Mayeri wrestling with sludge and ecolabel

The Mayeri Industries AS factory in question is located in Tabivere, Jõgeva County. Photo: Kristjan Teedema

Well-known Estonian washing and cleaning products manufacturer Mayeri has been caught violating environmental regulations on several occasions in the past year and continues to sell ecolabel products despite a corresponding ban.

“An acquaintance was working near the Mayeri factory and happened upon foam rising up from the ground after digging 80 centimeters into the ground (I would not have believed them had there not been a video recording) – it was not like sea foam but more like what you get in a bubble bath,” a reader wrote to Postimees. The Mayeri Industries AS factory in question is located in Tabivere, Jõgeva County. “My acquaintance also discovered that the factory is pumping residues into a nearby river. I am asking you to look into it as no one should be foolish enough to pollute the natural environment in this manner in the 21st century.”

Senior inspector for the Environmental Board’s Tartu County office Heli Väljamets said that misdemeanor proceedings have been launched against the factory following a so-called foaming water complaint. Other complaints concern waste management and rainwater.

The board was notified of the foaming water last November. “Inspection on location revealed that pollutants had made their way into a drainage ditch on the western side of the factory complex,” Väljamets explained. “A depression dug next to the factory was found to hold rainwater and chemicals. The company was ordered to drain the depression and collect the water. The Environmental Inspectorate launched misdemeanor proceedings based on section 259, subsection 2 of the Water Act (violation of the prohibition on polluting bodies of water, groundwater and soil and anti-pollution regulations).”

The maximum fine for a legal person is €400,000. Communication adviser for the board Leili Tuul said that the ceiling is meant for large-scale marine pollution and because this is Mayeri’s first infraction, the maximum amount will not be sought.

Company claims accident

“Such an unfortunate incident did occur as a result of an accident,” CDO for Mayeri Industries AS Tanel Martin said. “The foaming water was caused by spillage of soap water after the tap broke on one of our IBC containers. We managed to divert a part of the soap water. It was an accident with no clear guilty party. Luckily, the spilled substance was an ordinary household detergent.”

Andres Aruhein, head of AS Emajõe Veevärk that offers water and sewage treatment services in Tabivere, said that the problem has a longer and more sordid history. “Such ‘accidents’ occur two or three times a year at the Mayeri factory,” he said. “They claim that their detergents are biodegradable and flush 100-200 liters at a time. However, it disrupts the water treatment plant’s purification process. It takes a lot of work to get everything cleaned up and our water treatment equipment up and running again.” Tartu Postimees reported a similar incident just after Midsummer’s Day last year. (“Veevärk sulges rikutud puhasti tõttu keemiatehase kanalisatsiooni,” TPM 29.06.2020)

Employees of the water utility had gotten the equipment working again after another one of Mayeri’s “foam parties” just a few months prior. Emajõe Veevärk’s patience then ran out and saw it temporarily shut off the pipe down which sludge from Mayeri reached the water treatment plant.

“That is when they dug a big hole in their yard and directed the waste there,” Aruhein said, pointing to the reason for ongoing misdemeanor proceedings.

The pipe was unblocked once the waste treatment plant was up and running again and Mayeri had paid Emajõe Veevärk €6,000 it took to repair it. The next incident took place a little before Christmas, Aruhein said.

“Mayeri should install a system to stop large quantities of detergent ending up in the sewage system in case of an accident,” Aruhein found. “Or they can build their own waste treatment facility!”

Tanel Martin said that the company is in the process of moving the processes of liquids reception, storage and mixing into closed stationary tanks in order to manage environmental risks associated with IBC containers, such as leaks, problems with taps, breakage etc. “The investment for the first part – delivery system – amounts to half a million euros and should be completed by July,” Mayeri’s chief development officer said.

He added that Emajõe Veevärk has problems of its own. “And they start with the simple fact that their waste treatment facility is working at capacity and every little deviation proves catastrophic. Because Mayeri’s wastewater output (washing of floors and production lines etc.) is similar to that of a large apartment building at night when people wash dishes and take showers, it has caused the treatment facility to fail. The companies are looking for solutions together – it makes little financial sense for Mayeri to construct a separate waste treatment plant and for Emajõe Veevärk to lose a customer.”

Andrus Aruhein said in his comment that he would like to know where Martin gets his information. “If ‘water management specialist’ Martin has provided such an exhaustive expert assessment of the Tabivere waste treatment system, the Mayeri factory needs to be disconnected from the settlement’s water treatment system as soon as possible,” he said, adding that no such problems have cropped up in over one hundred other settlements the company caters to.

The Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority (TTJA) has also launched misdemeanor proceedings against Mayeri. The Environment Agency in charge of EU ecolabel rights discovered that Mayeri had used the label without permission on several occasions.

Head of communication for the TTJA Airi Illison said the agency has no comment as proceedings are ongoing. A legal person can be fined €3,200 for violating the conditions of use of the ecolabel. This means that the company would need to sell fewer than 2,000 bottles of the wash gel a discount campaign for which was held at Coop supermarkets last week to break even.

The product advertisement makes a point of mentioning the ecolabel. Postimees was told from the Environment Agency that the process of applying for the label has not been completed and the products cannot be sold at all.

No grounds for removing products from shelves

“We have not been told to remove the product from circulation,” Tanel Martin said, even though a letter from the Environment Agency sent in September demands from the company a date by which all products that use the ecolabel illegally have been removed from shelves.”

Tanel Martin interprets the situation as follows. “There are particularities involved based on whether the product lacks an ecolabel (substantive violation) or whether we are dealing with other, less serious violations. The application for additional trademarks (incl. Coop) was filed by Mayeri on September 30, 2020 and a decision will be made inside the time-limits on proceedings. I repeat that this only concerns the agency adding a trademark, there are no proceedings and no possibility of a refusal to add the trademarks.”

“Mayeri has 153 products that have been issued the EU ecolabel and where its use is in accordance with regulations,” press representative for the Environment Agency Valdo Jahilo said. Martin added that because the label/license is issued for the base recipe, Mayeri has over 1,500 products with the ecolabel sporting different trademarks and aroma and color combinations.

“Mayeri has not been able to bring about a perfect world in the conditions of these volumes and mistakes happen,” Martin said.