CASE STUDY #53
1. Headline: Reducing wastes in a panelbeater's (car) repair
shop
2. Background: Major expenses in the repair shop of any
panelbeater are the cost of paint, the cost of cleaning
materials and the cost of disposal of solid wastes. Spray
guns used for applying paint to cars are often
inefficient, allowing paint to get into the air. The fumes
produced often cause complaints and are potentially
dangerous for workers. Cleaning costs consists mainly of
the cost of the cloth used for cleaning and the gloves
worn by workers. Damaged car parts are a major waste from
this business.
Barry Mansfield Smash Repairs Ltd, in Wellington, New
Zealand, employs six people repairing and repainting cars.
The business is now part of the Workplace Pride Wellington
cleaner production programme.
3. Cleaner Production Principle: Good housekeeping, new
technology.
4. Description of Cleaner Production Application: Barry
Mansfield Smash Repairs Ltd in New Zealand needed to
reduce pollution caused by emission of fumes. A secondary
aim was to reduce material use and waste. Efforts were
successfully made to reduce waste in the respraying
process, to reduce the cost of materials used in cleaning
down vehicles several times during repairs, and to reduce
the volumes of solid waste taken to landfill sites.
Enabling technology:
Paint spraying: The business replaced four existing spray
guns with more efficient high-volume, low-pressure spray
guns. This increased the amount of paint that actually
reached the cars from 30 to 65 per cent.
Thinners are used for washing the guns. Instead of new
thinners being purchased, used thinners are now being
recycled by Refined Solvents Ltd.
The exhaust system from the spray booth was equipped with
filters preventing solvents and excess paint from being
emitted into the air. Renewing these filters was a major
cost, which has now been reduced since less paint is
wasted.
Cleaning materials: Cars need to be wiped down at several
stages during repair. Workers used to use cheesecloth off
a roll, taking a new piece for every job. Now washed rags
of terry toweling are used for most jobs. Rags are kept in
two boxes, so that slightly soiled rags can be reused if
possible. Cheesecloth is still used for the final
wipedown. The cost of the gloves used by the workers has
also been reduced by reusing the gloves.
Solid waste:Plastic bumpers are now being collected by
another business which can recycle them. Materials
previously wasted are being reused, saving on disposal
costs as well as reducing the impact of these materials on
the landfill. Overall, the volume of solid waste being
sent to landfills was reduced by 45 per cent - from 19.3
to 10.5 cubic meters a month - over a six-month period.
5. Economics:
PAINT SPRAYING NZ$
Cost of new spray guns 2400
annual saving in paint 6000
annual saving in filters 1500
Net saving 7500
Payback period 4 months
The business also saves $40 per month by recycling used
thiners instead of buying new thinners. Using washed rags
instead of cheesecloth for cleaning has produced savings
of $180 a month, and reusing gloves has reduced their cost
from $11 to $7 a month. This has resulted in additional
savings of about $3000 a year, or nearly 50 per cent of
net savings. Waste collection costs have also been
reduced, from $91 to $68 per month.
6. Advantages:
- Reduced levels of air pollution
- Savings on the purchase of materials
- Reduced wastes going to landfill sites
- Improved working conditions and a healthier work place
- Increased business from large car owners as a result of
a tidier, cleaner workshop.
7. Constraints: N/A
8. Contacts:Barry Mansfield
Manager
Barry Mansfield Smash Repairs Ltd
29-31 Hania Street
Wellington
Tel: +644 384 8102
Paul Forrest
Resource Recovery Education Unit
Wellington City Council
PO Box 2199
Wellington
New Zealand
Tel: +64 4 801 3762
Fax: +64 4 801 3003
9. Keywords:New Zealand, automobile, panelbeater,
good housekeeping, new technology, spray gun,
painting, solvent
10. Reviewer comments: This case study was originally
published in the UNEP IE document "Cleaner Production in the
ASIA and Pacific Economic Coorporation (APEC) Region. In the
process of preparing the document the case study underwent a
technical review.