Emulate Nestlé’s business of re-using waste water

The Friday October 14, 2016 edition of The Chronicle carried a story with the caption, “Nestlé Ghana re-uses 30% of its Treated Waste Water”.

According to the story, the Tema factory of Nestlé Ghana Limited, for some time now, has been using 30% of the waste water, which the company generates, to water lawns and flush toilets, among other uses in the factory.

It was possible for the company to do so, after it had procured a water treatment plant to recycle water being generated by the factory for re-use.

Speaking with members of the Parliamentary Press Corp, the Corporate Communications & Public Affairs Manager, Mrs. Ama Amoah, pointed out that the company has invested GH¢1.1 million in the Ultra Filtration-Reverse Osmosis system at the Tema factory.

She explained that the water treatment plant was to improve the quality of waste water, stressing that since its inception, the system enables the company to reuse 30% of Waste Water Treatment Plant effluent for non-core activities, reducing the total factory water consumption by 10%.

To The Chronicle, this is a remarkable feat, which must be emulated by all and sundry, especially, companies, organisations, hotels, hospitals, individuals, and, in fact, all manner of people, as it would help reduce the quantity of water the country wastes on a daily basis.

All over the world, huge volumes of waste water are pumped directly into rivers, streams and other water bodies, including the ocean.

The impact of this, apart from the damage it causes to the marine environment and fisheries, is very severe, because it does very little to preserve water at a time when many are predicting that a global shortage is just around the corner.

As it stands now, The Chronicle believes that this method of disposing of waste water in any form that has been contaminated by a commercial or domestic process, including sewerage and byproducts of manufacturing and mining, is largely an issue in developing countries.

Waste water in most countries is being more and more recognised as of vital importance to be treated and made safe for re-use, because it contributes considerably to the reduction of water budgets in several countries, particularly, those suffering from water scarcity.

Treated waste water could be used directly in the irrigation of farms, landscaping of green areas, and car washing among others.

It is against this backdrop that the paper is congratulating Nestlé Ghana Limited for having the foresight to undertake such a laudable project, with the sole aim of recycling waste water generated in the factory for other uses.

The Chronicle is calling on the government to make it a policy to ensure that all companies, organisations, hotels, hospitals, factories, individuals, and all other water users to recycle their waste water for re-use.

We not need to be reminded that in September, 2015, Dr. Joseph Ampofo, Director of the Water Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR-WRI), warned that Ghana may soon start importing water.

“I can almost hear the entire nation shout, ‘God forbid!’ Cannot blame anybody for this reaction; as a matter of fact, I did no less until the bare facts were presented to me. That was when I realised that the shout was actually only a wish. I wished the facts were wrong,” Dr. Ampofo said, adding, “The next crisis to hit this nation after the 'Dum-so' is the water crisis.”

The government must, therefore, charge the various Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) across the length and breadth of the country to ensure that businesses operating in their areas of jurisdiction are made to respect and honour the directive, when introduced.

If every company, organisation, hospital, school, hotel, and even individuals, could adopt this practice of recycling waste water for other uses, Ghana, as a nation, would save at least 10 percent of the total cost of water being used in the country annually.

The earlier the government instructs the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing to take up the challenge in getting all stakeholders to recycle waste water in any form, the better it would be for all of us.