CASE Construction Equipment Is Helping to Clean up Europe's Most Polluted River

CASE Construction Equipment, a global construction equipment brand of CNH Industrial, has been working to help clean up the Sarno river, Europe’s most polluted. The river, which rises at the base of Mt. Sarno, passing through Pompeii and discharging into the Bay of Naples, has been polluted by industrial waste. And this is where the CASE wheel loader, to be precise a 821G model, stepped in.

The machine has been at work cleaning the beach in Rovigliano (Torre Annunziata), which is at the mouth of the river. “We are always looking for opportunities to make a positive difference in the communities in which we operate. Immediately after hearing about this project, I knew that CASE would be the perfect ally in helping to solve the issues at hand,” said Daniela Ropolo, Head of Sustainable Development Initiatives, CNH Industrial.

Although located near Naples and Pompeii, as well as facing the islands of Capri and Ischia, the beach is unsuitable for swimming and littered with rubbish. Groups of volunteers assisted by collecting mounds of bottles, containers, reeds and other general waste with as much recycled as possible.

The 821G was fitted with a three cubic metre skeleton bucket that was able to filter out the debris from the sand. All the debris collected was then put in a 6m long container, which was only half full once the operation was complete. As a result, the beach’s fine black volcanic sand is once again visible.

"CASE technologies have never been an end in themselves, but always aim to solve real world challenges, such as pollution. One of our core values is to support communities, of which the beach clearing is a great example. Providing volunteers with a machine to give back to nature and restore such a special volcanic beach has been both an honour for us and something we owe to future generations,” said Nicola D’Arpino, Vice President Sales and Marketing, CNH Industrial Construction Europe.