According to recent environment concept majority of wastes are seen as an important resource which shall be recycled instead of being disposed. Our water supplies are becoming shortened, polluted and the costs of water supply are increasing. Certain waste types and wastewater treatment plant sludges are being treated and disposed of at high costs rather despite of their significant energy potential. Treated wastewaters are being discharged to surface waters and seas where there is severe shortage on irrigation water supplies. In Turkey, the economical value of water recycle has not been sufficiently recognized by the Environment Sector, for this reason it could not be told to the public and industrial institutions. With the employment of recycle approaches it is possible to achieve a reduction of 40-50 % in plant specific operation costs.

envis provides technical support on realization of successful applications by establishing resource recycle principles for different types of wastes of both residential and industrial origin. Recycle and re-use are the basic principles in envis’ project approach for all waste management projects.

Almost all technologies employed for water supply and treatment of wastes in Turkey date almost a century back. Important improvements achieved in the field of environmental science and technology, have failed to be implemented in Turkey. The environment companies have not been open to innovations and have not provided innovative options for the existing applications. For this reason no improvement could be achieved beyond the suspicious glance at the innovative technologies.

On the other hand, membrane technologies, advanced oxidation technologies, technologies on energy production from waste and similar innovative systems, apart from their technical excellence, are economically feasible technologies. As an example, cost of process water production from reverse osmosis is considerably less than the existing water prices. Ultrafiltration/nanofiltration technologies provide significant resources and savings in wastewater recycle. Membrane bioreactors have put another dimension to the treatment of wastewaters.

envis contributed to the development of innovative technologies in the international scale and has the scientific and technological infrastructure to provide all sorts of services regarding innovative technologies in the design, application and operation phases.

Experimental analysis has to be a non-detachable part of design and construction of treatment plants. Detailed characterization and treatability studies implemented for urban wastes and especially industrial wastes form the basis for the selection of most suitable treatment plant.

Environment sector, unfortunately can prepare offers, make designs and implement treatment plants without needing such information. Treatment plants which are build by-passing the process of sufficient data collection and evaluation are in a way deadborn and fail to be operated complying with the legislation. This situation results in misusage of the investment initially allocated for environmental protection and shortfall in meeting the initial target.

envis has the privilege to exploit all laboratory facilities of the Istanbul Technical University, Environmental Engineering Department, which acquires equipment and experience rarely found in universities in the international scale.

The technical staff of envis is an experienced group which has conducted extensive studies on almost every type of municipal and industrial wastes in these laboratories and the published the results in international scientific arena.

Industrial wastes have significantly different characteristics depending on the industrial activity. Pollution control can only be possible through examination of the production/waste generation process. Identification of hazardous waste types, separation of flow and identification of recyclable wastes, characterization and determination of structural specifications for the best suited treatment plant could only be achieved through studying process profiles and pollution profiles.

All studies within the scope of industrial pollution control are envis’ field of specialization. Technical staff of envis has implemented numerous studies on almost all industries and in different organized industrial districts.

When pollution control is of concern, operation skills are as important as installation of the treatment plant itself. Treatment plants mostly fail to be operated properly and meet the required treatment efficiencies against high operation costs.

Technical staff of envis realizes the rehabilitation of wastewater treatment plant, which are not being well operated or employing an old technology, by implementing on-site diagnosis/treatment/remediation applications. In this way, it becomes possible to make significant savings on operation costs as well as to meet required conditions imposed by the stricter regulations.

There is a big dilemma regarding the issue of waste and wastewater treatment plant sludges after the enactment of the By-Law on General Principles of Waste Management and By-Law on Waste Disposal which have been translated from the related European Union Directives. The by-laws include non-compliable articles and fail to be understood by the implementing and auditing institutions  due to lack of knowledge. All institutions having an environmental consciousness and seeking for the right solutions urgently need scientific and technical support. The proper sorting of wastes will enable identification of waste types which may provide an economical in-plant resource such as recycling of hazardous wastes with oil wastes and solvent wastes.

The legislation prevents the disposal of wastes and wastewater treatment plant sludges at solid disposal sites. In this situation, especially for the wastewater treatment plant sludges, it has become an obligation to investigate the alternatives for proper treatment/re-cycle by determining the waste characteristics. Evaluation of energy potential of wastewater treatment plant sludges and organic solid wastes will bring proper solutions and will provide an important energy input for the plant.

envis is one of the companies having the level of expertise and experience found very rare in Turkey, able to conduct both scientific research and applications in the field of waste management and wastewater treatment plant sludge management.

With the emergence of sustainable development concept, it has become a requirement to determine and evaluate all possible effects of investments on the environment. Determination of the environmental impacts and definition of  mitigation measures not only being imposed by the legislation, but have also become very important in the crediting process of international financing institutions  

envis, provides scientific and technical support on assessment of  environmental impacts, definition of mitigation measures and design of systems for the investments within the framework of scope defined by national and international legislation. envis conducts environmental impact assessment studies with its experienced staff within the framework of Equator Principles, which is a requirement for the investor in his crediting applications.

Environmental Risk Assessment aims at identification of all kinds of risks that may arise from operational conditions in public sector and private institutions, reduction or elimination of such risks and organization of intervention and restoration processes when such risks cannot be reduced and/or eliminated.

envis, identifies all possible environmental hazards and risks in all plants, establishes and organizes plant-specific risk management application plans which include risk reduction, risk control, reduction of harm, intervention and restoration processes.

Today, design and operation of wastewater treatment plants planned for residential and industrial regions require different approaches as well as different expertise. In addition to reliable information on land use and demographical conditions, reuse of treated wastewater, removal of nitrogen/phosphorus and similar restrictions have to be correctly taken into account in the design of wastewater treatment plants to be built in residential regions.

Wastewater treatment plant sludge constitutes the major part of the design considering its costs to the plant’s operation. It is necessary to apply innovative technologies and to prioritize energy re-use options for the sludges. In addition to that, making use of the grants from both European Union and Ministry of Environment and Forestry or the financing mechanisms of Bank of Provinces and other institutions depends on the preparation of the feasibility studies according to the required formats. The most adequate treatment for industrial plants requires a well-rounded experimental analysis which brings the characteristics of each plant to the forefront, treatability, selection of appropriate technology, ease of operation, compliance with the legislation, etc.

  envis, with its experienced technical team, is among the exceptional companies who are able to offer services in both residential and industrial areas. The long list of design and feasibility studies concluded by envis in both fields is the result of research and development studies which are recognized as leading examples.

In Turkey, both in residential regions and industrial regions the wastewater treatment plants are being left unmanaged due to the lack of technical infrastructure required for the proper operation of the these plants. It is a fact that there are wastewater treatment plants in this country which were never operated.

It is observed that an efficiency increase up to 15-20 % could be achieved with a comprehensive plant management approach. The plant management basically requires a good understanding of the plant’s structure, upgrading of the plant if necessary and bringing out of the most effective operation and maintenance services through establishment of well-educated technical staff. The basic component of the management is the team work approach to be employed towards the client.

envis has the expertise and experience required by plant management approach towards operation and maintenance services. envis has the privilege to exploit both the laboratory facilities and applied training and documentation potential required for the operation of the Istanbul Technical University, Environmental Engineering Department.

Global warming and climate change is amongst the most challenging environmental problems that threaten the world. The EU Directive related to the control and mitigation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in order to prevent global warming is part of the strategic and economical necessity that urges companies and institutions all over the world to integrate GHG management in their usual management practices.

Turkey, although not taking any quantified GHG emission reduction commitments under the first Kyoto commitment period (2008-2012), she has declared her determination to implement a series of activities towards achieving sector-based GHG emission reductions proportional to the access to national and international financing and grants. This implies that the GHG intensive sectors are to be subject to stricter reporting rules defined under the Protocol.

envis implements studies on GHG inventories and footprints defining sector-specific methods and technologies by identifying process modifications which can be employed towards achieving GHG emission reductions. envis provides consultancy services on verification of GHG emissions and certification under ISO 14064, which forms the basis for emission trading.

Ever increasing energy demand has brought the necessity of using energy in an efficient way. The studies on energy efficiency have gained speed with enactment of Energy Efficiency Law of Turkey in 2007. The EN 16001 Energy Management Systems Standard established for enabling systematic implementation of energy management has been accepted as an effective tool for targeting GHG emission reductions parallel to the energy costs.

envis determines energy management tools, targets and programs and defines an effective energy management system which minimizes the energy costs and reduces GHG emissions through identification of high energy consumption areas.

The environmental legislation which has been implemented in our country is currently being revised within the framework of EU accession process. Industrial institutions are facing heavy liabilities during this process. Environmental audits, covering the whole plants and activities from start-up until the end of life cycle, have become a necessity for environmental protection.

In this framework, in order to be well-prepared for the environmental audits, environmental management practices implemented in all plants have to be re-evaluated and sustainability of the existing environmental issues (water, soil, air pollution, wastes, chemicals, wastewater treatment plant sludge, etc.) have to be determined. In addition to that, assessment of savings on resources, re-cycle/re-use, cost reduction and similar issues has to be made according to the relevant environmental policies.

With its expert team having extensive know-how, envis determines the basis of environmental management by making use of scientific data and in relation to that investigates and evaluates the industrial plants on-site considering all environmental data. envis re-organizes the existing environmental management systems in accordance with the changing conditions and determines the measures to be taken in order to fulfill the requirements of environmental audits.

envis determines possible improvement measures by evaluating resource/energy/waste relation at all plants, defines saving opportunities and within the framework of the investigations and evaluations envis prepares a new environmental management plan and environmental action plan compatible with the legislation.