C242 - Wellington Newspapers Ltd - Printing -
Wellington Region
Summary
This newspaper printer has reduced white (un-printed) paper wastage from 10
kg/tonne to less than 1 kg/tonne of incoming newsprint. The company is also
trying to attain low rates of printed paper waste. Used inks are returned
for reformulation.
Business Profile
The company produces The Dominion and The Evening Post newspapers, several
other titles with smaller circulations and advertising inserts. The company
employs 550 staff in all its divisions. At a production rate of 5000 newspapers
per minute, meticulous preparation and efficiency of resource use are essential.
Most of the artwork, copy and image processing is done at Press House in
Wellington and the printing and distribution in Petone.
Type of Project
Material reuse, recycling and substitution, resource conservation, and waste
reduction.
Reasons for Project
To maximise resources and minimise costs. Cleaner production is integral and
contiguous to highly automated newspaper printing. As continuous improvement
is not a sequence of distinct events, the initiatives are reflected in the
time-series records of white and printed wastage and black ink usage.
The Project
White Paper Waste
Newsprint is the main source of potential waste. It used to arrive by rail in
non-dedicated wagons after having been handled many times. It now arrives in
dedicated wagons and is handled only by Tasman Pulp and Paper and Wellington
Newspapers. Damage has been significantly reduced. About 13,000 tonnes are used
each year at a cost of around $14 million. White (un-printed) wastage has fallen
from around 10 kg/t in 1991 to around 1 kg/t in 1996, which is perhaps the limiting
amount as the core and covers equate to 0.5 kg/t. White waste is on-sold for
reuse locally. The core and the covers are also reused and recycled locally.
No white waste is landfilled.
The reduction in white waste is equivalent to an annual saving
of 120 tonnes, which at $1100/t is $130,000. This is not a true
saving, however, as at least some has always been on-sold at
comparable prices. Greater control over the condition of the
reels put onto the presses leads to savings through less downtime.
Printed Paper Waste
Printed wastage is highly variable, being a feature of high speed presses.
Despite on-going efforts since 1991, wastage has fallen only slightly, averaging
around 50kg/t (5%). The company is endeavouring to attain, on a regular basis,
the low rates of wastage (around 30 kg/t) that can be attained on an intermittent
basis. Printed waste is also on-sold for recycling, currently overseas.
The economic benefits from minimising printed waste are considerable.
The printed paper has less than one tenth the value of white
paper. The loss in paper value alone is around $0.6 million annually.
The down-time costs are harder to quantify.
Black Ink Usage
Black ink usage is highly variable. Usage is still comparable to that in 1991,
averaging around 9.5 kg/t. Used inks of all colours are returned to the supplier
who treats and reformulates them, returning them as black ink. Used blanket
wash is recycled in a similar manner. Fountain solutions are consumed totally.
Since the recycling of ink and blanket wash were introduced
incrementally and are not segregated as cost centres, there is
no information on the potential economic benefits.
For additional information contact:
Production Manager (Roger Lilley)
Plant Manager (Albert Darbyshire)
Wellington Newspapers Ltd
P O Box 3740
Wellington
Phone: (04) 568 0600
Fax: (04) 568 9791
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