According to the survey responses, the major end-users tend to be municipalities, the power generation sector, and industry. The latter two categories are the major end-users of air pollution prevention and energy related technologies, while in the water, wastewater and waste management sectors, by far the major end-users of technologies were municipalities. Surprisingly, the transport industry was not found to be the largest end-user of noise, vibration and OHS technologies, but rather it was found to be manufacturing plants and construction companies.
Worth noting also is the trend that municipalities are among the major end-users of environmental technologies. This is largely due to the decline in industry production in the Baltics since the late 1980s and a shift in responsibility for the management of water, wastewater and waste to individual municipalities. As collection and disposal costs continue to rise, municipalities expect to be searching for more cost-effective solutions.
The rankings presented in Tables 1.14 - 1.17 give an indication as to the major end-users of specific environmental technologies in each of the surveyed countries.
Other significant end-users include industrial companies such as cement factories, the mining industry, food processing and the textile industry. Notably, neither small stationary pollution sources such as small industrial companies or transport are considered major end-users of air pollution reduction technologies mainly because they are not overly affected by current legislation.
Table 1.14 identifies the major end-users of air related technologies in the surveyed countries.
| TABLE 1.14: MAJOR END-USERS OF ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGIES - AIR | |
|---|---|
| Country | Major End-users |
| Estonia | Mining industry; transport; power plants |
| Latvia | Energy sector; power plants; industrial companies; municipalities |
| Lithuania | Power plants and heat generating stations; industrial companies; transport |
Other significant end-users include power stations and various industries such as chemical, food processing, pharmaceutical, and pulp and paper. The wastewater facilities in industrial companies are generally in poor condition and require significant modernization. Higher discharge levels are expected in the future as production begins to increase again.
Table 1.15 identifies the major end-users of water and wastewater related technologies in the surveyed countries.
| TABLE 1.15: MAJOR END-USERS OF ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGIES - WATER AND WASTEWATER | |
|---|---|
| Country | Major End-users |
| Estonia | Municipalities; power stations; chemical industry; food processing industry; pulp and paper industry; agriculture |
| Latvia | Municipalities/municipal services; various types of manufacturing; pharmaceutical industry; textile industry |
| Lithuania | Municipal waste water service companies; hospitals; chemical industry; food industry; Textile industry |
Municipalities in Lithuania currently manage over 800 landfills. The vast majority of these sites are in poor condition, many have been abandoned and all of them require significant modernization. Industry in the Baltic countries is slowly being forced to dispose of their waste effectively.
In Lithuania, much of the secondary raw material waste is wood, nonferrous metals and glass. The current collection and disposal system is not well-organized, and the waste is therefore not being disposed of effectively. Other important end-users of the waste management technologies are the oil-shale and cement industries, followed by construction companies. Table 1.16 outlines the major waste technology end-users.
| TABLE 1.16: MAJOR END-USERS OF ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGIES - WASTE MANAGEMENT | |
|---|---|
| Country | Major End-users |
| Estonia | Municipalities; oil-shale industry; cement manufacturing industry; construction companies |
| Latvia | Municipal waste management services; other industries (construction, textile, paper, food) |
| Lithuania | Municipalities; municipal service operators; landfill operators; largest waste producers |
Other significant end-users are municipalities in their control of domestic heating systems for their local area. Reforms in domestic heating are expected within the next few years as municipalities convert to gas as their primary heating source.
While energy saving technologies are becoming increasingly important, industrial branches are also becoming more interested in heat recovery and energy-saving technologies in the future as their production increases and energy costs rise.
Table 1.17 lists the energy-related end-users in order of importance.
| TABLE 1.17: MAJOR END-USERS OF ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGIES - ENERGY | |
|---|---|
| Country | Major End-users |
| Estonia | Power generation; manufacturing; heavy industry; pulp and paper industry |
| Latvia | Energy sector; municipal power generation; other industrial sectors |
| Lithuania | Power plants; heat generating stations; municipal services; other industrial companies |