Lura, Croatia
1. General description of the company
Lura Group, member of BCSD Croatia, is the leading dairy company in Croatia.
2. Process description
In 1997, its management decided to tackle waste-water from the company`s Sirela production plantwhich was discharged into the town`s sewer system and treated together with municipal waste-water. Lura set up a project to purify the wastewater in a closed-circle system, then treat the sludge and, rather than pay to dispose of it, turn it into commercial compost. The purification process now produces about seven tons of sludge a day. The high-quality compost is a mixture of the residual sludge, unripe manure, bark and sawdust.
3. Savings
The investment in eco-efficiency turned out to be good business. The benefits are a significantly improved environmental performance of the plant, yearly savings on waste-water pollution fees that paid back the investments in equipment within 18 months, and an expansion of the business. The end result? New earnings, new partnerships and new employment possibilities.
Reference: EE- Creating more value with less impact; report of WBSCD, October 2000, online on http://www.wbcsd.org
