The Australian Packaging Covenant sits under the National Waste Policy and is the voluntary component of a regulatory arrangement based on the principles of shared responsibility through product stewardship, between key stakeholders in the supply chain and all levels of government. The Covenant is designed to minimise environmental impacts arising from the disposal of used packaging, conserve resources through better design and production processes and facilitate the re-use and recycling of … [Read more...]
National Waste Policy: Less waste more resources
The policy has a number of strategies for how govenments will support improved waste management and resource recovery. These include the Australian Packaging Covenant and proposed national product stewardship legislation. The aims of the National Waste Policy are to: avoid the generation of waste, reduce the amount of waste (including hazardous waste) for disposal manage waste as a resource ensure that waste treatment, disposal, recovery and re-use is undertaken in a safe, scientific … [Read more...]
Amcor reduced waste to landfill
Amcor has achieved a 48% reduction in waste to landfill compared to 2005-06. Through a partnership with Fibre Energy P/L solid waste is being is processed to form pellets known as fibre shots, to be used as coal replacement. This accounts for 60,000t per annum of solid waste being diverted from landfill in a waste to energy process. Amcor has also developed a bacterium to digest nearly all of its 35t waste ink sludge per month. The annual expected saving in waste disposal is more than … [Read more...]
Barwon area recycling innovation
Barwon Regional Waste Management Group (BRWMG) collects and processes expanded polystyrene (EPS) waste. They provide a free drop off point for the bulky plastic saving businesses the cost of waste removal and diverting it from landfill. To date 129t of EPS has been diverted. BRWMG then shreds the EPS and works to find recycling opportunities. One example is a local concrete manufacturer that uses the EPS in a successful range of light weight pavers. See … [Read more...]
Rigid plastic packaging recycling
The rigid plastic packaging project found that recycling of 100% post-consumer polypropylene (PP) is technically feasible, cost effective and there are a variety of suitable markets for the recyclate. Potential markets for the recyclate include: Cable reels Compost bins Export pallets Trenching products Binders / folders Pot planters Desk calendars See http://www.packagingcovenant.org.au/page.php?name=natrigidplasticpackagingrecoveryandrecycling0105 … [Read more...]
Fuji Xerox eco remanufacturing
Fuji Xerox is aiming to achieve zero landfill, no pollution and zero illegal disposal. Its Australian eco-manufacturing centre collects used Fuji products such as copiers, printers and cartridges and disassembles them to be re-used and/or re-manufactured into products of equal or better than new condition. The eco-manufacturing centre: has returned $240 million on a $22 million investment over 15 years re-manufactures approximately 250,000 parts and subassemblies annually to ‘better … [Read more...]
Lockheed Martin hazardous waste management
Lockheed Martin identified a significant amount of unused chemicals going directly to the hazardous waste stream without ever being used, when they expired on-shelf, or when they were no longer needed for research or production. Lockheed Martin moved to a just-in-time chemical management system, with chemicals delivered three times a week in “right-sized” containers to meet real-time demand. At one site they achieved: chemical inventories were dramatically reduced, freeing capital tied up in … [Read more...]
Right sized equipment
Apollo Hardwoods was established using lean princples. They invested in developing “right sized” equipment which used less energy, fitted into small production cells, and allowed them to fabricate the same amount of finished product using fewer logs and generating less wood scrap. See http://www.epa.gov/lean/environment/studies/apollo.htm … [Read more...]
