Safely disposing of used oil

1st December 2021

Omnia group company BME has been recognised by the Chemical and Allied Industries’ Association (CAIA) for its contribution to a cleaner environment, winning the CAIA Responsible Care initiative of the year award.

The award, in the company projects: Category A segment, was for BME’s incorporation of used oil as a base product for its emulsion explosives, removing the risk that this oil could contaminate water or soil. According to BME managing director of SADC, Ralf Hennecke, the initiative is part of the company’s ongoing environmental, social and governance (ESG) commitment.

“On the environmental side, our treatment and disposal of used oil in this way reduces risk and improves regulatory compliance,” says Hennecke. “The positive social impact is through our engagement of small independent enterprises to collect the used oil.”

He says that the initiative includes a strong governance aspect, by meeting stakeholder requirements in terms of responsible waste management systems.

Ramesh Dhoorgapersadh, BME’s general manager for safety, health, environment and quality, adds that the initiative reflects the company’s close collaboration with customers – where used oil from large mining customers is also collected and utilised for repurposing and responsible disposal through the blasting process.

These partnerships have been initiated in Africa and are being rolled out to BME’s global network of operations.