INTERNATIONAL CLEANER PRODUCTION INFORMATION CLEARINGHOUSE

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.