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P.O. Box 20444 |
January 1997 Newsletter Co-Editors: |
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P.O. Box 20444 |
January 1997 Newsletter Co-Editors: |
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by Julie L. Rhodes
For nearly thirty years, Grote Industry has been a mainstay in the historic river town of Madison. With 900 local residents depending on the company for their livelihood. Grote manufactures safety lighting equipment for the trucking industry. You will see some of the company's products as you drive on Indiana highways -- turn signals, back-up lights and other safety lighting.
A year ago, as environmental awareness grew, Grote Industries decided some improvement were in order. Change is sometimes difficult for many companies, but not Grote Industries.
Grote began their recycling, source reduction and pollution prevention programs in 1995 by gaining top management support. It has been Grote's Clear View Environmental Team, however, that has taken that initiative and turned it into a model for success. This team, made up of members from every aspect of the company (hourly line workers, officer workers and janitorial staff) have increase from 2 to 25 members since 1995. The team of dedicated members meet weekly to discuss recycling, waste minimization and re-use opportunities for the company. Rick Wardrip, Environmental Engineer and team chairperson said "The key to the success of this program is the interest, involvement and enthusiasm that the members bring to the team. They are the ones working in the areas every day and are in the best position to see where improvements could be made."
The team reinforce recycling and re-use ideas by posting bulletins and publishing a newsletter. Next on the agenda, the team intends to meet with each and every employee of the company to convey the importance of individual participation, and to ask for new ideas and suggestions.
"Some things that we would throw away as trash are now useful items for schools," said Pamela Engleman, a Clear View Environmental Team member. "The schools use our foam gasket material as computer mouse pads and wire snippings for arts and craft projects."
Grote works closely with the local schools on many projects. The company donated money to help schools buy recycling bins. They also brought in approximately 40 third grade students from Southwestern Elementary School to tour and inspect their facility. "Sometimes a fresh set of eyes can help us improve our program," said Wardrip. The students presented company officials with a list of GOOD things and NOT SO GOOD things about Grote in April 1996 for Earth Day. "We use this as a report card and hope to have shown improvement during their visit next year." Most of the items on the NOT SO GOOD list were recyclables, such as paper or glass found in the trash can. Items on the GOOD list included the use of robots to avoid glue waste, full cans of recyclables, recycling posters, special containers for recyclables and battery-powered carts.
That's only the beginning of Grote's contribution to the community and the environment. The company recycles cardboard, wire, scrap metal, aluminum cans, plastics, pallets, office paper, newspaper and magazines. Here are just a few of examples of the impact a year of work can make:
Grote Industries is now working to eliminate many hazardous materials in their operations. The Indiana Pollution Prevention and Safe Materials Institute will soon train 20 Grote employees in pollution prevention skills and techniques.
Grote continues to be a valuable member of their community, and recently received the Model Manufacturer/Model Community Award sponsored by the Southeastern Indiana Solid Waste District for their excellent recycling and waste minimization program. "Grote Industries is probably the best example I've seen of a company that has integrated waste reduction and recycling into everyday business operations," said Terry Duffy, Recycling Coordinator for the local solid waste district. "Grote is an excellent example how a company can carefully tracking their program results to accurately show environmental benefits and avoided costs."
"We are pleased with our success to date," Wardrip said "but always looking for a way we can do more." For more information on Grote's program, contact Rick Wardrip at 812/265-8878.
Plastic bottle recycling has been added to Indianapolis's Naval Air Warfare Center, Aircraft Division's recycling program. The center has had an ongoing paper and aluminum can recycling program. Robert Armstrong, the Center's Resource Recovery and Recycling Coordinator, describes the secret of the program's success as being able to "densify" the bottles. The center is working with Rock-TennÌs (formerly Goodwill's) Polymer Recovery Plant. Because of this plantÌs special features, caps to bottle need not be removed. To achieve the "densified" bottle goal, Armstrong asks center employees to "Roll bottles up like a toothpaste tube and then recap them--reducing their volume." For more information contact Robert Armstrong at 317/306-7049.
Ever wonder what the face of recycling would look like in a mega-assembly line industrial plant? How materials were targeted for collection or marketed? Five of us got that chance recently, through an invitation of Toyota's recycling subsidiary, Ark, Inc. we had a guided tour of Toyota's Georgetown KY assembly plant. Our tour guides were Mr. James Pikul, Ark, Inc. recycling specialist, and Mr. Garth McLane, of Toyota Environmental Affairs.
Attending this tour was Bob Gedert, Bill Hess, and Carla Barrett of IDEM, Julie Rhodes of the Indiana Department of Commerce, and Norm Crampton of the Indiana Institute on Recycling. The tour of the Camry assembly plant was limited to the recycling and waste management areas of the plant, because of the secrecy of Toyota on the newly redesigned 1997 Camry. This plant security issue also blocked other interested parties from attending this tour.
Although limited in scope, the tour was very educational. The collection of materials is organized through section leaders, with employee group accountability for the proper collection and transfer of identified recyclables. Color coated roll carts, approximately 2 cubic yards in size,were used to transfer material over to the recycling processing areas. Conveyors, balers, and shredders were used to make the material market-ready for shipment. Despite the fact that floor space is at a premium in this growing facility, Toyota has designated certain areas of each facility building for recycling collection and processing.
We also learned how recycling scrap from the assembly line can encounter many complications. For instance, the plastic padding material used in the head liner, the padding above the passenger head and below the vehicle roof, is recyclable but often contaminated with glues and stray materials. Securing a market with these concerns can always be a challenge.
Certainly, large production facilities have quite a challenge to recycle their process wastes, and Ark deserves the congratulatory praise for its massive efforts. Yet most of us left the plant tour wondering if more attention could be issued toward waste prevention. Our tour guides addressed this concern by noting that the Indiana plant will have new technology in its assembly lines to reduce waste and increase operating efficiencies. It was quite pleasant to visit with two industry experts that actually equated less wasteful processes with production line efficiencies.
The significance of this tour is the scheduled construction of a Toyota truck assembly plant in Gibson County Indiana. The 8 million square foot facility will have a very comprehensive recycling collection program, with 29 different items collected from various points of the assembly lines. Ark, Inc., as the on-site recycling contractor, has indicated that the Indiana truck assembly plant will include a similar comprehensive on-site recycling program.
Mr. Pikul has already started seeking marketing contracts for the material flow, even though production won't begin until 1998. Both IDEM and the Department of Commerce will continue to develop a working relationship with Toyota, as they build in our state.
INDIANAPOLIS -- Lt. Governor Frank O'Bannon announced today that GDC Inc. of Goshen, Ind., will expand its business through the creation of a new, recycled product line. The company will receive a $163,325 zero-interest loan from the Recycling Promotion and Assistance Fund (RPAF) in support of this project.
The company will purchase a hydraulic press to die cut wheel wells, truck bed liners and other automotive parts. The press uses sheets made from recycled plastics and scrap tire materials. GDC estimates that it will use more than 42 tons of recycled plastic and 1,300 tons of scrap tire material each year.
"The Recycling Promotion and Assistance Fund is designed to encourage recycling through marketplace incentives rather than regulations," said O'Bannon. "The zero-interest loan program can save thousands of dollars in interest payments at critical expansion or start-up times for Indiana businesses."
GDC will purchase the plastic and rubber sheets from Envirotech Extrusions in Richmond. Envirotech is a previous recipient of an RPAF loan. The new press will allow GDC to purchase more recycled products from Envirotech and expand into a new recycled product line. Currently, GDC has 35 employees and will add two new jobs through this project. "This project is part of the automotive industry's increased efforts to produce vehicles with more recycled and recyclable materials," said O'Bannon.
The Recycling Promotion and Assistance Fund provides loans of up to $500,000 to Indiana recyclers. The fund is administered by the Indiana Department of Commerce's Energy Policy Division. For more information on the RPAF, contact: Julie Rhodes at 317/232-8940.
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Copyright 1997 by the Indiana Recycling Coalition
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