Enterprise Ireland has a long established practice of conducting environmental reviews on client companies that are in receipt of grant support. These reviews are carried out on site at the facility and focus on six main areas: wastewater management, atmospheric emissions, waste management, bulk storage, noise and the general condition of the site.
A study entitled Environmental Compliance in Irelands Print, Packaging and Labelling Sector has examined the findings of approximately 100 reviews carried out on sixty client companies over the period 1995 to 2011.
The main findings of this study include the following;
- Wastewater management issues accounted for most non-conformances. The main difficulties arose with the Effluent Discharge Licence, for example, monitoring of wastewater characteristics and volumes and/or instances where emission limit values were exceeded.
- Inadequate storage of chemicals, solvents and fuel oils proved to be the next most frequent cause of non-conformity and this was primarily due to issues with bunding.
- Regarding atmospheric emissions, issues relating to stack height, insufficient extraction and exceeding emission limit values were the main reasons for non-conformances.
- Waste management non-conformances were due to improper waste disposal and a lack of waste segregation.
- Noise abatement and the general condition of the site have given rise to very few issues of concern.
Between the years 1995 and 2011 the overall trend in relation to non-conformances in the areas of wastewater management, waste management, atmospheric emissions and bulk storage is downward in all instances. There have been no non-conformances recorded in relation to the general condition of the site since the reviews began in 1995. Since 1999, there have been no issues of concern regarding noise. These are positive outcomes for the print, packaging and labelling sector, indicating significant improvements in environmental performance throughout this time frame.
Source: Envirocentre – Envirocentre – Environmental Compliance in Irelands Print, Packaging and Labelling Sector
