Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
environmental and cost benefits of using products that were initially considered
waste by others, and given the savings, decided to adopt the eco-cycle approach.
Apart from the interactions between the three main companies, formerly waste
products derived from the main plants are now also used by other activities. For ex-
ample, the extraction of SO2 from scrubbers installed by the power plant is a major
input into the creation of gypsum used in a plasterboard factory; the town created
a district heating scheme using waste heat from the power plant, which replaced
3500 largely oil-burning residential furnaces, reducing heating costs and carbon
emissions; and sludge from the pharmaceutical company is treated and turned into
fertiliser for local farmers. There seems little doubt that part of the reason for the
initial development and success of this complex was due to the close personal re-
lationships that developed between the decision-makers in these companies. But
it is also a product of the strong historical co-operative tradition in Denmark that
emerged in the agricultural sector in the mid nineteenth century, as well as the rap-
idly developing environmental consciousness of its people. It is also worth noting
that one of the key firms in the area is Nova Nordisk, not simply a world leader in
biotechnology products, producing 40 % of the world's insulin. It was one of the
first major companies to provide an annual environmental report to shareholders in
1993 that described its impact on the environment and its determined attempts to
reduce pollution and increase its sustainable practices (NN). Another, Statoil, the
government-owned Norwegian oil company, has become an innovator on carbon
sequestration, namely removing carbon from the emissions of its refineries and stor-
ing it underground. More recently, it has also become a major player in the offshore
wind industry, adding wind turbines to many of its old production sites in the North
Sea, and therefore diversifying its energy output. Although there may be only a few
examples of such a successful eco-industrial complex as Kalundborg in the world,
there is little doubt that eco-cycle approaches are increasingly being planned, as
polluting companies realise they have to reduce emissions to conform to increasing
national standards. So many are seeking ways of reducing and using their waste
products, which can also lead to long-run cost benefits by the sale of the products
generated from the waste, once the costs of new devices to reduce or clean up the
waste are covered.
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Water and Sewage
Crucial requirements in urban settlements are the need for safe and cheap water
supplies and the disposal of waste matter. In the nineteenth century the explosion in
the urban populations in cities of the developed world was only made possible by
the engineering advances that created reservoirs in distant areas and then piped the
water through long distance pipes via water treatment plants, into the growing cities
and into the networks that delivered drinkable and safe water to individual houses.
Although these systems have served cities well, they have not been developed to
the same degree in the cities of the undeveloped world, which often means that an
inadequate supply, limited use, and variable quality, are some of the major problems
