The company Purified Metal Company (PMC) in Delfzijl received a great reception in the autumn of 2020.
King Willem-Alexander even came to the port city to open the company. The company processes seriously contaminated steel scrap, which was previously always landfilled, into blocks of steel that the industry can use to make new products. However, this paragon of the circular economy is in danger of falling. This is not due to failing technology or business operations, but to the state that sadly leaves PMC out in the cold.
To the judge
PMC went to court this week. The reason: the company wants metal scrap with chromium 6 to be given the status of hazardous waste. The processing of this type of waste was to become one of PMC’s main sources of income. However, it can still be processed with the existing status at other, cheaper companies.
However, the Delfzijlster company has to wait at least six months for a study to show whether chromium 6 is really dangerous. That is most remarkable. Chromium 6 has been widely known for years as harmful to public health due to a scandal at the Ministry of Defense, where employees became seriously ill as a result of working with the substance.
Lack of diligence
The lack of vigor on the part of the state also hurts PMC in other ways. Despite a dumping ban as of 1 July 2020 for asbestos-contaminated steel that only PMC can process, the supply is lagging far behind expectations. This is because the landfill ban is widely ignored, the NL Environment Agency has found. Cause: It’s too cumbersome and time-consuming to enforce the ban.
Impulse for greening and employment
The arrival of PMC was an impulse for the Eemsdelta to make industry greener and – with more than 50 jobs – employment. However, the importance of the process extends much further. It is the solution to a serious environmental problem that plays a role worldwide.
The cabinet likes to show off its ambitions in the field of innovation and the circular economy. It is therefore all the more incomprehensible that state incapacity and bureaucracy endanger PMC.