Successful Zero Landfill Program at Tulsa Plant generates Cost Savings, Pays for New Work Station
The PepsiCo plant in Tulsa, Oklahoma made huge strides toward the 2015 Zero Landfill goal after implementing a Lean Six Sigma (LSS) Kaizen Leader Zero Landfill project. Through the LSS process, Tulsa's monthly recycling rate improved to >90% by October of 2012 and significantly increased recycling revenue. The estimated savings for the project are $4K per period, and over $55K annually. These savings were generated by:
- Right-sizing and eliminating unneeded waste containers and equipment. As the amount of recycling increased, the trash compactors were no longer needed. They were replaced with smaller trash containers so that the rental and hauling fees for the compactors could be eliminated. The plant went from five compactors to one.
- Materials that were not recycled in the past are now recycled; including glass jugs, HDPE containers, concentrate containers and lids, and increased amounts of cardboard and stretch wrap.
- Improving recycling instructions on signs and increasing recycling training with employees and suppliers.
- Identifying new suppliers that could manage mixed material and offer competitive revenue for this material.
A portion of the savings was used to fund the plant's new production workstation on the manufacturing floor. This central workstation serves as a point of operations for production tracking, safety meetings and daily briefings. As Christina Kearns points out "this new room provides a better work environment that is bright, clean, and glass enclosed on the plant floor. The new production workstation provides tangible evidence that waste reduction efforts by the employees really do make a difference."
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