CASE STUDY NO. 9646
KEY WORDS REFRIGERATOR INSULATION WASTE, REUSE
General Electric Corporation
301 N. Curry Pike
Bloomington, IN 47404
Contact: Steven J. Marks or Jeff Smith, Environment, Health and Safety.
Tel: 812-334-9422/9502. Fax: 812-334-9653.
(At Chemstar, Jim Pope. Tel: 909-735-6522.)
Summary
Refrigerator insulation once regarded as waste now is converted into new products, reducing disposal expense by $194,000 a year.
Action
GE manufactures and assembles nearly 940,000 refrigerators a year at the Bloomington plant. The refrigerator box is insulated with polypropylene glycol, which is sprayed on as a liquid. More than 100 tons per year of the material are wasted when the liquid application spray line is purged because of routine maintenance, at the end of a product run, or when switching to a different insulation compound.
The company investigated using the waste material as fuel but found that it was not blendable due to the relatively high moisture content of one component. Searching for an alternative disposal method with low liability, GE identified a chemical company, Chemstar Corp. of Corona, California, which was able to accept the waste and convert it into a product used in the manufacture of retail items such as carpet padding and Nerf balls.
A number of other GE plants as well as other refrigerator manufacturers, including Whirlpool and Frigidaire, have since entered into similar arrangements for disposition of waste insulating material.
GE ships the waste insulation to Chemstar in 55-gallon drums as nonregulated, nonhazardous material. Approximnately 100 drums of the dilute purge flushing waste are collected and shipped by GE to Chemstar each month.
Payback
During an18-month period, GE reported savings of $300,000 in disposal cost alone. Payback time approached zero since GE did not have to make any changes in production techniques or equipment. Although GE receives no revenue from Chemstar for the material, the California company pays shipping costs by common carrier.
Other benefits
