With the drive to a greener economy and sustainable management of the environment, specialist cleaning service provider Spill Tech is well positioned for considerable growth in the Western Cape, as its rapid spill response service concentrates on hazardous waste, says Spill Tech chairperson and private-equity firm Agile Capital CEO Tshego Sefolo.

“There are great opportunities to introduce new waste technologies, as the future of the spillage response and clean-up industry is to move away from invasive clean-up techniques and move toward more environment-friendly methods.”

The company’s goal is to move away from the traditional, more invasive clean-up methods of digging up contaminated soil after a spill and trucking this to a landfill site, and then bringing in new replacement soil.

Sefolo notes that this would be a really important development in environmental management in the Western Cape, as the unique soils and sensitive flora in the region would benefit greatly from cleaner technology, which makes it possible to treat the waste.

Spill Tech, South Africa’s first black-owned HAZMAT response service provider, has the largest spill response footprint in Southern Africa, with 19 branches nationally and at least one branch in each of the country’s nine provinces. The company recently acquired another site in the Cape – in addition to the offices in Parow, the company now also has a presence in Belville.

“We are regarded as an innvative leader within the industry and are committed to service excellence,” Sefolo enthuses.

Spill Tech’s services include salvage fuel transfer and vessel decontamination, oil spill containment boom deployment and management, on-board chemical and fuel spillage response and clean-up, shore side spillage control and clean-up, spillage standby and spillage prevention services, overturned tankers, oil and chemical spills, product fires, ruptured process lines, tank failure, unstable chemicals and super suckers, as well as vacuum-enhanced recovery with specialised vacuum trucks and port booming and containment.

“Large clean-ups are often remote and can be fairly labour intensive; wherever possible, we try to employ from the local communities,” states Sefolo.

The company also tries to support local business and, as part of its ongoing commitment to enterprise development, it targets fledgling start-up ventures to supply nonessential services, such as staff meals, when on the various sites.

He points out that the company does not deal with municipal waste; however, the implementation of the recently enacted National Environmental Management: Waste Act (Nemwa) and any workable plans government and its partners might have in this sector to encourage business growth and stimulate the economy will have a direct positive impact on the company’s business. “Government is looking to protect our environment and has begun strictly policing this very important new environmental legislation.

Nemwa brings our services into play, as Spill Tech helps protect the country’s natural resources, includ- ing oceans, soil, water and biodiversity. We constantly monitor inter- national best practice and the latest technologies available to see what will be appropriate for South African conditions,” concludes Sefolo.