A very different wastewater treatment plant is under construction in Hillerød, a municipality in the Capital Region of Denmark. It has the latest technology and research, and teaching is assigned a high priority, but from the outside it looks more like a park than a treatment plant.

Solrødgård Treatment Plant is designed to blend into the landscape and let visitors peek into large glass facades to gain insight into the wastewater treatment process without being in the same room as sludge and sewage. The area will be open to the public, and have recreational activities and assessable public zones, as well as rooftop gardens with information about the cleaning process from beginning to end.

The treatment plant is part of Solrødgård Climate and Environment Park that also includes a recycling centre, wetlands that collect rainwater, and a climate and environment centre with administration, garage and educational facilities.

A sustainable solution
The project manager at Hillerød Utility Company, Henning Gade, emphasises the importance of sustainability relating to finance as well as use of resources:

- We consider it an important task to create a plant that is as financially sustainable as possible. The new plant will generate electricity and use wastewater as a resource to a greater extent than previously. It will contribute to healthy finances. We are working with the local businesses and discussing specific needs for wastewater treatment and better use of their waste. Right now, we are working on a project with food waste from the local businesses and sludge, and the mixing seems to increase the production of gas in our fermentation tanks.

Another way to use the resources better is to use the sludge remains to fertilise the fields. Phosphorus is a resource that is running low. It is therefore important to return the nutrients to the fields.

Promoting a better waste behaviour
- The new Climate and Environment Park will be a recreational area and a park where the public can gain insight into the process. We believe that information and insight can affect their waste behaviour. If it can help people understand why they should not throw sanitary towels or the like in the toilet, it can optimise our operation and reduce expenses, Henning Gade says.

A Climate and Environment Centre will also be situated in the park. It will be used to educate schoolchildren about the treatment process and greet foreign visitors and visitors from other utility companies.

A new kind of construction process
Orbicon is working with Henning Larsen Architects and DHI to construct the wastewater treatment plant. The construction process is different from other construction processes as the co-operation between the companies is characterised as a partnership. This entails a joint responsibility to meet deadlines etc., as well as close co-operation on idea development. Initiatives can result in bonuses if they lead to efficiency improvements, save resources, or reduce mistakes and accidents. In addition to that, a Lean programme is integrated to ensure that the construction process will proceed as planned.