New Pig's Forum Gets the Waste Out
The online forum offers many resources to help plants minimize waste and save money through sustainability initiatives, recycling, and lean manufacturing.
- By Jerry Laws
- Mar 01, 2014
New Pig Corporation recently launched an online forum, The Waste Minimization Forum, with many resources to help plants minimize waste and save money through sustainability initiatives, recycling, and lean manufacturing. Members can join the forum (http://www.wastemin.com/) free, and the forum's publisher, New Pig's Andy James, is stocking it with interesting and useful posts, infographics, a guide to creating a waste inventory, and tools such as a waste minimization savings calculator (accompanied by a 12-minute explanatory video).
According to the company, the forum is dedicated to creating real, usable insights and information that plants can use immediately. No question is too large or too small to be discussed on the forum, and "no fluff or spin is allowed. No selling."
The calculator tells users how much each line item of their waste costs to dispose, how much they can save by recycling, and how much they can save by source reduction for a waste compared to source reduction plus recycling. Other key features include these:
- Universal waste unit conversions (you tell it any waste generated in any unit, and measured over any time period ... "lbs per shift," "gallons per day," "tons per year," etc.)
- Pre-populated with EPA-accepted densities of nearly 100 common industrial wastes, from baled cardboard to stacked pallets to scrap aluminum.
- "Smart Fill" automatically calculates if containers/dumpsters will be filled first by weight or volume, in order to accurately calculate cost per waste. (According to Jame’s infographic, "we've seen this function alone account for +300% in calculated savings.")
- Calculates generation rate per waste, per production hour based on users' actual working days and shifts.
- Calculates prorated waste fills, pull costs, and rental fees per waste.
- Automatic one-page financial summary for management.
James also has created a "Quickstart Guide to the 2013 EPA Solvent-Laden Wipe Rule Change" that went up on the forum's site Jan. 15.
This article originally appeared in the March 2014 issue of Occupational Health & Safety.
About the Author
Jerry Laws is Editor of Occupational Health & Safety magazine, which is owned by 1105 Media Inc.