 5 0 9


• acquisition of water-saving domestic appliances(washing machines and dishwashers);

• introduction of individual domestic hot-watermeters;

• any other measures, devices or equipmentdesigned to save water (repairing of leaks, reuse ofdomestic water, etc.);

• change in water consumption habits.

Also, since part of the task was to involve all thosewho 'created' the water culture, various target publicswere identified: water-industry professionals, majorconsumers, children and young people and thegeneral public.

The project encompassed two distinct phases:February 1997 saw the beginning of the preparatoryphase, during which the participatory structure wasdecided (partners and companies to provide backingand sponsorship, and other bodies providing initialcooperation). Special emphasis was placed at thisstage on water industry professionals, to secure theircollaboration and participation in the campaign.

October 1997 saw the beginning of theimplementation phase, with specific action aimed atthe various target publics. Campaign material beganto be distributed, and for one month the campaignwas given multimedia exposure (television, radio,press, displays in shops, leaflets, stickers, posters,hoardings, etc.).

The campaign concluded on 25 January 1999 with aninternational meeting on water-efficiency in cities.

Results and impact

During its lifetime, the campaign resulted in a savingof 1 176 million litres of water compared with theamount consumed during the same months theprevious year.

Cooperation agreements were reached with 150different bodies in Zaragoza; 183 schools, 474 teachersand 70 000 pupils took part.

The Zaragoza City Council decided to produce awater-saving plan for the city.

More than 140 establishments in the city are sellingwater-saving products. In all 65 % of businessesselling sanitaryware, taps or household appliances orfitting meters played an active part in the project.

Sales of water-saving appliances rose by 15 %. Thenumber of individual meters rose four-fold, and thatof water-saving taps six-fold.

Before the campaign began, one in every threehouseholds saved water in some way. By the end ofthe campaign, two in three households were savingwater.

3 990 homes in the city introduced some form ofwater-saving device during the year of the project.

That same year, 300 000 people (half the city'sinhabitants) adopted a water-saving habit in theirhome.

Before the campaign began, 60 % of the city'sinhabitants were unaware of any way of saving water.By the end, this figure had fallen to 28 %.

The project has been widely publicised, both inSpain and internationally. It has led to manypresentations, seminars, exhibitions, appearances atshows and in the media, etc.

The project has won various international prizes.


Introduct ion

This project's ambitious aim is to safeguard thequality of groundwater in the City of Aalborg,in North Jutland, Denmark. Efforts are focusingon a few groundwater catchment areas locatedin built-up zones not far from the city centre.The main tasks are to promote sustainable landuse in selected groundwater catchment areas,replace conventional farming with forests andenvironmentally-friendly farming, neutraliseimmediate sources of pollution and providepublic information.


Most of the EU's population is dependent ongroundwater, yet groundwater pollution is awidespread and growing problem: it figuresprominently in the EU's fifth environmental actionprogramme, and the water framework directiveplaces special emphasis on it.

Groundwater is the only realistic source of drinkingwater in Aalborg. Regular quality monitoringindicates that all formal water-quality criteria are met,but that the water quality is deteriorating, and recentquality checks have shown newly formedgroundwater to contain pesticides and unacceptablelevels of nitrates. However, there is a lack of

knowledge about the causes of pollution, its rate ofspread and how the problem can be prevented.


The goal is to safeguard the quality of groundwaterin two specific areas by means of municipal landpurchases, changes in land use and increased publicawareness of pollution problems. Traditionalsolutions to prevent groundwater pollution haveproved ineffective, so highly innovative concepts hadto be developed.

Water consumption is increasing and clean waterresources are being depleted. New solutions areneeded quickly, but the availability of water mustalso be safeguarded in the long run. Efforts arefocusing on two groundwater catchment areas in theDrastrup area and Aalborg southeast, the largest suchareas for Aalborg. Both are extremely vulnerable,with little or no natural protection against pollution.

A plan to promote sustainable land-use and an actionplan for water are being drawn up for the catchmentareas. Conventional agriculture in these areas is togive way to forest, common land or environmentally-friendly agriculture. Land consolidation was chosenas the method of acquisition, a method notpreviously used to purchase land in groundwatercatchment areas. Areas designated as forests are beingplanted with foliate trees with due consideration ofthe terrain, soil conditions and the local climate.

Sustainable land use in groundwater catchment areas


Beneficiary: The Municipality of AalborgPO Box 462Rantzausgade 6DK-9100 Aalborg

Contact: Stig Berg NorskTel.: (45-99) 31 31 31Fax: (45-99) 31 31 32

E-mail: [email protected] site: http://www.aalborgkom.dk/drastrup

Duration: 1 October 1997 to 30 September2001

L I F E 9 7 E N V / D K / 3 4 7


Parking places, paths and information boards will beprovided and former quarries will be landscaped.Information campaigns and community involvementwill be organised throughout the project period, butespecially in the spring months. A key element ismonitoring, which includes measurement of theinitial situation and first measurements of theeffects.

The project got under way in October 1997 and willbe completed in September 2001.

Results and impact

If land use in the groundwater catchment area canbe converted as planned, the groundwater will beprotected permanently. The project is thus of greatimportance to the local community. The upwardtrend in nitrate and pesticide levels should bearrested and soon go into reverse, and theexpectation is that the quality criteria will be met inthe long run, so that permanent, artificialpurification measures can be avoided. Eventually, atleast 50 % of the residential zones within the projectareas will declare themselves pesticide-free.

Clean groundwater will improve the quality ofsurface water, and of biodiversity in the aquaticenvironment. Wild flora and fauna are also expectedto thrive. Sustainable land use will improvebiodiversity generally, and additional recreationalopportunities will be created.


Figure 1. New recreational paths are being established.

Figure 3. Groundwater station monitors.

1978 traditionalfarming

1998 permanentgrass

2018

Threshold valuefor nitrate in dirnking water

50

mg

nitr

ate

per l

itre

0

Figure 2. The nitrate and pesticide content of the groundwater needs tofall below the threshold values in the long term so that permanenttreatment can be avoided.

Introduct ion

This Swedish LIFE project developed a washingsystem incorporating integrated purificationand recycling of water, designed to reduce theconsumption both of water and of cleaningproducts. The project was implemented in 10demonstration installations in food, printingand vehicle maintenance businesses locatedmainly in southern and central Sweden.


Washing processes for various types of vehicles;cleaning processes in the food industry, printingworks, workshops and the metal industry; varioussurface treatments, etc., all produce waste watercontaining very large amounts of organic material,which hampers biological purification inconventional waste-water systems. If the watercontains heavy metals, toxic substances orbiologically resistant, polluting organic material, theproblems are even greater. Such pollutants will alsocompromise the use of sludge from municipalsewage plants as fertiliser.

Conventional vehicle-washing facilities use a straightflow system, i.e. fresh water is taken in, chemicals areadded and the mixture is used as required. The usedliquid is collected in an oil separator with a directoutlet to the sewage system. As each new quantity offresh water is added the corresponding amount ofwaste water flows to the sewer. This common type ofsystem makes free use of water and chemicals andproduces significant amounts of contaminated wastewater.


The solution is a system which purifies and recyclesthe water. The system creates a loop in which at least80 % of the water that would otherwise have flowedto the sewer is returned to the intake end to be usedfor new washes. To avoid overloading the returnwater with dirt that would make it unsuitable fornew washes, the loop includes features which cleanthe water to the degree needed for efficient washing.

Construction of prototype and demonstration plantsbegan in late 1997 and the first demonstration plantwas ready for start-up early in 1998. Other plantsfollowed during 1998 and 1999. After planning andconstruction, the results were documented and

The wash & circulation system: cost-effective cleaningwith integrated purificationand recycling of water


Beneficiary: Wash & Circulation of ScandinaviaABMossvägen 3S-17540 Järfälla

Contact: Anna-Karin OröTel.: (46-8)-58 02 55 19Fax: (46-8)-58 02 55 24

E-mail: [email protected] site: http://www.macserien.com

Duration: 1 February 1997 to 31 January 2000

L I F E 9 7 E N V / S W E / 3 1 2


follow-up studies were made. The final stage wasevaluation of the results.

The system uses known, reliable separation methods,such as sedimentation and sand filtration, and low-cost, well-known chemicals, such as sodiumorthophosphate and calcium chloride, which have noparticular negative environmental impact.

The project comprised 10 subprojects, such as: thewashing of heavy vehicles; the cleaning of trucks,including washing the interiors of tanks on trucks;the washing of small cars, and the washing/cleaningof machinery and equipment at printing works, andin the food and metal-working industries. Thesubprojects were located in different climate zonesand involved different washing techniques.

The new system reduces the contamination of wastewater by a factor of at least 10 and makes it possibleto reduce tap water and chemical consumption by 80% or more.

Results and impact

The system can reduce waste water contaminationfrom oils and heavy metals by 94-99 %. At the sametime, water and chemical consumption is reduced by70-90 %. The reduced water consumption does notaffect the performance of the washing operations.

Were this system to be introduced for private cars,the potential fresh water saving for the EU as awhole would be equivalent to the domestic waterconsumption of about 1.5 million people. Thepotential saving would be at least as great should theWash & Circulation system be used throughoutEurope for heavy-vehicle cleaning. These savingswould also constitute an environmental benefit inthe area of waste water treatment.

The costs incurred by environmentally friendlyproduction techniques tend to drive many small andmedium-sized companies out of business, as suchtechniques primarily involve high technology andcostly installations. Wash & Circulation hasdeliberately refrained from adopting this approachand has concentrated its efforts on using old, well-known techniques, low-cost equipment and simpleand cheap well-known chemicals.


FIGURES 1 to 3. Results from the different installations. Reductions in the use of chemicals and water, reduction of heavy metals and reduction of oil.

100.0

Redu

ctio

n % 80.0

60.040.020.00.0

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Water consumptionreduction %

Waste water reduction %

Chemical consumtionreduction %

Chemical and water reduction

Oil reduction %

Subproject

Perc

enta

ge

100.00

99.50

90.0

99.00

98.501 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Oil reduction %

Reduction of heavy metals

Pb+Cr+Ni reduction

Cr+Ni reduction %

Cd reduction %

Zn reduction %

100.0

Perc

enta

ge 95.0

90.0

85.0

80.01 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Subproject

Introduct ion

Quimigal, Quimica de Portugal, SA is a privatecompany producing nitric acid, nitrobenzeneand aniline. The process involves adiabaticnitration of benzene in a mixture of nitric andsulphuric acid. The sulphuric acid is recoveredby means of concentration. The nitrous vapoursalso channelled into the concentrator areremoved by adding caustic soda to produce asolution with high concentrations ofnitrogenated salts at the outlet (2 000 ppmN:NO

2, 1 000 ppm N:NO

3) together with residues

of aromatic compounds and sulphates.

The top priority, in line with pre-establishedenvironment policy, was to introduce cleantechnology into the production process. To thisend, the sulphuric acid concentrator operatingin an alkaline medium was replaced by a similarunit operating in an acid medium. This measurecuts pollution by nitrogen by around 50 %, withthe rest recovered as a raw material (nitric acid),and curbs consumption of sodium hydroxide.


Originally, the aromatic compounds were removed inmacrophyte beds, but these require a large effectivesurface area of 10 000 m2 for every 10 m3/h ofeffluent. This method was developed in LIFE projectReciclam 93/PA.13/P101, which demonstrated that it

was a highly efficient means of removing aromaticcompounds, despite problems with cyclicalclogging/declogging due to the high solid saltconcentration in the effluent.

The simple technology originally applied required alarge surface area entailing heavy inherent investmentcosts. Since the process proved highly efficient, theplan was to keep the same basic technology to createa settling bed with a higher hydraulic loadingcapacity without any loss of efficiency. The objectivewas to treat approximately 10 m3/h in one third ofthe area previously required.


The first step in the project was to construct twoparallel pre-industrial macrophyte beds, each with asurface area of 1 500 m2, using expanded clayaggregates as the settling matrix. The constructionprogramme took the following form:

• Topographical survey: a topographical survey on a1/200 scale was conducted on the site of the newbeds.

• Site preparation and earth-moving: levelling of thesite and excavation to the proposed depth,flattening and compacting of slopes to allowinstallation of a geomembrane.

• Waterproofing: a 300 g/m2 layer of geotextile wasapplied, to which a high-density polyethylene(HDPE) membrane 1.5 mm thick was extrusion-

Integrated environmental management system in thechemical industry


Beneficiary: Quimigal SAQuinta da Indústria – Apartado 40P-3861 Estarreja (Portugal)

Contact: Engª Carla MorgadoTel.: (351-234) 81 03 00 ext. 342Fax: (351-234) 84 13 03

E-mail: [email protected]: 1 February 1998 to 1 August 2000

L I F E 9 8 E N V / P / 5 6 2


and fusion-welded and fixed along the perimeterof the beds.

• Effluent distribution and drainage system: tosupply the beds horizontally, a 50 x 0.5 x 0.6 meffluent distribution box was constructed in gravel(8–15 cm), on which a PVC (DN 250) dischargetube was placed. The drainage system consisted ofan HDPE (DN 250) perforated tube placedlongitudinally along the bottom of the bed.

• Filler: a layer of 40–50 mm pebbles was placed ontop of the drainage tube to form a jacketapproximately 0.4 m in radius around the entirelength of the tube. Two layers of light expandedclay aggregates (LECA) were also laid, the lowerlayer 0.4 m thick and consisting of grains ofbetween 3 and 8 mm, the upper layer 0.2 m thickwith grains of between 2 and 4 mm. In all, a totalof 1 780 m3 of LECA were used.

• Planting: rhizomes of Phagmites sp., a plant nativeto the Aveiro region, were collected. From these,fragments with two nodes were singled out andput in water immediately to conserve the rhizomefragment until planting. They were then rooted inhumus and left to germinate in a glasshouse. Afterthree to five weeks, they were planted at a spacingof five plants/m2.

• Acclimatisation: first, the beds were flooded toallow the seedlings and microbial population todevelop. Next, a start was made with supplyingboth beds with effluent.

• Monitoring and analysis: once the system hadstabilised, the effluent was monitored andanalysed at the inlet and at the outlet to test thepurification capacity and efficiency of themacrophyte beds in removing aromaticcompounds.

Results and impact

The few available references to the use of LECA inmacrophyte beds concern the removal ofphosphorus from domestic effluent. This speciallydesigned system made it possible to conduct aproject on a semi-industrial scale using a mediumwith a high specific surface area to increase thequantity of biomass immobilised and, consequently,the organic load applied to the system.

The project developed a method for denitrificationof effluents with nitrate levels over 800 ppm, basedon a biological process controlled by microbial cells,free and/or immobilised in a rigid, porous matrixwith a high specific surface area.

So far the denitrification process used hasdemonstrated an efficiency of over 85 %, producingliquid effluent of good enough quality for re-use in

the industrial process.

In addition to this application to effluent fromQuimigal SA, the technology developed could besuitable for a wide range of applications in thefertiliser industry, a major potential source ofpollution.


Introduct ion

This project in the municipality of Nykvarn,Sweden, aims to isolate mercury-contaminatedsediments in Lake Turingen and River Turingenfrom the aquatic environment. Bottomsediments in the Lake Turingen arecontaminated with mercury, which was releasedfrom a paper mill located upriver.

The project intends to reach this objectivethrough a series of remedial actions whoseprimary goals are to stop the resuspension ofmercury-contaminated sediments, which occursin Lake and River Turingen. Durable barriersbetween the mercury-contaminated sedimentsand the waters of the lake and river will beconstructed and provide a new, healthy lakebottom that can be rapidly colonised by bottomfauna.


Bottom sediments in Lake Turingen arecontaminated with mercury released between 1946and 1966 from a paper mill. Although use of mercurywas discontinued in 1966, secondary releases stilloccur from the 350–400 kg of mercury, which hadaccumulated in lake and river sediments. This causesdislocations in the ecosystem of the lake and hasrendered fish unfit for human consumption. In

addition, the ongoing releases pose a threat to theexchange of aquatic species between Lake Mälarenand the nationally unique Lake Yngern upstream ofLake Turingen. If nothing is done, the situation evenimplies a threat to the nearby areas of Lake Mälaren,which is the third largest lake in Sweden.


The project tends to isolate the harmful mercurycontaminated sediments and thus reduce mercuryconcentrations in fish to a level which does notinhibit human consumption. In addition, thetransportation of contaminants from Lake Turingen,which threaten water quality in Lake Mälaren, isbeing hindered. The remedial actions will permit amore natural exchange of genetic material betweenLake Yngern and Lake Mälaren and allow greaterfreedom to use Lake Turingen for recreationalpurposes

The concrete acts in the project are divided into twoparts. In the first stage, the contaminated sedimentsfrom the final reaches of the river channel and froma section of the lake just outside the mouth of theriver are dredged up. In addition, several shallowareas of the lake near the mouth of the river,including those, which are overgrown with reeds, arealso cleaned. Spoils from these operations areredeposited underwater in the southern part of thelake. Capping of non-dredged areas of the lake near

Lake Turingen remedial project: isolation of mercury-contaminated sediments


Beneficiary: Municipality of NykvarnCentrumvägen 24S-15580 Nykvarn

Contact: Ronald BergmanPhone: (46-8) 550 930 60

Fax: (46-8) 550 930 60E-mail: [email protected]

Web site: http://www.nykvarn.seDuration: 1 February 1998 to 31 March 2003

L I F E 9 8 E N V / S W E / 4 7 7


the mouth of the river, including the redisposal site,is done with a geotextile and suitable cleantechnological materials. The first stage includes alsoauxiliary activities such as construction of accessroads, a temporary harbour and support and storageareas, as well as installation and decommissioning ofprotective facilities (e.g. silt screens) around thedredging and disposal areas.

In the second stage, the remaining accumulation inthe lake bottoms will be capped with artificial gel.Supervision and evaluation of all activities are beingmade with an extensive environmental monitoringprogramme.


The mercury contamination is a serious concerncausing severe consequences. In succeeding, theproject has gained enormous environmental benefitsin the area of Lake Turingen and lakes in contactwith Lake Turingen.

With remediation acts, transportation ofcontaminants to other lakes can be hindered. Theecosystem in the Lake Turingen can recover and anew web of life can be created. After theremediation, humans are able to eat the fish againand enjoy Lake Turingen for recreational purposes.The benefits are thus immense to the area of LakeTuringen.


Introduct ion

Lake Pyhäjärvi is actively used as a water sourceand has outstanding recreational and economicvalue. The main aim of this project was toprevent eutrophication of the lake, the biggestin south-west Finland, by reducing the annualphosphorus load flowing into it by some 40 %.

The project developed, tested and implementedinnovative and effective water-protectionmethods. It set out to increase the efficiency ofknown methods, to promote the measures whichneed to be applied and to monitor activities. Inaddition, mathematical tools for waterprotection were designed.


Lake Pyhäjärvi is one of the most widely studiedlakes in Finland. Eutrophication of the lake hasprogressed at a rapid pace over the last few years. Thegreatest threat is the nutrient load, which exceeds thelake's tolerance limit. The phosphorus load shouldbe reduced to half the present level in order to stopeutrophication and gradually improve water quality.Arable farming and animal husbandry are theprincipal sources of the phosphorus and nitrogenload entering the lake. Atmospheric deposition, the

rural population, summer cottages and forestryconstitute the other sources of the external load.


The project set out to develop, test and applyinnovative water protection methods in order toprevent nutrient loads entering the lake from thecatchment area.

Village plans have been devised as a new land-useplanning tool and as a way to influence official land-use planning. Village inhabitants were encouraged toreflect on land use and environmental protectionand to seek opportunities to develop activities intheir own villages.

In the Pyhäjärvi LIFE project, lime and a materialcalled Fosfilt were used in different types of filters toremove nutrients from run-off waters from arableland. The project also tried to apportion the variousmeasures employed in an optimal way. Differenttypes of sedimentation ponds and wetlands weretried out and developed.

The nutrient load, the effects of each waterprotection measure and the water quality of the lakeare monitored regularly. Biological monitoring hasbeen carried out with fish and crayfish inventories.


Lake Pyhäjärvi restoration project: mathematical tooldevelopment


Beneficiary: South-West Finland RegionalEnvironment CentrePO Box 47FIN-20801 Turku

Contact: Teija KirkkalaTel.: (358-2) 83 80 639Fax: (358-2) 83 80 660

E-mail: [email protected] site: www.vyh.fi/ympsuo/maametsa/los/

pyh_2.htmDuration: 16 July 1996 to 31 October 2000

L I F E 9 6 E N V / F I N / 6 8

A two-dimensional water-flow and water-qualitymodel of Lake Pyhäjärvi has been developed in orderto assess how the changes in external nutrient loadsaffect water quality in the lake.

Results and impact

The project consisted of several practical actionswhich targeted somewhat immediate and visiblewater-quality improvements. The project has alreadyinfluenced agri-environmental planning in Finland.It also aims at amending the legislation governingwastewater treatment in rural areas. By the end ofthe project, it was possible to recommend newregulatory methods for most river basins in southernFinland, on the western coast of Finland and inScandinavia.

The concrete environmental benefits will dependlargely on the effects of the measures that have beentaken. So far, some measures seem quite effective,but the long-term results are not yet discernible.According to preliminary water-quality monitoring,the efficiency of sediment ponds and wetlands variesconsiderably.


European Commission

LIFE — Environment in action — 56 new success stories for Europe’s environment

Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities

2001 — 131 pp. — 21 x 29.7 cm

ISBN 92-894-0272-5

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