Accra, Aug. 25, GNA - Toyota Ghana Limited (TGL) on Wednesday introduced its newly-installed facilities designed to prevent waste oil and gas from entering drains and the atmosphere. The facilities include an underground waste oil reservoir, a waste oil/water separator and equipment for recovery, recycling and recharging of air-conditioning gas.
Additionally, the company has installed an automated computer system developed exclusively for operation and management of vehicle distribution and dealers operation. Mr Tetsuya Suzuki, Managing Director of the company, disclosed this at an open day for the media in Accra. He said the installation of the new facilities forms part of a two-million-dollar facelift project of the company aimed at providing ultimate customer satisfaction and world class quality service by 2000.
He said the first phase, which began about two months ago, includes renovation and refurbishing of the mechanical workshop at a cost of 1.5 billion cedis. Mr Suzuki noted that the ultimate aim of the first phase is to make the operation of the company environmentally friendly, both internally and externally, by preventing waste oil and gas emissions.
He said the company has installed a three-chamber filter system which separates more than 99 per cent of waste oil from water from its operation into a 500-gallon underground oil tank, which is then "disposed off appropriately" by Mobil Oil Ghana without damaging the environment.
"The "Robinair" equipment which is used to store, recycle and recharge gases in vehicle air-conditioners during repairs, is a system meant to prevent leakage of refrigerant gases into the atmosphere and therefore forestall the depletion of the ozone layer."
Mr Suzuki said the indiscriminate dumping of a litre of waste oil pollutes one million litres of water. "Research has shown that gas emissions have also been responsible for skin cancers and such eye diseases as cataract." He commended the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its efforts at reducing ozone depletion gases from 101 to 50 tonnes and pledged his company's support in ensuring that the figure goes down further.
Mr Suzuki assured the public of quality service delivery saying that the company's automated computer system, availability of adequate spare parts and employment of full-time trainers at its training school are meant to provide the needed facilities and human resource for ultimate customer satisfaction.
The oil filter system, which is to prevent detergents used in washing wax from fresh vehicles from entering drains is, however, yet to be tested by the EPA. Dr Peter Acquah, Executive Director of the EPA, commended TGL for their "simple but innovative measure at protecting our environment" and called on other automobile and oil companies to put similar strategies in place to ensure a safe environment.
He said under EPA's policy, there is a five-year plan aimed at forming a partnership between the agency and stakeholders from all branches of the economy to ensure proactive measures of addressing environmental problems.
Dr Acquah said EPA has acquired adequate equipment and is currently working with the Vehicle Examination and Licensing Division of the Ministry of Roads and Transport to develop standards aimed at checking vehicle emissions and engine noise. He said there is a certification process going for companies who comply with the standards of the EPA.
"While the EPA is willing to work with and support organisations who operate by our standards, we wish to resound the warning that we will not hesitate to prosecute any defaulting characters."
Dr Acqauh asked the management of TGL to construct a water by-pass to forestall any spill-over of waste oil into drains in the event of rainstorm.
Mr Ted Barnor, General Manager of TGL, said the second phase of the facelift project would include the renovation and refurbishing of the paint and body workshop and the relocation of its general parts depot to its headquarters branch.
He said the third phase would include the renovation and refurbishing of the headquarters and Kumasi administrative structures.
