Building circular systems; Reduction of hazardous waste through efficient recycling.

Circular systems in sustainability focus on designing processes where materials are reused, recycled, and kept in circulation for a long time, reducing waste and reliance on finite natural resources. 

At Powdertech, they are embracing and introducing measures to make their entire operation more sustainable by continuously investing in waste reduction, whilst simultaneously making improvements to their recycling regime. Much of which is done by managing the reduction of hazardous waste generated.

Historically, powder coating and metal pretreatment businesses have had three such streams - 

• Mixed recyclables; Contaminated plastic chemical containers  

• Waste powder 

• Effluent discharge / contaminated water 

Powdertech has invested in circular systems, so as to create coating solutions, minimise waste, and keep valuable materials in use for longer duration through efficient recycling of chemical drum containers, powder, wood, metal, and other mixed recyclables.

Mixed recyclables  

Like most businesses, Powdertech also faces an abundance of packaging and waste streams; it is an incredibly easy option to just deal with these through general waste disposal. However, for Powdertech, it simply does not fit with their ethos of building a sustainable, greener, and less impactful business. So, Powdertech adopted a greener and more sustainable route in support of their values. 

The approach begins with elimination –  

Can they get the product to and from the site without single-use packaging?  

Next,

Can the packaging received be reused?  

For every plastic bag, length of bubble wrap, or cardboard box received that could be repurposed to dispatch to the customers, that’s one less item of waste that could potentially fall into a landfill. 

Packaging design and specification is something Powdertech addresses as part of their NPI process. For example, if a customer wants parts packaged in plastic bags, what options can be recommended that meet their requirements but are not plastic? Sugar cane bags break down within weeks if they enter the landfill, and plastic remains for decades. 

Reusable cardboard boxes at Powdertech’s Bicester facility.

Chemical storage drums 

One significant waste stream - contaminated plastic barrels that are used to deliver raw chemicals. 

This issue is addressed via a simple principle, making the containers clean enough to be recycled. Make them small enough to store and transport, making the project economically viable and sustainable.

So far, Powdertech has earmarked space for an automated barrel decontamination station, which will form a part of a circular system utilising the resources they already have without generating any further waste.

The station will triple-wash the containers using water already processed by the on-site water treatment works. This rinse water is then captured and returned to the water treatment works for reprocessing and to prevent any release of pollution.  

In combination with this, a small industrial shredder will be installed, which will minimise the footprint of the decontaminated containers, creating an efficient means to store and transport the material. From this point, it can enter the recycling sphere for a multitude of purposes. 

Through implementing this process, Powdertech would increase their self-efficacy, reduce both recycling time and cost in the future. Storage tanks are decontaminated by making them non-hazardous, and by shredding them, they are ensuring that it is getting recycled efficiently. At Powdertech, they process approximately 1000 to 1100 barrels per year. 

At Powdertech, they aim to take accountability for the waste created from their processes and invest continuously to improve recycling ability at their facility. 

Powder coatings are greener than you think! 

Powder coating powders do not produce hazardous waste. These are dry powders and emit zero or negligible volatile organic compounds (VOCs).  

The process takes place in sealed booths, and 95% of what is sprayed adheres to the metal or is collected, filtered, and reused. Any powder left over is safely disposed of as an inert powder.  

The powder coating process is being carried out at Powdertech Surface Science.

Powdertech gets issued Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), which follow the International Standard ISO 14025 . EPDs from their key powder manufacturers: Sherwin Williams , TIGER, Interpon, AZKONobel 

And they have made the powders safe to dispose of and have no halogens or heavy metals. As they have progressed from hazardous to general waste, their powder disposal is now at the stage of energy reclamation means it's at the same level as that of recycled waste. 

Affluent reduction in local water networks 

Introduction of the water treatment plant within their Bicester facility is interlinked to hazardous waste reduction measures. 

Powdertech will reduce its water consumption by approximately 18000 litres of fresh water per day, our net discharge to the network will drop by approximately 85% per month, and most importantly, the concentration of contaminants within this discharge will be reduced to levels significantly lower than those which the water authority deems safe and acceptable. 

This water treatment works project will help bring other tertiary benefits, such as a reduction in tanker requirements for the most contentious process chemicals, translating to overall carbon emissions, and less road traffic attributed to the business, leading to a greener and more sustainable manufacturing process. 

On-site water treatment plant at Powdertech.

Project investment and our sustainability champions 

To address the elephant in the room, - ‘The Cost’ - no project is free, there’s always an element of finance involved. In the instance of ‘implementing sustainability within their operations, ’ it is through self-funding! 

Although there will be a significant initial expenditure required, through the elimination of hazardous disposal, the associated costs will be repaid by roughly three to three and a half years. 

The projects started in August 2024 and are getting completed by this year (2025) August, with an approximate. cost of recycling around15K.  

And what does this mean for Powdertech? This would mark the end of our final hazardous waste stream! 

Powdertech's Operations Director Phil Tyler, Engineering Manager Ian Manning, and Manufacturing Engineer Richard Knight are the leaders behind the execution of the hazardous waste reduction processes, setting up and for regular monitoring of these circular systems at Powdertech. 

In addition to the Powdertech team, Jan Atherton has shared her expertise and support to attain and maintain the management systems standards certifications for energy, environment, health & safety, and quality management systems. Her support in delivering pre-assessment audits and helping with corrective action plans has led Powdertech to achieve ISO 9001 & 14001 certifications. 

Jan’s expertise helped in the successful completion of the sustainability projects at Powdertech. 

 The ‘Great 100’ Made in Midlands awards 

The team at  Powdertech is thrilled to participate in ‘The Great 100’ awards by Made in Midlands for the ‘Sustainability Champions’ category. You can show your support by filling out the nominations form. And stay tuned to know more about sustainability projects at Powdertech through their ‘Sustainability Spotlight’ series.

#Great100  #BackingBritain  #MemberNews  #UKManufacturing