INTERNATIONAL CLEANER PRODUCTION INFORMATION CLEARINGHOUSE

Case Study # 210

1. Headline: Good housekeeping results in savings in a company
that produces Paint and varnish.

2. Background:

HIKO Byggplast AS produces mainly water soluble epoxy products
to coat concrete. The production process is relatively simple,
and the company has no major environmental problems. It was
decided to look for solutions to minimize the amount of
incoming packaging and to find substitutes for the current
amine- and amid-hardeners

3. Cleaner Production Principle: Good housekeeping, material
substitution

4. Description of Cleaner Production Application: The
principles behind the cleaner production application follow:

-Recycling of incoming raw material packaging like steel
barrels, plastic barrels, nonce-use pallets, corrugated
cardboard, paper bags, shrink plastic (PE) and transition to
storage of raw materials in tanks.
-More environmentally harmless hardeners to the epoxy-systems.
-Source-sorting of office waste.

Raw material, liquid and dry powder are weighed in large
vessels on wheels. For products that float, the next step is to
mix them in a dissolver. The product is then packaged and ready
for sale. Fillers undergo a similar process, but they utilize a
kneading machine for the mixing.

Hardeners are delivered in the same condition in which they are
delivered from the producer/supplier, though eventually the
viscosity is adjusted.

Overall the production produces very little waste and
emissions. There are no effluents to the water from the
production. The main environmental problems arose from the
incoming packaging which amounted to about 32 tons, and from
the amine- and amid-hardeners to epoxy.

The company has 12 employees and had a turnover of 19,2 mil NOK
in 1991.

In terms of the cleaner production project, the following steps
were implemented: the recycling of the steel barrels;
transition to tank supplies for some of the raw materials; the
company works on an on-going basis to find new and less
environmental harmful epoxy hardeners, and source-sorting of
office waste has started.

There is no need for new cleaner production "technologies."
Efforts are spent to find less environmental harmful hardeners
to the epoxy-systems.

Specific packaging changes include the reduction of: steel
barrels by 23 tons, corrugated cardboard by 1 ton, and office
waste has been reduced by 1 ton.

5. Economics: The operational costs will be reduced by about
30,000 to 50,000 NOK.

6. Advantages: See Description of Cleaner Production
Application.

7. Constraints: See Description of Cleaner Production
Application.

8. Contacts:

HIKO Byggplast AS,
Att: Manager Henrik Andreassen Skredderveien
6, 1500 MOSS
Norway

or

Oestfold Research Foundation
Att: Arild Olsen
PO Box 276
N-1601 Fredrikstad
Norway
TEL: 47 69 34 19 00
FAX: 47 69 34 24 94

or

State Pollution Authority,
Att: Uno Abrahamsen
Postboks 8100 Dep.,
0032 OSLO,
Norway
TEL: + 47 22 57 34 00


9. Keywords: ISIC Code 3521, paint and varnish producer

10. Reviewer's Comment's: This case study was translated from
Norwegian and submitted to UNEP IE on behalf of the Norwegian
State Pollution Control Authority by Stiftelsen
Ostfoldforskning in February 1994. They were reviewed and
edited by UNEP IE in July 1995. They have not undergone a
formal quality review.