G532 - Continental Car Services Ltd - Wellington
Region
Summary
This garage had been saving $1900 on waste disposal and $360 on energy costs
annually since 1992. An on-line engine coolant re-formulating unit has been
evaluated and purchased. The service would be offered at a small additional
cost but would appeal to the garage's more environmentally aware customers.
Business Profile
The garage services about 85 cars each week, over 90% of which are imported,
mainly European, models. There are 10 staff.
Type of Project
Energy efficiency, reduction in use of hazardous substances, resource conservation,
and waste reduction.
Reasons for Project
To save costs, maximise environmental benefit and achieve greater efficiency.
The Project
Packaging
Waste Paper and cardboard packaging materials comprised 70% of the landfilled
waste. Two van loads were taken to the landfill each week requiring 2 hours
of labour. The paper and cardboard are now separated and collected twice
a month for recycling. Based on a labour cost of $20/hour and the assumption
that trips to the landfill with the remaining 30% of rubbish are still required
the project saves $160 per month or $1900 per year. This assumes that no
more labour is required to separate and stack the paper and cardboard than
was required to set it aside for disposal.
Energy
The garage has implemented several energy conservation measures. The service
area now uses metal halide lighting. Elsewhere, standard light bulbs have
been progressively replaced with long-life energy-saving bulbs. Other simple
and low-cost measures in the parts department include time switches and additional
switching to enable greater selection of lit areas. Energy consumption for
lighting in the parts department has been reduced by half, or 5% of the overall
power use. The saving has been $30/month, with a payback period on investment
of about 6 months.
Engine Coolant
The engine coolant ethylene glycol is toxic and has a high biological oxygen
demand, even though it breaks down readily. Its discharge is therefore prohibited
in many overseas countries and states, where recycling is both necessary
and economically viable. The garage wished to facilitate that practice here
in NZ. Two on-site recycling systems were considered, one on-line and the
other off-line. Both systems filter and reformulate the coolant. The on-line
system requires less handling and is more convenient. The garage purchased
the on-line system after a trial and coolant recycling is now offered as
an additional optional service to customers.
There are no cost savings at present, as there are no restrictions
or charges on the disposal of coolant to sewer. Based on overseas
experience of acceptable service charge premiums, the unit is
expected to have a pay back of less than 18 months. The unit
has an anticipated service life of around 5 years.
Most sewage in NZ is discharged to sea. At the most, only secondary
treatment will be required in the foreseeable future. Unfortunately,
economic disincentives on the discharge of coolant to sewage
(including prohibition) are therefore unlikely. An off-site collection,
distillation and reformulation system could offer an economic
saving within the present climate.
Solvents
The garage is investigating alternative cleaning solvents and systems for use
which are safer, less unpleasant to use, more environmentally friendly, and
cheaper. For instance, a particular solvent is used for brake cleaning because
it leaves no residue. The used solvent, however, cannot be recycled on-site.
As the solvent evaporates quickly, the garage is considering leasing a serviced
unit which reduces evaporation significantly and regenerates the solvent.
Hazardous Wastes Drained
filters are landfilled but probably still contain significant quantities of
oil. A system is needed for shredding and compaction for recycling and further
recovery of oil, as has recently been introduced in Australia.
The catalytic converters of many imported cars are removed and
landfilled. They contain toxic and hazardous conversion products.
Overseas, converters do not pose a problem as, during the recovery
of the precious metals, these obnoxious products are destroyed
through pyrolysis.
For additional information contact:
Parts Department Manager (Mike Ennis)
Continental Car Services Ltd
14-19 Pirie St
Mount Victoria
Wellington
Phone: (04) 384 3484
Fax: (04) 384 2248
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