In 1989, Alcoa's new Portland primary aluminum facility in Victoria, Australia was sending more than 1,000 cubic meters (1,308 cubic yards) of general waste to its onsite landfill each month. Ten years later, the plant closed the landfill with nearly six hectares (14.8 acres) of the eight-hectare (19.8-acre) site still unused. The reason? An innovative waste minimization program that reduced general waste going to the landfill to less than two cubic meters (2.6 cubic yards) each month.
Elimination of waste is a published corporate goal for Alcoa, and the company's three Victorian operating locations—Portland, Point Henry, and Anglesea—are making significant progress toward that goal. Integral to the program are onsite material recovery facilities, which are the drop-off points for all reusable, recyclable, and waste materials at each plant.
Materials collected from plant-wide source-separation systems at each of the recovery facilities include aluminum cans, batteries, cardboard, food scraps, glass, paper, plastics, steel, and wooden pallets. Staff at each recovery facility sort and package these process byproducts for reuse or recycling through local recycling companies. Although the small amount of general waste that can't be reused or recycled currently is sent to public landfills, the program's target is still zero waste.
People at each of the locations are creative in recycling and reusing the waste. Timber is mulched and reused onsite in the gardens, wetlands, and farmlands and as a bulking agent in composting. Refractory bricks are either recycled back into virgin refractory products or crushed and used for roads and paths. Scraps from the employee cafeteria are added to the onsite compost pile. Carbon dust is collected and reprocessed to create fuel for cement kilns. Clean, recyclable stationery material even heads to local schools for use in student arts and crafts projects.
Waste synthetic oil, which made up more than 80% of the liquid waste requiring off-site disposal, is now reconditioned through another process developed in part by Alcoa. Synthetic oils not able to be reconditioned are remediated through composting, with the soil being used as a moisture retention agent and soil conditioner in the smelter's park management programs. Mineral oils at all plants are sent for conversion to furnace fuels.
In addition to recycling and reusing waste, another key component of the minimization program is to reduce waste and recyclable items at the source by simply using products that don't produce any waste. This strategy also reduces material handling and management costs.
At Portland, for example, the company provides each employee with a coffee mug to eliminate the need for Styrofoam cups. Initiatives like this provide ownership while moving employees away from the throwaway culture.
Participation by suppliers is essential for reducing waste at the source. The three operating locations involve their external suppliers in the waste reduction efforts and often have signed procurement contracts that include resource-recovery clauses and restrict certain waste-producing items, such as packaging. Suppliers are also encouraged to source recyclable products and identify industry best options.
The results are encouraging. In 1991, Alcoa's Victorian operations sent 38,496 metric tons (37,888 tons) of general waste to the landfill annually. A decade later, this amount declined 99.4% to just 250 metric tons (246 tons) each year. As comparison, the average Victorian household produces 0.26 metric tons (0.25 tons) of garbage annually*.
Key to the program's success was the conversion of land that had been previously set aside for onsite landfill into wetlands and other habitats for the area's wildlife protection programs. This was a far-sighted initiative by the Portland smelter's first manager, David Judd. He correctly reasoned that, in conjunction with the economic rationale, the establishment of a wildlife habitat as an alternative to landfill would create compelling motivation to eliminate waste. By demolishing and flooding the unused landfill area, he left no alternative to success.
All three of the Victorian plants have received Waste Wise accreditation from EcoRecycle Victoria. Organizations that achieve this accreditation must demonstrate a commitment to the program's principles, have a plan in place to manage and reduce waste, and undergo an annual waste audit.
*EcoRecycle web data and statistics.
Update: Between 2000 and 2003, the Anglesea Power Station reduced landfilled waste by 51%. This was four years ahead of Alcoa’s corporate-wide goal of a 50% reduction by 2007. The power station is now aiming to achieve an additional 10% reduction on the 2003 achievement by the end of 2005.
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