February 4, 2008
At a groundbreaking ceremony in Bamako in the West African
nation of Mali on Jan. 28, C.E.O. of The Coca-Cola Company,
Neville Isdell, joined representatives from business, government
and civil society to lay the cornerstone of a new wastewater
treatment plant.
The treatment plant, which will be completed summer 2008, will
ensure the bottling facility meets the Company's wastewater
treatment standards. Process wastewater is typically the single
largest, local environmental impact the production facilities
(concentrate to bottling/canning plants) have in terms of volume
and ecological effects in the vicinity of the plant.
In 1992, The Coca-Cola Company issued requirements for processing
wastewater. Global operations are given the choice of discharging
to municipal systems that fully treat wastewater or building
a treatment plant on site. Both options treat the water to levels
protective of aquatic life prior to discharge into the environment.
Through a partnership with USAID, The Coca-Cola
Company, BGI (a global bottling partner) and the "Water
and Development Alliance" (WADA), the treated water from
the wastewater treatment system is intended to help support
sustainable agriculture for the community that surrounds the
plant.
The wastewater treatment plant project is part of a larger
effort between the Company, WADA, USAID and local communities
and NGOs to help bring safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene
education to communities throughout Mali.
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