Plant Services - August 2007 - (Page 39) MANAGEMENT Engineering its wastewater discharge volume below 25,000 gallons per day to qualify for this classification. e manufacturer improved its dry cleanup procedures, and reduced cleaning requirements by modifying production equipment to reduce spillage and by covering production lines not in use. Conserving 20,000 gallons of water per day gave a payback period of six months and calculated annual savings in water and sewer costs of $28,996. For Precise Products in Paramus, N.J., releasing wastewater into the local sewer system required an annual discharge permit and monthly wastewater testing. e spring pin manufacturer reduced water use and eliminated wastewater discharge completely by modifying its wastewater holding tank to recycle process water. e payback for the new system was six months, and the company is saving more than $5,000 per year, primarily by eliminating monthly laboratory analysis. moderate,” says Dixon Churchill, environmental, health and safety manager at TIEM. e increased expense led TIEM to seek more and better recycling alternatives, including reducing wood, metals and cardboard, and adding paper recycling. “We’re currently working to remove and recycle plastics from the general trash. Also, a corporate decision to use monies generated from these new recycling efforts to support local charities inspires associates to recycle larger quantities,” Churchill adds. “We’ve cut our total volume of materials going to Covanta by about Leaner land lls Solid waste became front-page news in 1987 when we followed the saga of the garbage barge from New York City that traveled 6,000 miles to find a dumping ground. After being rejected by North Carolina, Louisiana, Texas, Florida, Cuba, Belize and Mexico, it finally found its final resting place back in Brooklyn. We have since seen an increase in waste-to-energy plants, recycling, and incineration as alternatives to depositing solid waste at landfills. e zero-landfi ll-waste policy at the Toyota Industrial Equipment Manufacturing (TIEM) plant in Columbus, Ind., is a holistic approach to the problem. Rather than dumping its general trash at local landfi lls, the waste is now transported to a Covanta fuel-to-energy facility where it’s used to produce steam and help power the downtown Indianapolis heating loop. “Initially, when we moved to a zerolandfi ll facility, it included transportation costs to Covanta, but the decision was based on what was best for the environment and the investment was A .PLANTSERVICES. 39 http://www.advance-us.com http://www.advance-us.com/industrial http://www.plantservices.com
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