Annual Report 2006

Sustainable port
Among many other things, the Port of Amsterdam is creating an
eco-friendly port by preventing the pollution of groundwater,
surface water and the air; by cleaning or removing contaminated
soil; as well as by creating natural areas in the port area.
Soil
Since 1985, responsibility for the soil quality lies with the tenant or
user of the site. The condition of the soil is laid down in the lease when
the contract actually takes effect. Should the soil be contaminated,
the company concerned must arrange for the cleanup of the polluted
soil or pay for the expenses. In 2006, the Port of Amsterdam carried
out soil surveys and cleanups at the site once used by the now
defunct bitumen producer Smid & Hollander, as well as in Stadhaven
Minerva.
Water quality
The Port Area is covered by the Surface Water Act. The Port of
Amsterdam helps enforcement by carrying out inspections of
illegal dumping and of pollution resulting from careless behavior or
accidents. Water used by companies is removed using a separate
sewage system and treated before its discharge into surface water.
The Port of Amsterdam has developed a natural water-treatment
system using helophyte filters (gravel-and-reed beds) to clean the
rainwater coming from the company sites. In 2006, a large helophyte
filter was created in a wooded area called Geuzenbos, with the aim
of treating the rainwater collected on the Westpoortweg (road).
Mud on the bottom
In dredging work, the port authority pays much attention to the
mud on the bottom of the various water sections in the port. Clean
dredged-up mud is used for other purposes, while slightly or heavily
contaminated dredgings are removed and taken to well-protected
and carefully monitored underwater storage facilities.
Waste management
The Port of Amsterdam ensures that companies active in the port
dispose of their waste responsibly. The port authority has created
sufficient waste-collection facilities for the ships; has set up a
collective waste-collection service; and promotes recycling and
otherwise re-using construction waste and demolition waste from
the port.
In 2006, the port authority made it easier and cheaper for sea ships
to dispose of maritime waste. The waste-disposal charges paid by
all visiting ships went down. At the same time, ships bringing in
waste received greater discounts on the fees paid for this service.
Importantly, these fees now differentiate between the amounts of
oil-containing waste and regular waste. The financial side of it all
was streamlined. In 2006, one third of the over 6,000 sea ships
covered by the Port Waste Plan delivered waste to the official
facilities in the ports on the North Sea Canal. The total amount was
more than 45,000 cubic meters.
Ecology
The port area in Amsterdam includes many green areas, including
tracts of land where no buildings or facilities may be constructed
because of the presence of cables and pipelines. The Port of Amsterdam
is now developing this green space in an ecologically responsible
manner. Since the beginning of 2006, companies wishing to cut down
trees need to obtain a permit from the port authority, which carefully
checks whether the request is reasonable and the trees can be replanted
elsewhere or new trees can be planted in the port area to compensate
for the loss of the removed specimens. In 2006, companies felled
222 trees (many of which were trees that had just “sprung up naturally”
on unused company sites) and planted 40 new ones. To lure the
protected Natterjack Toad away from places where companies
may establish themselves in the future, the Port of Amsterdam
created two toad pools – one near the Hornweg and one near the
Petroleumhavenweg.
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