Terminal operator turns used tyres into pavement blocks at Lagos Port

Abiola seun

In other to reduce the harmful effects of industrial wastes on the environment, the management of APM Terminals Apapa has started recycling its used tyres into pavement blocks for use in exterior flooring.

Experts have argued that recycling of tyres helps reduce the effects of harmful chemicals on the environment and also prevents tyres from becoming breeding grounds for disease-carrying pests like mosquitoes, which cause malaria.

Speaking in Lagos yesterday, the terminal manager, APM Terminals Apapa, Steen Knudsen, said that the company has entered into partnership with a recycling firm named Freetown Waste Management Recycle Limited to recycle the used tyres into pavement blocks.

“With all the rolling equipment that we have, we are consuming a lot of tyres on an annual basis and we are at the moment running a pilot where we are trying to take those tyres, recycle them and compress them into pavement blocks which then can be used for paving different areas of the terminal where we have pedestrian traffic.

“It is quite an interesting project and it is in partnership with a recycling facility located in Nigeria, Freetown Waste Management Recycle Limited, where we send our tyres to and then return as pavement blocks, which we then use.

” The recycled tyres now pavers can be easily laid on concrete floor, removed and recycled again in the future, which I think is quite nice,” Knudsen said.

He said so far, 40 square metres of the pedestrian area of the terminal has been paved using the recycled tyres.

“The final goal is to have a total paved area of 580 square metres with these recycled tyres turned pavers,” he said.

Knudsen reiterated the commitment of the management and staff of APM Terminals Apapa to a policy of “environmental excellence” with respect to the company’s business activities in its ongoing effort to remain “environmentally responsible”.

Recently, APM Terminals Apapa announced the replacement of single-use plastic bottled water with refill bottles and water dispensers, thereby eliminating an annual waste of 408,800 single-use plastic bottles at the terminal.

The Country Manager of APM Terminals Nigeria, Klaus Laursen, said the company takes its responsibility towards the environment “very serious”.

“We owe that to ourselves, we owe that to our kids, and we owe that to the future,” Laursen said.

APM Terminals Apapa is the largest container terminal in West Africa.

With an investment of over USD438 million in equipment, the terminal has continued to introduce innovations to help both shipping lines and landslide customers achieve improved supply chain efficiency, flexibility and dependability in a cost-effective manner.