An exercise in (unavoidably) smelly sustainability

Sappi Ngodwana dominates the tight, winding Elands Valley where it has operated for the past five decades. The N4 from Pretoria to Nelspruit twists around its tall boilers and wood yards. Trucks and trains wait to supply it, and to take its products to distant markets.

On a chilly morning, the thick pall of white smoke steaming out of its boilers heads straight up before getting trapped by the valley’s inversion layer. That forces it to spread out, creating a thin blanket. This traps chemicals and any smell from the plant. People as far away as Mbombela (Nelspruit) — 40km away — can smell the sulphur on days like this.

Built in a time before environ- mental legislation created minimum requirements, it has been continually upgrading itself to keep up with new laws. That means dull machinery next to shiny silver machinery that reflects the sun off its newness. Some 86% of the water used by the plant is returned to the Elands, with the water affairs department’s tests showing that water in the river is cleaner after the plant than before it.

Ngodwana — the biggest mill in Africa — is also a certified power producer and sells back to the grid. A 25MW biomass plant is under construction.

But for opponents of monoculture forestry, this plant is the hungry stomach that drives an insatiable demand for pine and eucalyptus. Thousands of hectares of Mpumalanga are dedicated to supplying its mills and boilers. Its switch to cellulose has meant a corresponding switch from pine trees to thirstier eucalyptus.

Its peers across the country have also built up a bad reputation for releasing pollutants into rivers, and of exceeding the levels set out in their atmospheric emissions licences. That impact has been the focus of exhaustive research, both locally and globally. South Africa’s timber sector is an example of best practice, and what not to do.

Ngodwana’s manager — Schalk Willem Engelbrecht, or “SW” — says his plant is different. “We see ourselves foremost as a sustainable unit and we’re here for the long haul. That means looking after the environment.”

The plant complies with current and future standards for emissions of nitrous oxides and sulphur, he says. That sulphur is the source of constant complaints from people who live near the plant, and it has created a pamphlet to distribute to inquisitive people. Engelbrecht says this is an unavoidable byproduct from the mill cooking wood chips to extract their fibres, and is not harmful to human health or the environment. But locals say the smell comes with other side effects, such as coughing and chest tightness. —