Dusseldorf, Germany /PRNewswire/ - NATO's integrated logistics service agency, the NATO Support Agency (NSPA) and Ecolog, the solutions provider in customized life support and logistics solutions, have been closely cooperating on projects supporting the NATO-led mission inAfghanistanfor more than a decade now.

More recently, in the context of the drawdown of troops' and consequent retrograde gearing up towards the end of their mission there, arose the necessity to dispose of, in compliance with international standards, large quantities of hazardous waste material, accumulated during more than eleven years of presence and operations in the country.

Ecolog was able to respond to the challenge, fulfilling the stringent criteria associated to an operation of such a scale and requiring large numbers of personnel, as well as equipment for the project.

A NSPA Operational Logistics Project Manager stated that Ecolog has risen to the challenge, through being flexible, though, and reactive in supporting the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Nations with the drawdown and dismantling of force establishments.

Indeed, the diversity of the waste, to include fuels, oils and lubricants, all types of batteries including lead-acid, nickel-metal hydride, dry cells, gel, nickel-cadmium and lithium, compressed gas cylinders, solvents, paints and chemical products such as pesticides and detergents, bulbs, waste containing asbestos and contaminated soils, require an exceptional range of equipment and technical skills to be disposed of in compliance with the European Commission directives and regulations.

The expertise of Ecolog in the field of Hazmat and dangerous goods and experience in operating a diversity of machines such as medical and non-medical waste incinerators, bulb crushers, oil filter crushers, aerosol piercers, refrigerant recovery machines, a wide range of recycling machines, soon to include lead acid battery recycling machine, were determinant.

Peter Esser, Group General Manager of Strategy and Development of Ecolog International, highlighted: "We are very proud to be working to support NSPA inAfghanistanand we feel we are regarded as a partner in this endeavor, which was made possible under their leadership in gathering requirements of the contingents from all the nations under a single umbrella, while safeguarding continuous quality standards."

Today, ensuring compliance inAfghanistanwith the EU directives on the incineration of waste, Ecolog currently operates twelve state-of-the-art waste incinerators, including at Kandahar Airfield and in Mazar el Sherif, equipped with flue-gas treatment and a continuous emission-monitoring system. In total so far more than 600 tons of various hazardous wastes have been collected from multiple camps, transported, consolidated and stored in dedicated centers, then segregated, treated and recycled in country for the large majority of the cases, in collaboration with local partners and otherwise shipped toGermanyto be disposed of appropriately.

Ecolog and NSPA close cooperating on several projects supporting the NATO mission inAfghanistan, of which the longest standing project started in 2007, when NSPA took over managing operations at the Kandahar Airfield on behalf of NATO. Ecolog provides and maintains there more than 600 light vehicles and dozens of heavy equipment and performs services including laundry, ablution and cleaning services for the troops.

The largest laundry facility inAfghanistanis actually in Kandahar Airfield, operated by Ecolog, where over 4,500 laundry bags have been serviced daily.Ecolog utilizes an embedded RFID tracking for automatic management and monitoring of services. Furthermore, Ecolog has provided over 200 hand-washing stations and up to 19001,600 mobile sanitation units are serviced per day, along with cleaning tens of thousands of square meters in various base facilities, in addition Ecolog collects liquid waste and operates the wastewater treatment plant, handling about 4,000 cubic meters every day.

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Long Standing Partnership Between NSPA And Ecolog, Now Also Focused On The Environment