About Hyötyvirta

The Hyötyvirta area is built based upon value chain principles. The main focus is to further develop and answer the environmental challenges through recycling and reuse of materials. The area’s businesses form a strong growth and knowledge base for new recycling businesses, as well as a steady base for companies with environmental measure as a primary focus.

Educational collaboration with local energy and environmental institutes, such as Bio Sampo at the Kouvola Region Vocational College and the Kotka unit of Kymenlaakso Applied Sciences College, produce future experts for the business needs of the Hyötyvirta companies.

It is easy for companies to locate to the area, as there already exists a strong network of environmentally focused businesses. Innovative solutions are vital, in order to decrease the amount of the ecological burden of our society today. Hyötyvirta welcomes all businesses to the area.

Joint activities

Mandatory waste water monitoring program in the Hyötyvirta area.

The Centre for Economic Development Transport and the Environment (Ely Center) of South-Eastern Finland has approved a joint waste water monitoring program for the whole Hyötyvirta area. The demands/conditions of this program are based on the environmental permits of the businesses operating in the area. The operational activities of Kymenlaakson Jäte Oy, Ekokem Oy and the City of Kouvola, are taken into account in this program including the implications on surface, ground and seep waters.

Hyötyvirta environmental panel

The core function of the Hyötyvirta environmental panel is to monitor the area’s environmental impact. The panel has been developed and put together by the businesses currently based at the Hyötyvirta area. Currently there are three major contributing companies as part of this panel, which all have a common interests and business functions in receiving and processing waste.

Part of the environmental panel is also the local community and its businesses, which contribute to the observational information of the environmental effects of the area activities, gathered by Hyötyvirta. This information is delivered monthly to the environmental authorities, who are responsible for monitoring and authorizing permits for the area.

The companies part of the panel, yearly organize a meeting with the local community and others interested in the matter, to discuss the current issues at hand.

Kymenlaakson Jäte Oy is currently monitoring its own environmental impacts, as part of the self-monitoring program permitted by the local authorities. 

Surface and seep water measurements are taken four times a year and ground water measurements twice a year. Additionally regular readings are also taken from nearby household wells. Kymijoen Vesi is responsible for carrying out the monitoring. 

Hyötyvirta ry is a nonprofit organization, focusing on being an environmentally informative channel for its members. The organizations core focus is to develop solutions conserving the environment and to support the development of new technologies in this field.

Hyötyvirta ry’s key activities include organizing corporate visits and excursions to seminars and conferences, as well as to put together community meetings in order to inform and share informative data on development, to showcase new progressive developments in reuse of materials.

Mapping together opinions, questions and discussion forums for the Hyötyvirta members and the local residents on issues related to the topic, is also one of the organization’s primary activities.

Organizational activities are:

• Lobbying the entirety of the Hyötyvirta area and taking an interest in areas, such as data and electricity networks and local road issues.
• To be the primary representative for the area in relative matters, by gathering and taking feedback on environmental occurrences.
• Supporting members in competitive benchmarking.
• Developing measuring techniques and up keep of monitoring platforms for members and for commercial use.
• Carrying out communal area activities, such as taking readings on noise and decibel measurements.
• Recruitment of  new businesses to the area
• Up keep of the organization’s website
• To co-ordinate joint presentations at seminars and environmental conferences.

The intersection of highway 15 and waste disposal regulation changes with their consequences, have been the current main focal points of the Hyötyvirta organization.