Wooden
Pallets Recycling
Waste
Management
Information Sheet 5
What’s all the fuss about
waste?
NSW
is making too much garbage and the cost of transporting it and
finding a place to put it has become a big problem. The NSW Government
has set a target to reduce waste by 60% by 2000 and has brought
in a new law and regulations to make it happen.
How?
First,
reduce your use of materials. Apart from anything else, this saves
you money.
Second,
reuse materials. This saves more money. For example, timber pallets
can be reused or returned to suppliers.
Third,
send materials off to be recycled. This preserves scarce resources.
Last,
only when you have tried the first three options should you dispose
of material.
As
the importance of waste minimisation becomes more recognised by
industry and the community, better waste management options, products
and services are becoming available. It is and will become easier
to reduce, reuse and recycle in your business. Keep up to date
with new developments through, for example, your industry association
and by regularly searching the Internet.
What
does this mean for
printers?
Printers,
like many other small businesses, can make large quantities of
waste. The waste comes from a variety of activities – such
as platemaking, image processing, printing and finishing –
and differs according to the type of printing process used. Some
of the wastes are hazardous; others can be damaging to the environment
if not handled properly. All require proper treatment or disposal
at significant cost to
the business. The types of waste that a printery owner or manager
must contend with are both solid and liquid and could
include:
• waste paper
• printing plates
• empty product containers
• dirty rags
• photographic chemicals, inks and solvents
• lubricating fluids
• process wastewater.
Whatever the nature and characteristics of the waste may be, it
all has one thing in common: All waste represents loss of
resources and loss of money. If you keep accurate records of raw
material usage, what comes into your business, and what
goes out as product or waste, you can identify opportunities for
reducing your wastes and saving dollars.
What
to do with paper waste:
Two Newcastle printers have a few easy solutions
• Office paper waste is shredded and used by a customer
for packaging material.
• Paper off-cuts are collected for recycling.
• Scrap paper and off-cuts are donated to community groups.
• A large quantity of cartons needed for deliveries are
purchased from another local business that has excess carton-box
waste. Purchasing these once-used cartons costs half the price
of new cartons. ‘We then request our customers to return
these cartons to us. They are used repeatedly until no longer
suitable and are then sent to a paper and board recycler’.
What can printers do to reduce
waste?
Good
waste minimisation is not just about reducing your use of paper
but also about reducing your generation of all solid and liquid
wastes, and your use of resources such as energy and water. (Refer
also to information sheet 8, ‘Energy and
Water Use’.)
Conduct
a waste audit of your office and workshop area to identify your
waste types, sources and volumes. You can then assess the feasibility
of minimising, reusing and recycling the various wastes.
Develop
and implement a waste minimisation policy and put in place procedures
to avoid, reuse or recycle wastes. Separate your different solid
and liquid wastes, e.g. paper, timber, pallets and solvent waste.
Mixing wastes may make them unsuitable for reuse or recycling.
Clearly label waste containers and place them in convenient areas
to encourage their use by staff.
What
can you do to reduce solid
wastes?
Board
and paper
Talk
to your suppliers about returnable packaging: will they take back
the delivery packaging items such as boxes for reuse? If not,
can you reuse cartons for packaging and delivery?
Analyse
the quantity of machine set-up- and-run waste being allowed in
your estimating process and establish if these quantities can
be reduced. Inform your customers of the amount of paper that
will be wasted if non-standard size
print jobs are requested.
Use
computer technology in pre-press operations to reduce the quantity
of waste paper generated.
Show
your clients a range of paper stocks, recycled and virgin, and
point out the advantages and disadvantages
of each. Ask your suppliers about the advantages and disadvantages
of various stocks. Recycled stocks have
improved significantly in recent years and come in many different
grades and coatings (smooth and textured finishes).
Recycle
all board and paper that cannot be reused. Separated waste often
provides a higher recycle return or reduced collection costs,
so talk with your recycling companies to help you identify how
best to undertake this.
Metal
plates and wire mesh screens
Aluminium
plates and wire mesh screens may be recycled by a metal recycler.
Clean them before placing them in a receptacle for scrap metal
recycling.
Timber
Reuse
timber pallets in your print shop or return them to paper suppliers.
Containers
Reduce
your waste disposal costs by purchasing products from suppliers
that provide a collection, reuse or refill service for containers.
Depending on what was originally stored in it (e.g. photographic
chemicals), a container may be classified as hazardous or industrial
waste. Have a licensed contractor collect these containers.
Glass
and some plastic containers may be able to be recycled. Check
with your waste services contractor or your local council.
Printing
screens
Polyester
or nylon screens that are free of ink can be disposed of as general
solid waste.
Reuse
or recycle screenprinting frames.
Rags
Use
scrap material rags rather than new disposable wipes. Reusing
scrap cloth means that you are using someone else’s waste
instead of using a product that has to be manufactured from raw
materials. Reuse rags as long as possible. Use a dirty wipe for
the first pass and a clean one for the second. If possible have
the rags laundered but first remove as much solvent as possible
from the rags (e.g. by wringing or squeezing). This will make
the rags easier to launder.
Solutions
to Pollution by Newcastle printer – wooden pallets
A
Newcastle printer used wooden pallets and skids to make bench
tops in the factory. It also offers wooden pallets to customers
for their own use. Wooden pallets take up a large amount of waste
bin capacity, thereby
increasing the number or size of bins required and ultimately
the hire and clearing charges. Reuse of the timber was a simple
solution.
Dispose
of solvent- or ink-soaked rags that cannot be laundered as hazardous
waste.
If
you do use disposable wipes, remove as much solvent from them
as possible before disposing of them. Keep the used
wipes and the spent solvent in separate containers.
Use
parts-washing equipment instead of rags to clean the trays that
collect solvents and inks below the press rollers.
What
about liquid and hazardous wastes?
General
liquid and hazardous wastes.
Material
put into your industrial waste bin will generally go to landfill.
Place only dry, solid, inert wastes in industrial
waste bins. Do not put any liquid or hazardous waste in your bin.
The
EPA can give you a classification list of hazardous and/or industrial
waste. Inks, varnish, glues, solvents and photographic wastes
are some of the wastes from printing premises that may be classified
as hazardous and/or industrial.
Refer
to information sheet 6, ‘Hazardous Materials’ for
additional advice about hazardous materials.
Some
problem wastes, such as drums containing hazardous waste sludge,
require special attention for safe and proper disposal. Ask your
local council or the EPA about disposal requirements for these.
Assess,
classify and manage liquid wastes in accordance with the relevant
EPA guideline. Contact the EPA Pollution Line for a copy of this
guideline. Liquid waste can generally be handled in one of four
ways depending on its classification and quantity:
1.
It can sometimes be treated and discharged to the sewer. A Trade
Waste Permit must be obtained first. (Refer to
information sheet 4, ‘Trade Wastewater’.)
2.
At premises licensed by the EPA it can be treated and discharged
in accordance with the provisions outlined in the EPA licence.
3.
Under some circumstances it may be recycled on site.
4.
It can be removed by a licensed waste contractor for treatment
and disposal at a licensed waste facility.
Store
all liquid wastes awaiting collection by waste contractors within
a sealed, bunded and covered area to prevent possible spills and
contamination of the stormwater system.
Waste
contractors
If
you have more than 200 kilograms of industrial or hazardous waste
for transportation you should use only a licensed waste transporter.
Licensed transporters are required to carry their EPA licence
in their vehicle. Ask to see it. Keep all receipts for three years
as evidence that you have disposed of your wastes properly.
Photographic
wastes
If
you use photographic processes for image conversion or plate-making
follow the PURE (Photographic Uniform Regulations for the Environment)
Code of Practice for Liquid
Waste Management and Disposal.
Move
to a fully digital workflow and computer-to-plate process to reduce
the need for film and the production of film waste.
Use
a silver recovery unit, and check with your wastewater or sewer
organisation on the requirements for residual silver in wastewater.
If you can’t recover silver waste on site, store
it appropriately until it can be collected by a licensed silver-recovery
agent. Retain all receipts of collection for proof
of correct disposal.
Solvents
Solvent
wastes are classified as hazardous wastes. Organic solvents are
also a major source of air pollution (refer to information sheet
7, ‘Air Quality Management’). Try to minimise the
amount of solvent you use and the solvent waste you generate through
on- site distillation, filtering or settling-out of solid contamination,
reusing solvents where possible, and by materials substitution.
Limit
the amount of solvent applied to cleaning rags. Solvent-soaked
rags are a known fire hazard. Apply solvents with a squeeze bottle
or plunger rather than by soaking the rag in them. A little solvent
goes a long way.
If
solvents are required, use a separate container of solvent for
cleaning each colour-printing unit. Collect the solvent and use
it again for the same colour. The used solvent can be reused to
clean most of the ink from a unit, and only a small amount of
fresh solvent will then be needed to complete the job.
Solvent
wastes must not be disposed to the sewer. Send unrecyclable solvents
for off-site treatment at a licensed liquid
waste treatment facility.
Glues
and varnishes
Have
non-soluble glue waste collected by a licensed contractor and
disposed of at an appropriate disposal facility. Water-based glues
may be discharged to the sewer, but check first with your local
wastewater authority (refer to information sheet 4, Trade Wastewater)
regarding their requirements.
Spent
varnish, which is highly flammable, must be collected by a licensed
contractor and disposed of at an appropriate waste treatment facility.
Newcastle
Printer
Second-hand
fabric materials from the Smith Family are used by a Newcastle
printer for ink rags to clean rollers and blankets. A licensed
waste contractor is used to dispose of ink rags that can no longer
be used. The purchase of second-
hand rags from the Smith Family presents a significant cost saving
compared to buying manufactured wipes or virgin materials.
Inks
and fountains
Many
inks contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are potentially
harmful to the environment. Alternatives include soy-based products
that can successfully replace petroleum-based inks in offset lithography.
For gravure and flexographic printing, water-based inks are gaining
in popularity as the quality of these inks improves.
You
should not have ink wastes – but if you do, the waste should
be minimal. Spent inks of different colours can be
blended to make black ink.
Adopt
a standard ink sequence. This will eliminate the need to clean
out the fountains in order to change the ink rotation. To reduce
your need for cleaning solvents, always start your printing with
the lighter colours first.
Clean
ink fountains only when changing colours or when the ink may dry
out between runs. Special non-drying aerosols can be sprayed onto
ink fountains to prevent the ink from drying overnight or during
shutdowns.
Fuel,
oil and grease
Place
drip trays under all printing presses that may generate oily wastes
and use rags to clean up drips of lubricating oil or grease. Improve
your operating procedures and maintenance
to reduce leaks and drips. Waste oil and grease from machinery
must not be disposed of to the sewer or allowed to
enter the stormwater system. Collected oil and grease can be recycled
or disposed of by a licensed contractor.
For
large presses, install an oil sump to capture the oil and grease
trap interceptors on all drains.
All
fuel storage areas and fuel tanks on site should be adequately
bunded. This will allow any accidental spill to be adequately
contained.
Further
information
•
Waste Service NSW, Tel: (02) 9934 7000
• Your Regional Waste Board, Tel: 1800 225 587
• PURE (Photographic Uniform Regulations for the Environment),
Tel: (03) 9421 0310.
Ask for a copy of the Photographic and Imaging Code of Practice
for Liquid Waste Management and Disposal
• Your local Council
• EPA Pollution Line, Tel: 131 555
