Langøya outside Holmestrand lies like a pearl in the Oslo Fjord, but is also a landfill for hazardous waste. For almost 30 years, NOAH has ensured that environmental toxins from hazardous waste have not ended up in nature, but operations on the island are disputed locally. When the Main Committee for Regulation, Municipal Engineering and the Environment met this week, they said no to an application from NOAH that requires a building permit. – There are estimated investments of NOK 300 million, perhaps up to NOK 350 million. If we say yes to this, we believe that the business with hazardous waste will continue for perhaps another 40–50 years, says Alf Johan Svele from the Conservative Party. Alf Johan Svele (H) Photo: John-André Samuelsen / news NOAH has applied for a framework permit for a dewatering plant with a filter press. In addition, they want to build a new quay on the island for electric ferries. The main committee put an end to that when they adopted a temporary ban on construction and subdivision on Langøya. – We do not want our island to be a dumping ground for the whole of the Nordic region, says Svele. According to NOAH, the decision means that the reception capacity on Langøya will end in two years. It will have major consequences, says Climate and Environment Minister Espen Barth Eide. – If this is implemented, Norway will be left without sufficient national treatment capacity for hazardous waste, says Eide to news. CONCERNED: Climate and Environment Minister Espen Barth Eide is concerned about the consequences of the decision in Holmestrand municipality Photo: Vilde Jagland / news – A serious situation NOAH accepts ash from waste incineration plants around the Nordic region. In addition, they get acid from the östfold company Kronos Titan. The waste is neutralized and made into a type of plaster. After the small coastal town of Brevik in Porsgrunn said no to storing the gypsum in the mines below the town, the Norwegian Environmental Directorate asked NOAH to look at possibilities for storing the gypsum above sea level on Langøya. To do that, NOAH needs a press to further compress the gypsum so that it is stable enough to be stored above sea level. Anders Lægreid, CEO of NOAH. Photo: Philip Hofgaard / news – The material we store today is in a more liquid form. The water must be squeezed out before it can be used for construction. This means that we have to expand the processing plant, says Anders Lægreid, CEO of NOAH. Without the dewatering plant, the reception capacity will end in 2024. – In that case, this will have major consequences for a number of Norwegian industrial companies and waste incineration plants that are no longer guaranteed a solution for handling hazardous waste, Eide tells news. According to the Minister for Climate and Environment, the local decision is not in line with Norway’s international obligations. – I see this as a serious situation and I will soon clarify how the matter will be followed up further, says Eide. LANGØYA: Just outside Holmestrand is the island which is a landfill for hazardous waste. Photo: Philip Hofgaard / news Local opposition It has been decided that the landfill operations on Langøya will cease in 2030, but no alternative has been found for Langøya after Brevik said no to a landfill for hazardous waste. – There is no one who is able to take over for us in 2024, but we could last until 2030 if we were able to expand our facility, says Lægreid. But local politicians fear it will not stop there. – It is in the regulatory provisions that there is room to continue the business after 2030, but we do not want that, explains Julie Guttormsen as the reason why MDG opposed the application from NOAH. The right-wing politician points out that the plans for a landfill in Brevik were shelved. – Storing filter blocks and building a mountain of it on an island in the Oslofjord is fine, but storing it 400 meters underground in some mines in Brevik is not fine, says Svele. But NOAH’s business will not disappear even if the company has to discontinue receiving hazardous waste, explains the CEO. – We will run waste reception anyway, but it will be a simpler business with only disposal, not processing of waste. This means that the need for jobs will also decrease, he explains. – We have around 125 employees and hires today, but only need around 25 if we become a clean landfill, says Lægreid. Disappointed mayor Mayor Elin Gran Weggesrud (Ap) is disappointed that the opposition in the municipality got a majority to say no to the application. Holmestrand mayor Elin Gran Weggesrud (Ap) Photo: Philip Hofgaard / news – I think both the climate and the environment, and the residents of the municipality, lose from the decision that was made, says Weggesrud. The mayor believes that the municipality is now going backwards into the future. – With that quay, we could remove 6,000 wagon trains from the cityscape in Holmestrand already by next year. In addition, hazardous waste may have to be exported and perhaps treated to a lower standard than we do in Norway, says Weggesrud. The CEO of NOAH is also concerned about the research projects they are working on. – We are working with solutions to create socially beneficial and useful products from the waste that is currently landfilled. This development will also be stopped, and that is what I am most sorry for after the decision we received, says Lægreid.
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Norway may be without a reception center for hazardous waste from 2024 – news Vestfold and Telemark – Local news, TV and radio
