Monthly Archives: November 2008

In this weeks Austin American Statesman, it was revealed that Greenstar, the city of Austin’s recycling program partner hauls the recycling materials over 200 miles to its Garland, TX recycling facility. 

 http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/11/09/1109recycling.html

When the city of Austin was ready to move to single stream recycling Greenstar was supposed to be able to do this locally.  Their San Antonio facility was not ready.  Since the city switched to solid stream recycling, daily trucking to Garland for recyling has risen to 150 tons per day.  Until the city restarts and completed its plans for its own facility in solid waste recycling, there is huge waste associated with the city’s recycling program.  Until Austin has a better solution, ten 18 wheelers per day make their way 215 miles from Austin to Garland.

Any good plan should include a contingency and oversight.  The single stream recycling plan is clearly low on both.  Increased scrutiny and public pressure may increase the development of the comprehensive master plan that will address Austin’s long term needs.  One can only hope that this will have more alternatives for delays and oversight than the current plan. 

This is a great example of a good concept, poorly executed.  Rock concerts to promote awareness of global warming that bring rock stars to concerts on private jets and limos, wasting hydrocarbons and generating emissions is another. A good portion of the problems we face right now are similar.  

The mortgage crisis is classic example of poor execution and oversight.  One can only hope that our national leaders are more vigilant and forward thinking than our local leaders, but history would certainly not indicate that. 

As we look for solutions to energy shortages, and ways to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, I can only hope that we plan, address alternatives and execute better than this recycling plan. 

Brad

Ideko-IK4 has carried off the top prize at the coveted European Manufacturing Strategies Summit by capturing the Green Manufacturing category and the overall prize for Manufacturer of the Year 2008.  Ideko was awarded this prize for its development of a clean cutting technology in the machining of magnesium.  The lubricant free process eliminates the by product and explosion hazard of magnesium chips during machining processes. 

Magnesium machining is highly used in automotive and aeronautics production as well as ruggedized laptops.  in addition to the flammability and explosive nature of magnesium, it also poses severe respiratory risks to those prone to asthma. 

One of my proudest moments at VirTex Assembly was when we won the 2007 Manufacturing High Achiever Award for Leadership Mastery at Managing Automation magazines’s Progressive Manufacturing Summit for our work in Reduction of Hazardous Substances (ROHS) development and education.  Kudos to Ideko for winning this coveted award,  The number of companies developing green processes and being recognized for them continues to increase.  And that is an exciting prospect for all manufacturers.

Brad

There are many ways i the automotive industry to be GREEN.  It’s not just about making electric cars, alternative fuel vehicles or hybrids.  Green is also about how you do more with less and create less wasted materials.  Subaru has done exactly that at its Indiana plant according to its Subaru Drive magazine backissues.  It reuses or recycles 97% of the leftover materials from its auto production.  Here are some examples of ways that it has moved to green.

Brasss lug nots used to hold wheels in place during shipping from its wheel supplier are now reused.  Once they can no longer be reused they are recyled.  That has reduced the waste of 33,000 pounds of brass per year!  I am pretty sure this corrsponds to significant cost savings as well.

Paint sludge which was thrown away is dried to a powder and then shipped to a plastics manufacturer wit is mixed with other palstic compounds.  These are then used to make parking lot bumpers and guardrail safety blocks.

Subaru’s effort has resulted in their designation as “zero landfill status”.  They continue to focus improvement in the communities where they operate.  They have donated hundreds of new cherry trees, encouraged clean up efforts in the community and devote a section of each monthly Subaru Drive magazine to promote green ideas.

If we all look at ways that we can reduce what goes into a landfill, we can also frequently find ways to turn it into cash.  Green can result in lower cost and increased profits as well as being the right thing to do. 

At VirTex Assembly, we have reduced things such as paper use, packaging materials, chemical use and hazardous substances used in processing.  Let me know about innovative ways your company has reduced waste. 

Brad