In furtherance of its contribution to reducing the harmful effects of industrial wastes on the environment, the management of APM Terminals Apapa has started using recycled tyres in pavement blocks for exterior flooring.
Studies have shown that recycling of tyres helps reduce the effects of harmful chemicals on the environment. Recycling also prevents tyres from becoming breeding grounds for disease-carrying pests like malaria mosquitoes.
The Terminal Manager of APM Terminals Apapa, Steen Knudsen, said that the company is running a trial with a recycling firm named Freetown Waste Management Recycle Limited to use pavement blocks made of recycled tyres, and potentially recycle own used tyres with them in the future. After the trial, sustainability of the solution will be evaluated.
“With all the rolling equipment that we have, we are consuming a lot of tyres on an annual basis. We are at the moment running a trial where we use recycled compressed tyres turned into pavement blocks for paving different areas of the terminal where we have pedestrian traffic.
“It is quite an interesting project and the trial is in collaboration with a recycling facility located in Nigeria, Freetown Waste Management Recycle Limited, where we might send our own used tyres to in the future and get them back as pavement blocks, which we then use. The recycled tyres, now pavers, can be easily laid on concrete floor, removed and recycled again in the future, which I think is quite nice,” Knudsen said.
He said so far 40 square metres of the pedestrian area of the terminal has been paved using the recycled tyres from the firm.
“The final goal is to have a total paved area of 580 square metres with recycled tyres turned pavers,” he said.
Knudsen reiterated the commitment of the management and staff of APM Terminals Apapa to a policy of “environmental excellence” with respect to the company’s business activities in its ongoing effort to remain “environmentally responsible”.
Recently, APM Terminals Apapa announced the replacement of single-use plastic bottled water with refill bottles and water dispensers, thereby eliminating an annual waste of 408,800 single-use plastic bottles at the terminal.
The Country Manager of APM Terminals Nigeria, Klaus Laursen, said the company takes its responsibility towards the environment “very serious”.
“We owe that to ourselves, we owe that to our kids, and we owe that to the future,” Laursen said.
APM Terminals Apapa is the largest container terminal in West Africa. With an investment of over USD438 million in equipment, the terminal has continued to introduce new innovations to help both shipping lines and landside customers achieve improved supply chain efficiency, flexibility and dependability in a cost-effective manner.
Copyright Ships & Ports Ltd. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit given to www.shipsandports.com.ng as the source.