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Debby Valin, Coordinator
E-Mail: Debby.Valin@dep.state.fl.us
Phone: (321) 722-5381
The Pollution Prevention Program
provides free, non-regulatory assistance to Central
Florida businesses. Take advantage of the opportunity
to reduce your waste, improve the environment and improve
your bottom line. We can help you:
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Cut Costs
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Reduce Waste
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Protect the Environment
Learn
about P2 projects in Enforcement (PiEs)
Pollution Prevention Links
P2 Spotlight
Sensus Metering Systems
9495
Delegates Drive
Orlando, Florida 32837
http://www.sensus.com/corporate/locations_fl.asp
P2
Project in Enforcement (PiE)
A P2
Success Story
Submitted by Debby Valin
September 1, 2005
From
Large Quantity Generator of Hazardous Waste to Small Quantity Generator
Sensus metering Systems (Sensus) receives old water meters from
customers, refurbishes them to new meter standards and returns them back
to the original customer. The brass components are re-used in the
process. The brass casting must be cleaned, given many of these
products have been buried in the ground for 30+ years.
The
brass components are cleaned using a bead blasting process. A bead
medium is sent at a high speed through a nozzle and bounces off the
brass casting, cleaning the surface in the process.
An
automatic ceramic–bead cleaning cabinet was installed that maximizes
media usage and reduces waste generation through a filtration and
collection system. This equipment processes about 85% of the products.
Some castings are thoroughly dirty and stained and our automatic cabinet
does not clean them sufficiently. A secondary cabinet is used with a
manual glass-bead process to clean the difficult parts, or the remaining
15% of the product. The glass beads are more aggressive than the
ceramic type.
Sensus
was inspected by FDEP Central District hazardous waste staff in 2004.
The facility was inspected as a Large Quantity Generator of hazardous
waste and was out of compliance at the time. An enforcement case ensued
with a civil penalty assessed of $17,970. Sensus opted to pursue a PiE
to offset a majority of the penalty.
The
original manual cabinet was inadequate at capturing and separating the
cleaning media effectively. The amount of hazardous waste generated was
equal to that from the automatic cabinet, even though only 15% of parts
were cleaned in it. Sensus chose to upgrade to a newer manual cleaning
cabinet that automatically captures the used glass beads and separates
and filters the used beads. The beads are re-used in the process for a
number of cycles before they become waste.
The
upgrade reduced the facility hazardous waste generation rate at the back
end by 66%. The amount of raw bead use has also been reduced by 66% at
the front end.
The
new manual cleaning system cost over $17,000, which exceeded the
required dollar offset of $14,376 by20%. The total amount saved
annually by use of the new manual blast system in raw material
consumption and hazardous waste generation is about $6,000. The
estimated payback period to the facility for the system is 2.8 years.
Sensus just notified FDEP that they now operate as a Small Quantity
Generator of hazardous waste. They now generate 12,000 pounds annually
instead of up to 30,000 pounds, a net 9-ton reduction per year.
Sensus is further looking at replacing their bead media with a plastic
variety that can be sent off site once spent to make outdoor furniture
and decorative fixtures. They are monitoring their spent bead
generation to see if this avenue is feasible, since they generate much
less now. This move to total bead recycling would result in zero
waste. Sensus would become a Non-Handler of hazardous waste and thus:
*Minimize environmental, health and safety impacts
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Conserve natural resources
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Reduce regulatory and financial liability
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Improve public image
*
Save money
Governor's 2004 Council for Sustainable
Florida Small Business Award
Additional information can be found on
Florida's Pollution Prevention site.
The State’s P2 Program encourages industry to
conserve resources, reduce waste and recycle on
site, in order of priority. When we reduce use
of resources (raw materials and energy) at the
front end, we can often minimize waste at the
back end. Conservation of resources and waste
reduction are even more desirable than recycling
because the resources contributing to wastes are
not used at all.
return to Central District home
Central
District Office
3319 Maguire Blvd, Suite
232
Orlando, Florida 32803-3767
407 894-7555
fax 407 897-6499
If you have technical problems with the functioning of this web site,
please
e-mail
our webmaster.
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