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Johannesburg — British American Tobacco Southern Africa (BATSA) had decreased its water usage at its major manufacturing facility at Heidelberg by 54.5% since 2011 following a significant programme of internal review and investment, interrogating each stage of the manufacturing process.
This conservation achievement marks the culmination of a significant programme of internal review and investment focused on conserving water within the manufacturing facility. As part of the water conservation initiative BAT has reduced reliance on municipal water supply through interrogating each stage of the manufacturing process.
To introduce re-use and recycling of water which would have been otherwise destined for disposal, the facility has installed an advanced technology reverse osmosis and ultra filtration plant, combined with an activated carbon filtration system. This has allowed certain streams of used water to be completely recycled, representing a fundamental change in the way that the factory operates and heralding factory designs of the future.
Beyond recycling of commercial waste streams, the facility has also worked to incorporate rain water and "grey water" into its water systems, reducing pressure on the municipal water supply and making full use of the resources available.
The Heidelberg facility, housed in Lesedi Municipality, is the 8th largest such facility in the world, accounting for a significant total production for both domestic consumption and export into the Southern African region.
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