BGC Fibre Cement's Canning Vale plant was established in 1994, and today employs more than 130 people in production, engineering and support services.

We supply 15 per cent of the construction industry's needs Australia-wide, including products such as sheet lining, external cladding, lattice, and vinyl and cork underlay sheets.

However, in satisfying the market demand, we are conscious of the need to minimise potential impacts of its activities on the local community and surrounding environment, and remain committed to building and maintaining a positive relationship with neighbours in surrounding areas by listening to residents' concerns and working with the community to address any issues raised.

Water Conservation

In September 2003 we installed a water treatment and recycling plant that will save more than 400 kilolitres of water a day - enough to supply the annual water needs of almost 500 metropolitan households.

The move is believed to be a first for the fibre cement industry in Australia, and has put the company in the running for a number of environmental, engineering and industry awards.

Designed by our process manager together with water technologies company QED Occtech, the recycling plant uses carbon dioxide to remove excess calcium from wastewater produced in production, allowing the clarified water to be reused in the manufacture process.

As a result, we have cut the volume of wastewater discharged by more than 90 per cent, and reduced the plant's water consumption by 75 per cent.

In addition to contributing significantly to water conservation, the system may also have other environmental benefits, including reducing greenhouse gases generated during production by recycling the carbon dioxide contained in boiler flue gas produced on site. There may also be a market for the calcium carbonate by-product, which is a good neutraliser for acidic soils and may be used in soil conditioners.

While currently in the commissioning stage, we will continue monitoring and improving the system over the next few months, and, in time, plan to link all systems on the premises to the recycling plant, with the aim of achieving zero wastewater discharge.

Community Odour Consultation

2002 saw us begin a program of community consultation with residents, the City of Canning and the Department of Environmental Protection in response to community concern about odours experienced by Parkwood residents.

While we may not be the source of all the odours in the area, we are committed to working with the community to try to identify the source of odours and to do what we can to reduce any odours caused by our operations.

For further information about the odour issue, click on the links below:

• The Problem with Odour (PDF - 35KB)
• The Fibre Cement Production Process (PDF - 35KB)
• OxyGEM Trial (PDF - 35KB)
• Air Stack (PDF - 35KB)

For further information on the community consultation process please contact:

David Hill, Factory Manager, BGC Fibre Cement (dave@bgc.com.au ); or

Julie Hitchens, Group Co-ordinator, Parkwood Air Quality Monitoring Group (jhitchen@penrhos.wa.edu.au ).