rougnt-to-a-ractory-environmenrwnere'tney-are^comptete^
ly disassembled. Each component part is cleaned and
-------
WasteWi$e Update
WasteWiSe Update
(Continued from page 3)
Capturing Energy and Resources
Because fewer raw materials are used, remanufacturing
conserves energy and natural resources. Remanufacturing
automotive parts, for example, conserves an estimated 60
percent of the energy used in making the original product. It
also reduces air pollution by keeping metals out of the re-
smelting process. Studies conducted by the Fraunhofer
Institute in Stuttgart, Germany, state that the energy saved
worldwide in a year by the remanufacturing industry is
equivalent to the energy contained in 10,700,000 barrels of
crude oil. In addition, the raw materials savings equals
155,000 railroad cars filled to capacity.1
Due to the numerous lives it gives a product, remanufactur-
ing also conserves natural resources. According to industry
experts, for each pound of new material used in remanufactur-
ing, 5 to 9 pounds of original materials are conserved. And
that's not all. Purchasing a remanufactured product can cost as
much as 50 percent less than a new product, which can add up
to real savings. Keeping durable goods out of the waste stream
also helps companies save money in avoided disposal costs.
%^
Assuring Quality in
Remanufactured Products—^
Have concern§;aboutpj:odu'ct quality kept you from
purchasing a remaTfufactured product? Many high-quality
remanufactured products are available, but as with other pur-
chases, you may need to shop around. WasteWi$e suggests
the following steps to ensure that remanufactured products
meet your needs:
• Ask questions. Find out the remanufacturer s quality stan-
dards, the procedures implemented to guarantee quality,
what percentage of sold products are returned with
defects, whedier the product performs to original equip-
ment specifications, and what warranties are provided.
• See it in writing. Some materials to obtain for your
review include catalogs or brochures, price lists, and writ-
ten warranties.
• Ask for and check references. Consider the opinions of
other customers.
• Contact the industry trade association. Call the appropri-
ate trade association to identify reputable remanufacturers of
the product you want to purchase. A listing of several trade
associations willing to assist WasteWi$e partners follows.
' Lund, Robert. 1996, The Remanufacturing Industry: The Hidden Giant.
Trade
Associations and Related
Businesses
Remanufacturing Industries Council
International (RICI)
Contact: Scott Parker
4401 Fair Lakes Court, Suite 210
Fairfax, Virginia 22033
703 968-2995
http://www.remanufacturing.org
A new umbrella organization composed of 8 associa-
tions and trade groups, created to serve the public as a
clearinghouse of information about the remanufacturing
industry. RICI plans to develop industry statistics and
remanufacturing technologies, and promote benchmark-
ing among firms. In addition, RICI is developing a direc-
tory of remanufacturing companies.
Furniture
Office Furniture Recycler's Forum of
the Business Products Industry Association
301 N. Fairfax Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
703 549-9040
http://www.recyclefurn.org/index.html
Trade association. Contact Furniture Division for free
referrals and for membership directory of remanufactur-
ers, refurbishers, brokers, wholesalers, and suppliers
($100). A membership directory is also accessible free of
charge on the Internet.
Toiler Cartridges
Imaging Products Remanufacturing
Association
Contact: Mark Stein
RO. Box 42002
Washington, DC 20015-0602
888 IPRA-NOW (477-2669), toll free
Fax: 301 589-0600
-------
WasteW;$e Update
Trade association. This WasteWi$e endorser rep-
resents the remanufacturing industry for laser
toner cartridges, ink jet cartridges, and ribbon
cartridges. Answers questions relating to refilling
or purchasing such cartridges; provides free refer-
rals for nonmembers to local and worldwide
dealers; offers assistance to end users in facilitat-
ing implementation of a return program; and
addresses complaints regarding products.
Automotive - Tires
Tire Retread Information Bureau
900 Weldon Grove
Pacific Grove, CA 93950
408372-1917
E-mail: retreads@aol.com
Trade association. Offers free referrals of retread
tire vendors throughout the country. Provides
speakers knowledgeable on retreads and offers
tours of retread tire facilities. Information pack-
ages on retreads are available.
National Tire Dealers and Retreaders
Association
Contact: John Buettner, Sr.
1250 I Street, NW., Suite 400
Washington, DC 20005
800 876-8372
Trade association. Manages an inspection and
certification program to ensure quality of retread-
ing plants and refers callers to certified plants.
Also provides information on disposal of scrap
tires and asphalt paving.
Automotive - Engines
and
Automatic Transmission
Rebuilders Association
6663 Ventura Boulevard
Ventura, CA 93003
805 654-1700
http://www.atra-gears.com
Nonprofit educational organization. Provides
information on selecting an automatic transmis-
sion rebuilder. Provides warranties for work done
by its members. Contact Membership Office for
free referrals to members in local area.
Automotive Parts Rebuilders
Association
Contact: Scott Parker
4401 Fair Lakes Court, Suite 210
Fairfax, Virginia 22033
703 968-2772
Trade association. This WasteWi$e endorser
provides free information on available reman-
ufactured automotive parts and identifies
automotive parts rebuilders in the association
free of charge for nonmembers.
Production Engine Remanufacturers
Association
Contact: Joe Polich
415 West Golf Road, Suite 43
Arlington Heights, IL 60005
847 439-0491
Trade association. Publishes a member direc-
tory and maintains a database of references.
The directory is available free of charge to
those interested in purchasing remanufac-
tured engines via written request on company
letterhead.
Additional
Remanufaeturincf
Internet Sites
FMLink
http://www.fmlink.com
This Web site provides numerous resources
for facility managers, including technical bul-
letins, trade journal articles, education and
training opportunities, and a marketplace of
products and services (e.g., used, brokered,
or remanufactured furniture).
Furniture Resolutions International,
Inc.
http://www.tradein:com
This Web site serves as a resource for high-
quality, previously owned systems office furni-
ture. Browsers can search a database of
preowned furniture options by manufacturer,
model, size, and many other specifications.
-------
WasleWiSe Update
Furniture
Remanufacturers
ji I * 1
*iiT>.l
•s'gaaM.m I.
Has your company condemned old fur-
niture to a lifetime in storage? What if
that old furniture could look and per-
form like new for less than the price of
new furniture? WasteWi$e partners
and furniture remanufacturers Office Plan, Inc., and
Miller SQA (Simple, Quick, & Affordable) describe
how they work to make this happen.
Remanufactured furniture has grown from a small segment
of the office furniture retailing industry in the late 1980s to
an $800 million chunk of the $9 billion commercial furniture
business, says Jim McGarry, executive director of the Office
Furniture Dealers Alliance, an industry trade group. Some in
the industry predict the segment will command a 25 percent
market share within 4 or 5 years.1 The benefits of purchasing
remanufactured furniture include:
• Cost savings. The potential cost savings are significant for
businesses that have furniture refurbished rather than dis-
carding it. EPA estimates that businesses discarded approx-
imately 2.9 million tons of furniture and furnishings in
1995 (Characterization of Municipal Solid Waste in the
United States: 1996 Update). Given a 1995 national aver-
age tipping fee of about $32 per ton (Solid Waste Digest),
the potential avoided disposal costs are upwards of $93
million. Substantial savings also accrue from avoided pur-
chasing costs. According to Office Plan, for small projects
(about 75 cubicles or less) customers can realize a poten-
tial savings of 30 to 50 percent over the cost of purchasing
new office furniture. For larger projects, however, cost sav-
ing potential is reduced since original equipment manu-
facturers (OEMs) tend to give substantial discounts on
large orders.
• Updated design. The basic structure of most office furni-
ture, particularly panel systems, typically has a long life.
However, the color, fabric, or other elements may wear
out or become outdated—this is where refurbishing comes
in. Assorted pieces of furniture can be refurbished to color
coordinate with each other or with existing office furni-
ture, or panel systems can be repainted or recovered to
better fit with current styles.
Office Plan, Inc.
Office Plan, Inc., is a remanufacturer located in St. Paul,
Minnesota, that does more than just give a face-lift to old
office panel systems. The company provides a full-service
-------
WasteWi$e Update
package for its customers, including furniture remanufactur-
ing, installation, interior design, and space planning services.
During its first 5 years in business, Office Plan has grown
from 4 to 30 employees.
Customers can supply their own furniture for refurbishing
or purchase remanufactured furniture supplied by Office
Plan. With about 400 used partition panels for cubicles in
stock for part replacement or total remanufacturing, Office
Plan can provide reduced lead time to customers purchasing
remanufactured furniture.
Office Plan typically deals with local
companies, within a 100 to 150 mile
radius, for closed-loop remanufacturing
services. The company also provides
remanufactured system furniture for
large companies headquartered in the
Minneapolis-St. Paul area, shipping fur-
niture to their branch offices across the
country.
To ensure that the company's reman-
ufactured furniture has the same quality
as new furniture, Office Plan replaces
all small parts and pieces, cleans or
replaces fabric (depending on the con-
dition), and ensures that all moveable
parts function properly. Office Plan
provides lifetime warranties on its refur-
bished furniture.
Office Plan's internal operations
reflect a commitment to the company's
philosophy of reuse, repair, and then
recycle. For example, worn fabric is
used for packaging or sent to a recycler
that uses it to make automotive
padding and industrial rags. The com-
pany also views its business as an
opportunity to educate both employees
and customers on the benefits of waste
reduction—for example, letting customers know that reman-
ufacturing 40 cubicles diverts one tractor trailer of furniture
from a landfill. For more information on Office Plan, please
call Lynn Hooper, sales manager, at 612 686-8610.
Miller SQA
Miller SQA, a subsidiary of Herman Miller, Inc., and one
of the largest office furniture remanufacturers in the country,
recently built a new facility in Holland, Michigan, to accom-
modate its substantial growth. The company began as
Herman Miller's buy-back, or trade-in, program, whereby
businesses would receive a discount on new furniture by
returning old Herman Miller furniture. Today, Miller SQA
produces a line of remanufactured office furniture called As
New, with good-as-new quality.
Miller SQA does not routinely offer closed-loop services.
A customer can, however, send its panel systems and file cab-
inets to Miller SQA and receive a combination of remanufac-
tured and new furniture in return. A company can also
simply purchase the As New line of furniture without any
type of trade-in. All orders are supple-
mented with new components as nec-
essary. Depending on the configuration
and other requirements of the order,
the customer may receive an office sys-
tem containing as much as 75 to 95
percent or as little as 15 to 25 percent
of As New furniture, with the remain-
ing percentage consisting of new
Herman Miller furniture. With its
open system service, Miller SQA can
offer customers reduced lead time.
Miller SQA provides its As New line to
customers across the United States.
Del Ensing, manager of operations
for Miller SQA, explains that his com-
pany accepts only about 50 to 75 per-
cent of the old furniture it inspects for
remanufacturing. Dented or bent metal
pieces and panels with poor structural
or design integrity are rejected. The
company's As New line must meet the
same quality standards as any new
piece of Herman Miller furniture. For
example, an in-house painting system
ensures that a remanufactured panel
looks identical to and resists scratches
as well as a brand new panel. The com-
pany also offers a 5-year warranty on
its As New line.
In keeping with Herman Miller's commitment to preserve
the environment, Miller SQA attempts to find a use even for
the items it cannot remanufacture, reselling them at its outlet
store or selling them to a local refurbisher or recycler.
Unusable fiberglass panels, for example, can be recycled into
insulation, and worn vinyl is reformed into panel moldings.
Through these efforts, the company is able to remanufacture
or recycle nearly 100 percent of its components.
'Ball, Brian. "Recycled Furniture Makes Its Mark." Business First Columbus
(BFC), Voi.J2, Issue 39, May 24, 1996, p. 21.
-------
WasteWiSe Update
Body Shop Employees
Do a Double Take With
Refurbished Furniture
j hen employees at The Body Shop heard they
would receive refurbished office furniture at
their new work stations, many anticipated mix-
and-match, second-rate furniture with dents
and scratches. Once in die new space, however,
employees of this WasteWi$e partner company were pleased
to find what appeared to be new furniture. Much to dieir sur-
prise, there were 52 refinished desks, 52 remanufactured filing
cabinets, and 208 refurbished partition panels (four panels per
work station) that looked as good as new. Buying refurbished
furniture saved the company 30 percent in purchase costs.
The Body Shop, an international retailer of skin, hair, and
cosmetic products with U.S. headquarters in Wake Forest,
North Carolina, has worked successfully with a local firm to
purchase remanufactured desks,, work station partition panels,
and filing cabinets since March 1995. The Body Shop pur-
chases remanufactured furniture for several reasons. According
to Chris Whidey, corporate facilities manager, "In keeping
with our philosophy of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, The Body Shop
is committed to buying only recycled or remanufactured fur-
nishings (with the exception of new ergonomic desk chairs) for
our corporate facilities." Whidey adds, "We perceive no differ-
ence whatsoever in die quality of remanufactured furnishings
versus new. And, in addition to die environmental benefit of
buying refurbished, diere is an associated cost savings."
Locating a Remanufacturer
To comply with The Body Shop's corporate policy to pro-
mote business widi small, family-owned, local operations, the
facility manager found a local remanufacturing operation by
calling companies listed in die yellow pages and investigating
odier local resources. The local
remanufacturer The Body
Shop selected provides refin-
^shed furniture in a variety
of ways. In most cases,
The Remanufacturing Process
The remanufacturing process varies for each type of
office furniture.
• Desktops. Remanufacturers can shave off worn
desktops and replace them with new Formica tops. If
a desktop is in good condition, they can often sand it
down and reshellack or repaint the top.
• Filing Cabinets. For steel filing cabinets, remanu-
facturers hammer out dents, replace handles and
screws, and repaint the unit,
9 Partition Panels. To refurbish partition panels,
remanufacturers repair fabric covers and metal
frames and replace screws and other pieces.
The Body Shop sends furniture it already owns to the com-
pany for refinishing. Recently, furniture no longer needed at;
one office in New Jersey was remanufactured for use-in die
company's new office space in North Carolina. The Body
Shop also stores unneeded furniture or furniture parts until it
receives a request for a refinished piece. When the company
does not have furniture available from another office or in
storage, it orders remanufactured furniture directly through
the remanufacturer. The remanufacturer can locate pieces to
refurbish and fill the order. Ordering remanufactured furni-
ture without providing the pieces to be remanufactured,
however, can take additional time and requires advanced
planning.
Planning Ahead for Large Volume
Purchases
While The Body Shop is pleased with the remanufactured
furniture it purchases, it has encountered some special consid-
erations associated with using a small, local remanufacturer.
Specifically, die lead time involved with large quantity pur-
chases has not ^always coincided widi the company's renova-
tion plans. During a recent office expansion, for example, The
Body Shop had difficulty identifying a local source for large
volumes of remanufactured carpeting before the renovations
were scheduled to begin. Purchasing agents were told it could
take close to a year to fill die 9,600 square foot order. One
mediod of remanufacturing carpets used by The Body Shop
involves shaving off the old carpeting and gluing on new
patches of material. Previously, The Body Shop had purchased
smaller quantities of remanufactured carpeting for its office
and had a faster turnaround time. While sufficient quantity
may be less of an issue when dealing widi larger remanufac-
turers, Chris Whitley explains, "Working widi local carpet
remanufacturers taught us to plan as far in advance as possible
for large quantity purchases."
-------
WasteWi$e Update
Once Is Not Enough: Buying
Remanufacturecl Toner Cartridges
Laser printers, copiers, and fax machines all require
a steady supply of toner cartridges. As a result,
empty toner cartridges can make up a sizable por-
tion of many companies' office waste. By purchas-
ing remanufactured cartridges, WasteWi$e
partners have found that they can prevent waste and save
money—remanufactured cartridges generally cost 20 to 50
percent less than new ones.
When toner cartridges are remanufactured today, they are
completely disassembled and cleaned, worn parts are
replaced, and new toner is installed. In the past, many toner
cartridge "remanufacturers" simply drained the old toner by
drilling a hole in the cartridge and refilled the cartridge with
new toner. The quality of these remanufactured toner car-
tridges was often poor because worn components of the car-
tridges were not replaced. Now, however, most cartridges are
designed to be disassembled, and quality remanufacturers
replace worn parts in addition to refilling the toner.
For many WasteWi$e partners, the keys to a successful car-
tridge return program are an effective partnership with a prod-
uct distributor or supplier and employee education.
Many partners find that closed-loop systems
are convenient and enable them to avoid
disposal costs for used cartridges.
WasteWi$e partners have also dis-
covered that introducing reman-
ufactured toner cartridges slowly
(e.g., through pilot programs)
Putting Quality First
Before choosing a supplier,
WasteWi$e suggests asking the
following questions:
• How are the cartridges remanufactured (i.e., are
they disassembled and cleaned or simply refilled)?
• What tests are performed to ensure product quality?
• Do the remanufactured cartridges come with a
warranty?
• Can the supplier provide references?
allows them to build support for remanufactured cartridges
and work out any kinks in the program.
Ford Metor Company
Partners With
Remcmufcicturer
J asteWi$e charter partner Ford Motor
Company established a partnership with its
supplier to take back and remanufacture toner
cartridges used at its North American facilities.
In 1996, Ford estimates it avoided disposing of
more than 67,700 pounds of toner cartridges, and saved an
estimated $180,000 in avoided disposal costs. Since 1991, Ford
has collected more than 332,000 pounds of toner cartridges for
remanufacturing and saved $1.2 million in the process.
Empty toner cartridges are collected in a variety of ways at
Ford facilities, depending on how office products are pur-
chased. In some cases, employee volunteers establish collection
centers and call the supplier when at least 10 empty cartridges
have been collected. In other locations, facilities have estab-
lished an exchange program and are responsible for collecting
and returning the empty cartridges. Once the supplier receives
the old cartridges, it inventories them and credits Ford for
each cartridge returned. The supplier pays anywhere from $1
to $13 per used cartridge, depending on the cartridge type,
and then sends the cartridges to a remanufacturer who com-
pletely disassembles, cleans, and repackages the cartridge. Ford
then buys back the remanufactured cartridges for about 30
percent less than the cost of a new cartridge.
Ford believes that the key to the success of the program has
been the educational program offered to Ford employees about
using and maintaining printers, copiers, and fax machines prop-
erly, thereby extending the cartridges' life. The supplier firmly
believes that careful maintenance (e.g., cleaning) of office equip-
ment that require cartridges is essential to the good performance
of new and remanufactured cartridges alike.
For more information on Ford's program,
write: Andy Acho, Director
Environmental Outreach and
Strategy, Ford WHQ, Dearborn,
Michigan 48121-1899.
-------
WasfeWiSe Update
10
Union Carbide Rolls Out
Toner Program
Nationally
nion Carbide, a WasteWi$e charter partner,
began testing remanufactured toner cartridges
because of the potential cost savings of using
them, and because empty toner cartridges
must be managed as waste.
Beginning in December 1995, Union Carbide initiat-
ed a pilot toner cartridge return program with a national
remanufacturer to rebuild spent cartridges from the
company's West Virginia facilities. To ensure quality, the
remanufacturer tests a random sample of the remanufac-
tured cartridges before sending them to Union Carbide.
The remanuracturer supplies toner cartridges with a pre-
paid return label in the box. Empty cartridges are placed
back in the box and sent to the remanufacturer who
returns die "like-new" ones to Union Carbide. Union
Carbide estimates that remanufactured cartridges are 50
percent less expensive than new ones, when both pur-
chase price and disposal costs are considered. In 1995,
Union Carbide saved $75,000 at one facility through
avoided purchasing and disposal costs.
Union Carbide internally publicizes its program and is
implementing die program at facilities nationwide. The
company conducted a number of informative sessions to
explain the cartridge return program and provide an
opportunity for employees to ask questions. "The bene-
fits of the program have been tremendous, not only in
terms of cost savings but also to the environment," says
Jim Audia, Surplus Equipment Sales Manager.
For more information about Union Carbides pro-
gram, contact Jim Audia at 304 747-3526.
We'd Like to
Hear
from
You!
WbsteW($e would like to hear abouf your efforts to buy
remanufacfured. In addition, if you are not yet a
WasfeWI$e partner and would like to join, please let us
know. State and local government agencies are now wel-
come to loin the WasteWi$e program. Contact us at 800
EPA-WISE for more information.
Satisfaction
Guaranteed by
Xerox
ame assembly line. Same technicians. Same guaran-
tee. The only difference between a new copier and a
remanufactured copier produced by WasteWi$e
I charter partner Xerox Corp. is a small label outside
the machine. Xerox receives a steady supply of
machines through customer trade-ins and lease expirations
each year. Rather than dispose-of or recycle these machines,
the company has developed a state-of-the-art process to
remanufacture them, saving several hundred million dollars
in 1995 dirough costs avoided for purchasing new parts and
raw materials.
In 1991, Xerox initiated the Asset Recycle Management
(ARM) program to manage the increasing volume of prod-
ucts returned to the company for reprocessing. As part of
this program, the company began retooling its plants so that
new-build manufacturing and remanufacturing are part of
the same integrated line. "The result is a more efficient use
of resources and uniform quality standards," says Jack Azar,
associate director of environmental products and technology.
Xerox also began to design its products for disassembly.
Efforts include consolidating and standardizing components
as much as possible and designing parts to snap together.
During the design phase, Xerox engineers assess how parts
and assemblies will be affected by consumer use and to what
extent parts will be reusable. After making this determina-
tion, engineers assign remanufacturing codes to each part or
assembly. Xerox marks each of the components when they
come back through the remanufacturing process so it knows
how many times the component has been used and com-
pares these marks with the original codes. Using sophisticat-
ed testing procedures, the company is able to verify the
quality, life, and functionality of each of the components.
Xerox's ultimate goal is to build machines that produce no
landfill waste. "Reuse is one of the most environmentally and
economically effective ways to reduce waste," says Azar.
Remanufacturing and recycling are the foundation of this effort.
For more
information
on Xerox's
ARM program,
contact Jack Azar
at 716 422-9506.
-------
11
WasfeWi$e Update
Bright Ideas for Street Lights
m^ - •P'
oticed any new street lights in your neighbor-
hood? Well, they might not be completely
after all. A number of WasteWi$e
new
partner utilities came up with a bright idea—
remanufacturing street lights. In the past, the
utility sector either disposed of nonworking street lights
or recycled the metals for their scrap value. Over the past
several years, WasteWi$e charter partners Florida Power
Corporation and Florida Power and Light Company
have found that refurbishing street lights has saved money
and even generated revenue.
Florida Power Corporation
Florida Power began remanufacturing its street lights in
January 1996. The company contracted with a local non-
profit organization to clean, test, and replace light bulbs,
photovoltaic cells, glass globes, and light starters where
feasible. In the first 8 months of operation, approximately
10,000 street lights were brought to a centralized collec-
tion point. While the company has not tracked the num-
ber of lights actually remanufactured, it estimates saving
between $200,000 and $250,000 through this process.
Recently, however, Jay Eingold, environmental ser-
vices specialist with Florida Power, noticed that the
number of street lights being sent back to the central-
t -r ,~ ^ ^
Remanufactured Sensors
Make $ense f or
Dartmouth Hitchcock
.. -^ i * ^, _f
ccording to the April 4, 1996, issue of The Wall
Street Journal, an increasing number of hospitals
are purchasing remanufactured products.
WasteWi$e partner Dartmouth Hitchcock . ':
Medical Center in .Lebanon, New tjampshire, is
rt of this national trend, and for a good reason.
artmouth Hitchcock saves $30,000 a year by using a
^manufactured version of a product it used to throw
Sway—sensors to monitor patients' pulses. The remanufac-
PCufed sensors cost 40 percent less than new sensors.
K— ~ i r „ , , »
EE In late 1995, the hospital's pulse sensor supplier
Epproached hospital administration with an opportunity to
i|ve a substantial amount of money by switching to reman-
rjj£actured_sensors. The hospital administration supported
trhfi idea. "When we found out the cpst^sayirigs of using the
^manufactured sensors^ there was no question we would
ized collection area was rapidly declining. With a little
research, Eingold found that the line crews were now mak-
ing the repairs directly to the street lights at local service
centers without sending them to the collection point. "The
line crews started seeing the value in the program and began
doing the repairs themselves," Eingold explains
For more information, contact Jay Eingold of Florida
Power at 813 866-4489.
Florida Power and Light Company
Florida Power and Light (FP&L) adds another step to
the remanufacturing process—it checks all street lights
removed by line crews to see if any parts are still under war-
ranty. If the street light, the defective bulbs, or the photo
cells are still under warranty, then the manufacturer credits
FP&L for the defective part. If bulbs from the street lights
still have useful life left, the company sells them abroad for
a reduced price. As with Florida Power, FP&L makes
minor repairs to street lights and returns them to a central
warehouse for distribution. In 1996, FP&L's street light
recovery program generated $200,000 in warranty claims
in favor of FP&L.
For more information, contact Scott Freeburn of
FP&L at 407 845-4924.
switch," says Laura Brannen, environmental specialist with
Dartmouth Hitchcock.
Hospital staff collect and clean the sensors, place the
used sensors in special sterilized pouches, then ship them at
no cost back to the supplier. For each sensor sent back, the
hospital receives a credit. The supplier recycles the light-
emitting diodes and other electronic components and
cables, then remanufactures the sensors so that they meet
the same standards as new sensors under very strict quality
assurance/quality control procedures. Each sensor is then
-sterilized, packaged, and shipped back to the hospital. Since
the beginning of 1996, Dartmouth Hitchcock has sent
14,400 sensors to be remanufactured, approximately half
the number of sensors the hospital uses in a year.
"When we began the program, many of our employees
were skeptical," says Rob Dumont, central sterilize reprocess-
ing manager for Dartmouth Hitchcock, "but we have all
been pleasantly surprised at how easy die program is. It only
takes a few minutes a day."
For more information, contact Rob Dumont of
Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center at 603 650-7435.
-------
WbsfeWiSe Update
12
I
1
4
i
s^ *
».
|Sr
ft:
R;
Where the Rubber Meets the Road:
Retread Tires at Bell Atlantic
Approximately 3.8 million tons of rubber tires were dis-
posed of in die United States in 1995. Some WasteWi$e
partners, such as Bell Atlantic, have found that using
retread tires is an effective way to eliminate some of these
-tires from the waste stream and save money at the same
. time. If your company has a sizable vehicle fleet, using
/eireads could mean significant savings for your bottom
line.
« What, exactly is a retread tire? Used tires are first inspect-
•ed visually and mechanically for defects. If the body is
"Sound, the old tread is buffed off. A new layer of rubber is
• then a4ded and a new tread is placed on top. The entire
tire is then vulcanized, or cured. The resulting tire can be
anyvvhe/e from 30 to 70 percent less expensive than a new
one, according to the International Tire and Rubber
Association. In addition, retreads meet or exceed safety
standards set for all tires by the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration, get comparable mileage to new tires,
and can be driven at the same speeds. Commercial
airplanes land on retread tires every day, and die
U.S. Postal Service and many government agencies,
such as the Department of Defense, use them as
well. In fact, the Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act, our nation's solid waste law, requires
federal agencies to purchase retreads in most situa-
tions. Retreading tires also has clear environmental
benefits; using a retread truck tire instead of a new
one results in a net conservation of 15 gallons of oil.
JE.;; WasteWi$e^crjarter partner Bell Atlantic uses retread
. .tires on 60 percent of its vehicles, including pick-up
trucks, vans, and big rigs. The company saved $430,000
in 1995 and $560,000 in 1996 by purchasing retreads.
Bell Atlantic estimates that its retreads are approximately
40 percent less expensive than new tires.
Education was a key component~of Bell Atlantic's pro-
gram to purchase retreads. Fleet managers were concerned
about the safety and performance of retread tires. The
company overcame this barrier by educating them about
the retread process and the clean record of retreads' perfor-
"rharice. Bell Atlantic communicated the safety and eco-
8 riomic benefits of retreads in bulletins distributed to the
fleet maintenance and purchasing departments. Although
the company is not currently using retreads on the cars in
its fleet, it plans to do so in the near future. "Give it some
time, and we'll be using them on cars, too," says Recycling
Coordinator Maureen Burke.
Contact the WasteWiSe Helpline at 800 EPA-WISE for
additional resources on buying retread tires. For more
information on Bell Atlantic's program, contact Maureen
Burke at 201 266-9331.
&EPA
United States
Environmental Protection Agency
(5306W)
401 M Street, SW.
Washington, DC 20460
Official Business
Penalty for Private Use
$300
------- |