Lay waste to poor recycling

As any lean manufacturing guidebook will tell you, waste is the root of unprofitable activity. But, with the avalanche of bubble wrap, card, polystyrene and scrap metal that thunders through the typical factory floor, turning the theory into practice can be daunting. Agfa Graphics of Leeds, a supplier of digital printing solutions for sign, display and industrial printing, is among those to surmount the challenge, achieving zero-to-landfill as far back as 2010. Fed up with the landfill tax escalator, in 2004 the company decided to attack the effluent treatment process that generated a large proportion of its waste in the form of filter cake. Re-engineering the process did the trick, but still left the company with 90,000 tonnes of other annual waste to tackle. "In 2008, we set ourselves the target of zero to landfill," says site manager, Graham Cooper. "Analysis was the key. We followed the worst skips to the worst sites to see what waste we were producing and where it was ending up. Immediately, we realised we had to segregate the waste streams." The company swapped its aluminium packaging for polythene and bought a baler so waste wrap could be sold. Regarding its scrap wood, Agfa Graphics started having a skip delivered with a collector happy to pay the company for its unwanted remnants. Slowly, material by material, Agfa Graphics managed to whittle the list down. Not everything fetched a price though. "We were left with a few residual materials which we found challenging," says Cooper. "Canteen waste, for example, proved a struggle. Eventually we found a contractor who would take it away for composting, but we have to pay for the privilege. Some waste also gets taken away for incineration so it can be turned into power, but we also pay for that." Agfa Graphics did reach its goal, however, with Cooper describing the buy-in of the shopfloor as vital in the transition. "The shopfloor didn't need convincing," he says. "They're all doing it at home; their kids are massively into recycling, too, so it was a case of 'at last, work is getting in on the act'." Agfa Graphics deploys shopfloor collection stations at the points where waste is generated. The company also performs regular audits to ensure waste is correctly segregated. Separated waste streams are vital, both in terms of achieving a higher price and avoiding any comebacks from disgruntled collectors. "At around £120 per tonne for polythene, for example, the revenue stream isn't huge," says Cooper, "but it's better than paying landfill tax [£80 per tonne]. For any manufacturers looking to embark on this journey, I would say you've got to appoint a champion, someone who is able to get passionate about looking in bins. If you don't scrutinise what you're throwing away, you'll never reduce it." Remaining in Leeds, Siemens Mechanical Drives, which assembles and services gear units and geared motors for industry, is another able to proclaim itself a zero-to-landfill site. Like many, it was already pretty efficient in the recycling stakes, with materials such as metal and general office waste being collected regularly. Where the waste went "At the time we used a number of waste removal companies, some of which offered waste reports – these gave us more detailed information and inspired us to go further," says gene­ral manager Simon Nadin. "We also looked into where the waste went, as some waste companies would ship it overseas – not good for carbon footprint. We eventually found a company [Premier Waste Recycling] that documented everything." Today, everything generated at the Leeds site is either reused or recycled. This includes mixed packaging, cardboard, plastic, wood, metals, glass, soil/stones and food waste. Even municipal waste, previously sent to landfill, is now refuse-derived fuel (RDF) that is burned to generate energy. "Although we haven't made money as such from recycling, we have been able to balance what we recycle against the extra cost of additional bins and collections," says Nadin. "We also use a compactor so we get more into the skips and therefore need fewer collections. Indeed, we are already saving around £2,000 a year by not sending anything to landfill. Certainly, linking up with Premier Waste Recycling helped us achieve our target sooner than expected."  So what can a manufacturer expect from a supplier of waste management services? Well, Biffa's IRM division says that, rather than sitting behind desks, the company's manufacturing sector experts are embedded at customer sites to advise on operational adjustments that eliminate waste altogether, or, at the very least, ensure that the highest rebate is available. Biffa has also set up a complementary consultancy service called R3MC that specialises in delivering end-to-end sustainability for large companies with complex waste streams. As well as supply chain management, line-side recycling and process efficiencies, R3MC also provides compliance, energy auditing and recovery, quality and environmental management, and bespoke management information systems. The main metrics used by Biffa IRM include the amount of waste being produced per unit of product, the materials being wasted and how they are separated and stored for collection, the value of those materials on the global commodity market, and the cost/rebate to the customer. For those thinking they might be able to go it alone rather than using a waste management specialist, Robin Stevenson, managing director – non-hazardous at the William Tracey Group, argues against the idea. "Generally, a lack of scale would make it inefficient to manage your own waste," he says. "To do so, you would need a waste management licence and to produce waste transfer notes. You would also need to invest in the collection and recycling technology required." William Tracey Group can help companies recycle paper, plastic, metal, cardboard, glass and food waste. Glass and food are generally collected separately as they tend to contaminate the other materials. Depending upon the volume produced, paper, plastic and tins/cans are collected together in one container and separated at local material recycling facilities, or where there are sufficient volumes they are collected separately. Once recycling has taken place, manufacturers are left with relatively small amounts of 'general waste'. William Tracey takes this material and manufactures an RDF. Typical metrics used by the company include collection performance, recycling rates and diversion from landfill.   Services from Grundon Waste Management extend to waste chemicals, contaminated containers, excess production materials, waste electrical and electronic equipment, or confidential waste, and hazardous or clinical waste. "All manufacturers produce hazardous waste: some things are obvious such as chemicals or solvents, but other items like oily rags or aerosols also fall into the hazardous category and should be disposed of in a compliant fashion," says Jonathan Harris, general manager – technical. "A big part of our role is to help companies ensure they meet the latest regulations and that all the necessary compliance documentation is in place." "Having a robust reporting process in place is essential," he concludes. "Monthly statistics enable targets to be set and to see where progress is being made and where further changes are needed." Tipping points The first step on the recycling journey is to look at the waste being discarded. Once the various waste streams have been identified, it is then possible to start working out the optimum methods for segregation. Often, waste streams are best collected at the point they are generated, typically via designated collection stations on the shop floor. Shop around for the best deal, although be prepared to discover that not all waste fetches a price – some collections might need to be paid for. In these instances it might be possible to compact the waste to reduce the number of collections. Check that the chosen collector has a waste management licence. Furthermore, the Environment Agency says that all manufacturers have a duty of care to check where their waste is being taken. The agency issues permits to all sites that manage waste and manufacturers should ensure this is in place. Any manufacturers needing further encouragement should take heed of the legal requirements. From 1 January 2014, the Waste (Scotland) Regulations meant that all businesses had to start segregating waste and recycling their metal, plastic, glass and paper, or risk a fine. From 1 January 2015, under the Waste (England and Wales) Regulations, the same will apply. "Without segregation there is no quality to waste, which means you can't do anything with it. We need a sustainable approach to the issue – this is the way regulators and government are thinking," concludes Alan Holmes, senior advisor illegal's and waste – environment and business, at the Environment Agency.