Sustainability and Waste Management - Impact Fertilizer - Case Study Example

Case study Name Date Course Executive summary 3 Description of the Facility 4 The current practices that are taking place at the company are aimed at ensuring efficiency in terms of waste management. The company is usually involved in continuous research for the purposes of ensuring proper waste management strategies. The main wastes at the facility are the packaging wastes which accounts for tones of wastes at the plant. Recycling the waste products is the main method that is used by the company for the purposes of managing the waste products (Impact Fertilisers, 2013). The company has put in place a recycling plant that is responsible for dealing with the waste products from the manufacturing facility. The recycled wastes from the facility are usually packed and sold to the public and it has played an important role in terms of increasing the revenues of the company. The main reason for conducting the waste assessment is the desire to minimize on the waste products of the company. This is with a view of ensuring that the company is able to manage the waste products and fully comply with the legislations that deals with the waste management in the country. This will enable the company to ensure that its waste disposal strategies not impact negatively on the environment. 5 Rationale for conducting assessment 5 Methodology 6 Waste Generation 7 Waste profile 8 Analysis of results 12 Financial implications for the company 13 Recommendations for waste minimization 13 Conclusion 14 List of Reference 16 Executive summary Impact Fertilizer is a company located in Geelong, Victoria. It is mainly involved in the production of fertilizers. The facility has put in place measures to manage waste products from its plant which basically entail recycling. It is essential to note that the main aim of the study is to ensure that the wastes are minimized within the company. The main wastes from the facility are usually generated from the packaging process. Mechanical equipment have been put in place with an aim of transporting the wastes. The information regarding the waste management of the company was obtained through site visits, surveys, interviews and visiting the website of the company. The main composition of the wastes that are generated from the company involves the waste water, chemicals, papers and fuel wastes. The analysis of the results indicates that the company is performing well in terms of waste management but more opportunities are still available. It is recommended that the company should embrace the use of technology in order to minimize the wastes. Training of the employees should be carried out on a step by step basis. A period of nine months should be allocated for the implementation of the proposed recommendations. Description of the Facility Background Impact fertilizers is a company that is based in Australia and it operates various manufacturing plants. One of the manufacturing plants of the company is located in Geelong, Victoria. The facility mainly specializes in the manufacture of the fertilizers. It has about one hundred employees who are involved in the manufacturing processes of the company. The facility is large and occupies a floor area of about 100 metres by 50 meters. This is for the purposes of ensuring that there is adequate room for operations as well as the storage of the manufactured products. Different operations also take place at the facility apart from the manufacturing. This includes the packaging of the fertilizers in bags and also management of wastes from the manufacturing plants (Impact Fertilisers, 2013). The transportation of the fertilizer bags to the storage site is done through the use of machines which create a lot of movements within the facility. The waste assessment was carried out in the manufacturing plan which is the main facility of the company in the area. The paper will thus focus on the concepts of waste management practices at the manufacturing plant. The current practices that are taking place at the company are aimed at ensuring efficiency in terms of waste management. The company is usually involved in continuous research for the purposes of ensuring proper waste management strategies. The main wastes at the facility are the packaging wastes which accounts for tones of wastes at the plant. Recycling the waste products is the main method that is used by the company for the purposes of managing the waste products (Impact Fertilisers, 2013). The company has put in place a recycling plant that is responsible for dealing with the waste products from the manufacturing facility. The recycled wastes from the facility are usually packed and sold to the public and it has played an important role in terms of increasing the revenues of the company. The main reason for conducting the waste assessment is the desire to minimize on the waste products of the company. This is with a view of ensuring that the company is able to manage the waste products and fully comply with the legislations that deals with the waste management in the country. This will enable the company to ensure that its waste disposal strategies not impact negatively on the environment. Rationale for conducting assessment The assessment regarding the waste management of the company was conducted based on the type of wastes that are found in the company together with their quantities. The amount of wastes was recorded in cubic meters and litres depending on the type of wastes. In order to obtain a clear picture regarding the wastes generated, it was assessed according to the duration in which the wastes are usually collected. This is because some of the wastes were collected on a weekly and fortnightly basis. Facility of the company Methodology The actual collection of the data regarding the waste management practices in the company involved various processes. The use of interviews was the main method of data collection with regards to the waste management practices within the facility. The manager of the facility was interviews regarding the measures that have been put in place to deal with the waste problem. The interview was carried out on a face to face basis. A few employees who are directly involved in the waste disposal at the facility were also interviewed. The assistance of the supervisors was also sought after going round the facility and assessing the waste disposal method of the company. Surveys were conducted within the facility for the purpose of assessing the methods that are used for the purpose of disposing the wastes from the facility. The website of the company was also useful during the data collection process as it was used for the purposes of obtaining some information regarding the waste disposal methods. However, it is important to note that the some of the sites that the wastes waste being disposed could not be visited. This was because of the processes that were going on at the time. Waste Generation The waste generation process at the facility is mainly as a result of the manufacturing process and the packaging process (Impact Fertilisers, 2013). However, other waste materials are also generated from the daily operations within the company. During the manufacturing process, mixing of the raw materials which are chemical in nature usually takes place. This results to the generation of waste materials which are not required for the manufacturing process (Malamakis, 2010). However, it is important to note that the waste materials from the manufacturing process are not very bulky as most of the raw materials are effectively used. Waste water is usually produced during the manufacturing process and it also forms part of the wastes from the facility. During packaging, a lot of wastes is usually generated and this section accounts for the highest percentage of wastes that is usually generated from the facility. The packaging material is usually made of polypropylene and polyethylene liner. The packaging materials usually woven and may be damaged during the packaging process leading to the wastages. On the other hand, it is also important to note that waste materials from the manufacturing plant include chemicals and papers that are used for different purposes (Takigami, 2011). Most of the wastes that are not bulky are usually disposed from the bins. Employees usually dispose the litters in the bins as some of their activities and operations also lead to the generation of wastes. Existing wastes systems Waste Stream System Collection Frequency Disposal Pathway General 1 x 15.0m3 Weekly Recycling Paper 5 m3 Fortnightly Recycling Wastewater 1000 litres Weekly Recycling Packaging materials 25 tones Weekly Recycling The waste disposal bins are located in different parts of the plant for the purposes of ensuring that the wastes are disposed in the bins. A special facility has also been built for the purposes of handling the wastes from the packaging materials. Forklifts and other machines are usually used for the purpose of transporting the waste products from the packaging process. On the other hand, it is also important to note that the company has put in place structures that are used for the purposes of handling the waste water from the plant. This is considering than the waste water has chemical that may affect has negative impacts on the environment if it is not disposed properly (Habib, 2013). The company has employs several employees for the purposes of disposing the waste from the plant. This is for the purpose of ensuring that all the wastes from the plant are disposed off safely. Trucks are also available for the purposes of transporting the wastes to the recycling plant. However the waste water is usually directed to a recycling plant that is within the facility. The main system is thus the recycling plant and the company usually incurs tens of thousands of dollars annually for the purposes of handling the waste products from the facility. Waste profile Nature of wastes Wastes Percentage Recyclables Papers 50 Wastewater 100 Packaging materials 1000 Compostables Food 10 Other Materials Chemicals 50   Plastics 10   Garbage bags 100   TOTAL 1320 Nature of wastes Materials Percentage Recyclables White paper 10   Packaging materials 1000 Compostables Food 10 Other Materials Chemical 10   TOTALS 1030 Nature of wastes Materials in Co-mingled Percentage Recyclables Aluminium cans 15   PVC bottles 15   Glass bottles 25 Other Recyclable. Wastewater 10 Compostables Food 1 Other Materials Chemicals 5   Metals 1   Minerals 1   TOTALS 73 Graphical representation of waste profiles Graphical representation of co-mingled materials Waste profile in the bin Wastes Percentage General Waste 15 Paper 5 Packaging materials 75 Chemicals 5 Graphical representation Analysis of results The results indicate that the company has put in place measures to ensure that the wastes are well managed. However, opportunities are still available for improvement. Waste avoidance is one of the opportunities that exist for the facility. The high amount of waste generated during the packaging process can be avoided. This can be achieved through efficient mechanization that will minimize on the generation of wastes. On the other hand re-use of the wastes is also an important process that can be achieved at the facility. This is especially when dealing with the waste water from the facility. It can be reused for other processes and hence minimize on the generation of wastes. The company has so far done well in terms of recycling as it has put in place a recycling plant for the wastes that are generated. The company also has an opportunity in terms of putting in place new systems that will discourage the generation of wastes. The data also indicates that the company is performing well in terms of the management of the wastes. However the cost can be saved through the use of new technological equipment that will minimize on the generation of wastes within the facility (Fino, 2012). Financial implications for the company The current waste management strategy is costly for the company as it spends millions in terms of managing the wastes. On the other hand, the cost of production and operation is increased due to the generation of high amount of wastes. The use of technology and reduction of wastes produced will however reduce the costs for the company. This will impact positively on the profitability of the company. More revenue will also be generated from selling the recycled wastes and hence increase the revenue generation process. It is also important to note that the company can achieve the cost saving initiatives through the proper utilization of technology and manufacturing software. Recommendations for waste minimization It is recommended that the company aims at ensuring that the packaging wastes are minimized. This is because they for the bulk of the wastes in the facility. It is also recommended that the company should embrace technology for the purpose of minimizing the wastes. This will play an important role in terms of ensuring that the company is able to save on the costs that are involved during the process of managing the wastes. Reverse osmosis should be used for the purpose of recycling the waste water from the facility as it will enable the company to use reuse the water. The reverse osmosis is cheap and it will not require the company to purchase chemical for the purpose of treating the wastewater and hence cost effective. In order to successfully implement the recommendations, it is important to ensure that the employees are first trained regarding the importance of the changing the present practices. It is also important to note that the management should ensure that adequate funds are allocated for the implementation process. Some of the processes as well as the machineries will also require changes in order to ensure the success of the implementation. A master program should also be established for the purposes of ensuring that the implementation program is carried out effectively. The implementation of the program should be carried out step by step or in phases. The implementation process should be allocated a period of nine months. This will give the company adequate time to replace components and train the employees. Conclusion In conclusion, it is evident that waste management concepts are applicable at the company. The company has also put in place measures that ensure that it manages its wastes effectively. The recycling method is the most commonly used method of managing wastes in the company. The company has also employed personnel to deal with waste management which is an indication that it is committed to managing wastes. It is evident that the waste from the packaging process is the highest in the company. On the other hand, the waste management process used in the company is costly and hence affecting the revenues. It is recommended that the company should embrace technology which will ensure cost effectiveness during the waste management. List of Reference Impact Fertilisers, 2013, Sustainability. Retrieved January 29, 2014 from, . Malamakis, A, 2010, Waste biomass-to-energy supply chain management: A critical synthesis, Waste Management, 30(10), 1860-1870. Habib, K, 2013, A historical perspective of Global Warming Potential from Municipal Solid Waste Management, Waste Management. Fino, D, 2012, Eco-efficient waste glass recycling: Integrated waste management and green product development through LCA, Waste management, 32(5), 1000-1008. Takigami, H, 2011, International comparative study of 3R and waste management policy developments, Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management, 13(2), 86-102. Appendix Research questions 1. What type of wastes are produced in the facility? 2. What amount of waste is usually produced within the facility? 3. What measures have been put in place to manage the wastes? 4. Who is involved in the waste management? 5. What is the cost of managing the wastes? 6. How efficient is the system that has been put in place? Read More