SEFft
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Solid Waste
and Emergency Response
(5306W)
EPA 530-F-97-025
August 1997
Waste Minimization:
Increased Profits and
Productivity
Charles H. Lilly Company
$100,000 Investment;
Payback in 1 Year
Savings in 1} Energy
Use; 2) Staff Hours; and 3)
Disposal Costs
Changed RCRA
Generator Status from
Large Quantity to Small
Quantity
The system paid for itself
within the first year, and has
continued to provide us a
boost every year since then.
What is the Charles H. Lilly
Company?
Charles H. Lilly Company, in
Portland, OR, is a major batch for-
mulator and distributor of herbi-
cides, insecticides, and fungicides in
the Pacific Northwest. Its main
plant generates hazardous waste-
water when batch formulation tanks
and transfer lines are cleaned for
product changeovers. Lilly's waste-
water contains organic solvents,
detergents, and pesticides.
What Did They Accomplish?
Lilly implemented an on-site
wastewater reuse process involving
waste segregation, solvent extrac-
tion, filtration, wastewater reuse,
and minimal waste concentrate dis-
posal. They now reuse approxi-
mately 95% of their wastewater and
have cut waste concentrate disposal
to about 5%. As a result of these
efforts, Lilly is no longer considered
a Large Quantity Generator (LQG)
under the Resource Conservation
and Recovery Act (RCRA).
Environmental
Achievements
Prior to implementing the pro-
gram, Lilly produced about 550 gal-
lons of hazardous wastewater per
month. Disposal was off-site
through evaporation, solidification,
and incineration. They now gener-
ate about 30 gallons per month.
Since inception of the program
in 1989, Lilly also has replaced toxic
constituents (e.g., atrozenes and tri-
ozenes) with ingredients that are
less toxic and achieve the same for-
mulation requirements. Lilly also
implemented a closed-loop system
for non-hazardous wastes and
strives to overcome the need for
storage drums on site. Instead, Lilly
uses items like round-trip contain-
ers, which reduce drum-washing
needs, generate less waste, and
lessen the handling of hazardous
materials.
One additional achievement has
been an increase in company pride
and environmental stewardship
among employees.
Regulatory Relief
As a result of its efforts, Lilly is
no longer an LQG, and, therefore, is
subject to fewer and less stringent
reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
The Implementation Process
Four people were key to success-
ful implementation: the facilities
manager, the environmental manag-
er, a chemist, and the equipment
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Waste Minimization: Increased Profits and Productivity
Charles H. Lilly Company
supplier. The system they put in
place necessitated a change in
employee behavior. In the past,
approximately 80 hours per week
were required to collect wastes in
drums, and label and separate them
for evaporation. With the newer
system, liquids are simply trans-
ferred directly to influent holding
tanks. A handling job that took 80-
hours per week was reduced to 20-
25 hours.
To monitor the effectiveness of
the waste management process, Lilly
used two tools:
• Chemical QA/QC to monitor
system performance: Lilly sent
influent and effluent samples
to an off-site lab for analysis,
and;
• Cost accounting: focused on
savings in energy use and in
disposal costs.
Once Lilly personnel decided to
implement the process, the project
took about six months to finish.
Lilly continues to use the filtration
system today.
Economics: Costs and
Payback
Lilly paid for this project on its
own. Funding faced competition
from other projects within the com-
pany, resulting in implementation
delays.
Lilly invested $100,000 in the sol-
vent recycling system. This included
everything: the system itself, influ-
ent and effluent tanks, carbon filters,
piping, monitoring, and certification
for construction of the secondary
containment system.
The initial investment for
QA/QC monitoring involved send-
ing samples to an off-site lab for
influent and effluent analysis.
Monitoring costs $2,000 to $3,000 up
front and $100 to $200 per month.
Savings have occurred in three
areas: energy use, staff hours, and
savings from reduced disposal costs.
During the first year, the waste man-
agement system accrued savings in
these three areas totaling just under
$100,000. This made for a payback
period of about one year.
Though Lilly continues to enjoy
reduced costs and labor-hour
requirements associated with haz-
ardous waste handling, the savings
resulting from avoided disposal
costs has dropped from levels
achieved during the inaugural year.
This is due largely to the fact that
other hazardous waste reductions
lessen the need for the filtration sys-
tem. The savings now are approxi-
mately $30,000 to 45,000 per year in
avoided disposal costs and materials
recovered.
"The system paid for itself
within the first year, and has
continued to provide us a boost
every year since then." - Nick
Williams, Environmental
Manager
Hurdles
Lilly experienced very few hur-
dles while implementing waste min-
imization. During construction,
manufacturing was disrupted
briefly. Once installed, the process
required changes in employee
behavior and functions. While oper-
ators faced a learning curve, there
was no resistance from personnel.
In addition, there were no negative
impacts on either the quality or
quantity of products.
Words to the Wise
Brent Jorgenson, Lilly's former
environmental manager who was
instrumental to the success of this
effort, asserts that companies hoping
to initiate waste minimization pro-
jects should keep an open mind to
all alternatives that might fit that
facility. He claims that, "...while it
may seem easier to take an "off-the-
shelf" system and try to retrofit your
facility, this is probably not the best
approach. What companies should
do is examine their processes closely
and keep an open mind."
Jorgenson also recommends
spending time and effort up front in
getting management involved.
Both Jorgenson and Williams
attribute much of their success to
empowering and involving those
people who work "in the trenches."
They are closest to the work, can be
a rich source of ideas, and can pro-
vide valuable input into design and
implementation phases.
WASTE
MINIMIZATION
NATIONAL PLAN
For more information about the Waste Minimization National Plan, call (800) 424-9346
or check the World Wide Web at http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/minimize
Reducing Tones m Our Item's Waste
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