recYclinG & waste manaGement however, sandvik not only
considers circularity in its products and services, but in its packaging too. its package selector application (psa), which is planned to go live in the second half of 2021, uses an artificial intelligence (ai) algorithm that can analyse the product to select optimised packaging. By using the smallest packaging possible, material waste is reduced and energy can be saved during transportation.
Recycling iS key as well as designing out waste, manufacturers should consider what will happen to the product at the end of its use. recycling can be encouraged through buy back schemes, where the original equipment manufacturer (oem) buys back the product from the consumer and recycles it. for example, sandvik and its strategic business partner stamicarbon offer a buy back program for recycling high-alloy steel. when customers in the urea
fertiliser industry need to replace old equipment at their plants, stamicarbon decommissions the heat exchangers with the precious alloys and sandvik uses the recycled material in the production of new stainless-steels. the equipment is replaced quickly and easily to avoid disruption to production. every part of the value
chain benefits from this model. sandvik deploys another buy back
scheme at its wolfram site where used cemented-carbide tools are converted back into basic raw materials. making new tools from the recycled solid carbide requires 70 per cent less energy than producing with virgin raw materials. the process retrieves a high amount of tungsten, which is a scarce and finite material with reserves of only around 100 years of consumption left. sandvik is committed to using engineering and innovation to drive sustainable business by keeping products and materials in use. today, 18 of sandvik’s production units report 100 per cent waste recovery, and sandvik is ranked among the top ten per cent of environmental performers in its industry globally by the dow Jones sustainability index (dJsi). it is undeniable that the current
rate of waste generation in the world is unsustainable, and more needs to be done to prevent materials going to landfill. manufacturers have the power to create real change by making the circular economy a key consideration in product design, therefore helping to keep valuable materials in use and preserve resources.
97 per cent reduction in waste to landfill from schaeffler’s uK plant
of it in landfills. By the end of 2020 the sheffield site had achieved 97 per cent reduction of waste to landfill. in 2018, the total tonnage of main waste streams (including
s
paper, cardboard, plastic, wood and general waste) at sheffield was 276 tonnes, of which 58 tonnes was general waste and sent to landfill. schaeffler implemented measures to support sustainable production, by protecting the environment and working towards reducing overall wastage sent to landfill. to implement this, david wright, ehs co-ordinator at sheffield, and his colleague charlotte waller carried out the ‘4r plan’.
The 4R Plan reduce: the first measure of the '4r plan' was to 'reduce'. namely the removal of all disposable cups. it became apparent that large volumes were being used (estimated around 5,000-6,000 per week). the cups could not be recycled due to a thin layer of plastic within the cardboard. this made it a 'pp5 class plastic disposal' which requires specialised and costly recycling processes. replacing disposable cups by providing all staff with re-useable cups meant a reduced waste to landfill of approximately 1.39 tonnes.
re-use: for 're-use', the wooden crates on site are sold on to a local company that reuses them.
Sandvik
www.home.sandvik
recycle: to accomplish the 'recycle' measure, all office areas were provided with recycling bins to enable waste segregation at source. with each station using four different bins (General waste, aluminium cans, plastic and paper), only the 'general waste' was sent for incineration.
recover: for the 'recover' stage, the waste supplier was changed. the new company incinerates waste to recover heat and energy, classing this process as recovery. the heat generated from the incineration process is used to provide heating and electricity for the local city of sheffield.
Significant improvements the measures outlined above were all implemented throughout 2019 and 2020, with improvements having already been made. in 2019, the total amount of general waste produced had reduced by 12 tonnes. this demonstrates that the measures implemented for increased segregation are working. one of the biggest achievements in reducing waste to landfill by 97
per cent was redirecting the compactor waste from landfill to energy recovery – a process that produces electricity to feed into the national grid, as well as providing hot water for district heating supplying social housing, theatres and government buildings within the sheffield area. in its ‘2020 waste to energy Year end report’, the waste service company reported that the sheffield plant in 2020 had saved 9,000kg
of co2which is equivalent to planting 30 trees. other waste streams at the plant are also recycled, for example, cardboard is recycled into paper products. scrap wood is taken to stobart energy based in nearby rotherham. with long term contracts in place they supply nearly two million tonnes of fuel to energy recovery facilities. this generates renewable energy equivalent to the annual domestic electricity needs of two per cent of the uK population.
Schaeffler
www.schaeffler.com
chaeffler’s uK plant in sheffield has been working on the Zero waste to landfill project, the aim of which is to recycle as much waste as possible and no longer dispose
factorY&handlinGsolutions | septemBer 2021 59
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