CASE STUDY 1: EDIBLE OIL AND SOAP MAKING

 Detailed information

Company : Pwani Oil Products Ltd

Activity : Edible oil refining and soap making

Employees : 150

Cleaner production tools : Good housekeeping, product innovation, technology change, skills enhancement.

Environmental domain : Waste reduction

Location : Mombassa

Facts In brief

The company, established in 1985, is a leading manufacturer of edible oils and fats as well as laundry bar soaps in Kenya. It had a problem with excessive water consumption and waste water generation especially in the old refinery leading to a generation of up to 15,840m 3 wastewater/yr. in addition, the company experienced high levels of rejection/ reworks producing up to 91,250kg/year of non-conforming bar soaps due to insufficient pressure and malfunctioning of the plodder machines. Additionally, there was a problem of management of bleaching earth used to clarify soap.

The challenge

The first challenge was to raise awareness, train and change the mindset of the administrators and workers to appreciate the benefits of implementing cleaner production. A solution that minimized water consumption waste generation and enhanced employee skill needed to be found. Additionally, there was need to upgrade the oil refinery to a more modern and less polluting technology. The company required organization change to strengthen the supervision and develop operational procedures.

Application.

Stoppage of water, steam, raw material and intermediate product leakages, overflows; avoidance of idle running of machines, condensate recovery. This resulted in wastewater reduction by 60%, material loss by 90% originally 43.8 tons/yr. installation of a new edible oil refinery increased the efficiency to 99%. The company employed 10 new employees in production, quality, environment, finance and personnel management. Employees were trained in best environmental practices, and record keeping. Metering of all production units to control inputs is on-going and a partnership is being forged with a local cement factory to utilize bleaching earth for cement making.

Economic results.

Investment cost Annual savings Running cost Payback

US $ 641,025 US$ 230,769 US$ 0 2.8years

Environmental results

A reduction in chemical oxygen demand loading by 7.3 tons/year in avoided product loss into the wastewater

Lessons learned

The application of cleaner production in the company led to reduction in effluent generation, non-conforming soaps and a better working environment. It also led to employment of extra staff, boosting of worker morale. The Company is now participating in the UNEP Global Reporting Initiative.

Next projects

Expanding product range, innovating products from waste, HACCP and ISO 14001 certification

CASE STUDY 2: TEXTILE

Detailed Information

Company : Lamsons Industries Ltd

Activity : Textile: Blanket making

Employees : 270

Cleaner production tools : Good housekeeping, cleaner production training.

Environmental domain : Waste reduction

Location : Nakuru

Facts In brief

Lamsons Industries Limited (LIL) is one of the leading blanket manufactures in Kenya. The Company participated in the Cleaner Enterprise Programme in 2003.

The challenge

Before participating in the programme, the company produced 21,796kg/month of fly waste solid waste as well as blanket salvage waste which was usually recycled. This led to consumption of extra energy and labour. The quality control of the blankets was poor, housekeeping was low and machine optimization poor. The challenge was to reduce the fly dust, enhance efficiency and product and lead to a competitive advantage both locally and internationally.

Application

The machine specifications was adjusted, company employees trained in best manufacturing practices to change attitudes and enhance skills and recruitment of experienced spin supervisors These measures eliminated completely the salvage waste and reduced by 90% the fly waste.

Economic results

Investment cost Annual savings Running cost Payback

US $ 2,000.00 US$ 200,000.00 per year US$0 immediate

Environmental results

Reduction of recycling waste from 20% (21,796 kg) to 5%; improved occupational health and safety as the fly waste problem is reduced; Good house keeping measures put in place.

Lessons learned

The programme which was initially meant to address the solid waste problem in the company turned to be a very good cost-saving measure through the implementation of “common sense” no-cost and low-cost options to eliminate and minimize waste.

CASE STUDY 3: PAPER CONVERSION

 Detailed Information.

Company : Cartubox Industries East Africa Ltd

Activity : Carton boxes and paper tubes making

Employees : 15

Cleaner production tools : Good housekeeping, cleaner production training.

Environmental domain : Solid waste reduction

Location : Nakuru

 Facts in brief

Cartubox Industries (E.A) Ltd is a micro-enterprise paper conversion company that was started in 1976 through ICDC loan. Employing 14 people, the company is located in Nakuru’s Kenya Industrial Estates sheds. It makes paper tubes, carton boxes and sometimes beehives. Their market niche is confined to the North Rift up to Naivasha. The company is hoping to graduate to a medium sized enterprise supplying carton boxes nationally and possibly within the East African Community.

The Challenge.

The company used to generate 2,412 kg of waste paper every year due to poor quality of raw materials, lack of optimizing machine settings, lack of appropriate waste minimization skills and lack of record keeping of raw material input and product output. Thus, the company could not be able to control losses and waste generation. The first challenge for the KNCPC before Cp audit, was to assist the Company prepare and maintain stock cards. This took about 3 months to put in place and generate appreciable data to be used in the CP audit.

Application.

After the audit, the company committed itself to a vigorous process optimization programme, developing measurements and record-keeping culture, implementing no-cost and low-cost cleaner production options that included alignment of machines, specifying the quality of raw materials from supplier, counter-weighing deliveries, developing stock cards, training the employees in cleaner production, and adopting the “just -in-time and just-sufficient” preparation of auxiliary inputs.

Economic results

Investment cost Annual savings Running cost Payback

US $ 0.00 US$ 1,100 US$ 0.00 immediate

Environmental results

A reduction of solid waste generation of 48% from 266 kg/month to 136 kg/month.

Lessons learned

Thika Paper Recyclers Ltd, the company that used to travel 500km monthly to collect waste paper from Cartubox E.A Ltd in Nakuru, now goes after every 3 months as waste generation has been reduced to almost half.