5.4.2 Nutrients discharged by the production units
Nitrates and phosphates in the wastewater originate from the cleaning agents and
from the proteins that have a natural presence in residues of malt, beer and yeast. It
should be noted that a reduction of COD as a result of good housekeeping also results
in a reduction of nitrates and phosphates.
In the past few years Heineken has been able to reduce the quantities of phosphates
and nitrates in cleaning agents. Even though our breweries have become more envi
ronmentally friendly they will nonetheless continue to search for new opportunities
to restrict the use of these agents to an even further extent.
in 1999, our on site wastewater treatment facilities that discharge to the sur
face water, jointly discharged 174 tonnes of nitrogen and 93 tonnes of phosphorus in
various compounds.
5.5 Packaging
With respect to packaging, we continually search for more environmentally-friendly
solutions. Examples are the active development and implementation of pigments and
materials for beer crates that have a reduced environmental impact. The improved
pigment, which contains no heavy metals, is used for the new Heineken and Amstel
crates in the Netherlands and other countries. In the Netherlands we are actively
engaged in research to find an environmentally friendly method for the processing of
beer crates containing cadmium that have been taken out of circulation. Further
more, we use printing inks that do not contain heavy metals, solvent-free lacquers for
cans. We also endeavour to avoid the use of PVC wherever possible. Our preparations
for the complete transition from the existing plastic crown cork inlay to a material
that does not contain PVC are at an advanced stage.
N&P emission all production units after own treatment
kg/year 0 100,000 200,000 300,000 400,000 500,000
1999 231,073
396,058
1998 223,755
421,855
phosphorus 1997 212,445
nitrogen 386,318
EUROPEAN ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE
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