University of Ballarat
Project Name: MasterFoods
Location: Ballarat, Victoria
Theme(s): Energy alternatives and reduction, Waste management

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 Department of the Environment and Heritage

MasterFoods

Waste Wise Program

MasterFoods is a leading global manufacturer of confectionery. Although the company has had a good record in waste management, over the past two years, management at MasterFoods has decided to be wise about waste . The company has started a “Waste Wise” program to reduce the amount of food and non-food waste entering landfill.

“We must respond to accommodate the changing needs of our customer, improved understanding of environmental issues and to new technology.”

(MasterFoods Waste Management Plan)

Contents

This case study is available as a PDF file. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer to view the PDF file.

 

 

In the beginning…

Before 2002, MasterFoods was aware of the importance of reducing waste through recycling. Cardboard, paper and some animal food was being recycled at varying degrees of efficiency. What was not recycled was considered either rework or scrap.

“Rework” refers to good food material that can be put back into the process, while “Scrap” is the waste that was binned and sent to the tip. This scrap totalled 200 tonnes every month prior to June 2002.

For Bruno Bomitali, Site Services Manager, this was unacceptable, especially when a large proportion of the so-called waste could be recycled or reused outside the MasterFoods plant.
Bruno Bomitali is responsible for waste management at MasterFoods.
 

Discovering Waste Wise

A pamphlet from EcoRecycle explaining the benefits of being “waste wise” prompted MasterFoods to act immediately. Through a series of information and training sessions, representatives from various areas in the factory were trained in the benefits of being waste wise. Together they formed the “Waste Wise Group”.

The local representative from the Highlands Regional Waste Group assisted them on how to classify, capture and reduce waste from around the factory. The different types of wastes are called “waste streams”. Each waste stream has a label on the bins:
 

Separation the key to waste reduction

 
     
Members of the waste wise group were asked to identify the waste streams in their area. For example, the processing area produces animal foods but no cardboard. The appropriate bins could then be placed in each area.
In June 2002, the Waste Wise program began around the factory, including the canteen. Immediately, the monthly amount of waste going to landfill dropped by 70 tonnes. It seemed the key to being waste wise was providing a means for separation.

Waste still totalled 130 tonnes. An examination of the bins showed that there was “cross-contamination”, with landfill bins also containing recyclable materials. It turned out that due to competing work priorities, bins were not being emptied by the fork lifts as quickly as required and therefore were being used for other materials.

The problem was solved by engaging “ Spotless Catering Services”, a National contractor that already provides both Cleaning & Catering on site, to act as “garbologists”. They provided one forklift driver whose sole job was to empty the waste and recycle bins around the factory, for 6 hours during the day and 3 hours during the night shift. Immediately, a further 50 tonnes were removed from the waste going to landfill. See the graph below.

 

Graph showing waste to landfill

The first five readings were pre-Waste Wise. Can you spot where the two actions were implemented?

 
 

Removing the waste

MasterFoods produces other wastes than just those identified above. These, too, must be separated. Once the waste streams have been separated the waste must be removed from the site . EcoRecycle has assisted MasterFoods in identifying appropriate ways of dealing with its waste. Other sources required a little more research to find appropriate destinations.

See the summary below of how the waste is removed, its destination, cost estimate and some of the problems associated with the process.

Waste stream

Removed by (contractor)

Destination

Cost for removal

Problems

Landfill

Cleanaway

Landfill near Smythesdale

$80/tonne as of
Oct 2003

 

Plastics

Sancon International

Sent to China for recycling

$60/tonne

Could not get local contractor as the cold seal glue presents difficulties in recycling in Australia.

Liquids

Remains on site for treatment

Sludge from Treatment plant removed to Central Recycling

Trade Waste Plant that uses anaerobic digestion to treat the water before discharging into sewerage system

Sludge is used as a fertilizer for farmers.

$0.11 per kg

 

Animal foods

Solids:

Liquids:

(syrups, colours and flavours)

Berrybank Piggeries

Nutrawaste

HJT

Used as food for pigs

Stock Feed Suppliers

Blended with grains for cattle feed

MasterFoods is paid on average around $30 per tonne

1 tonne bulka bags cannot be recycled due to nylon stitching so they are reused for collecting and handling the waste solids

Cardboard and paper

Visy, agents for Cleanaway

Recycled

No cost

Visy has recently provided a compactor to reduce the physical volume of cardboard and paper. This reduces the number of trips required per day.

Other

Waste oil: (oil used for frying peanuts)

Tallow Master

Reprocessed and used as a soap ingredient.

MasterFoods receives a minimal payment per drum.

The incoming fresh oil drums are re-used to collect the old oil

Prescribed waste stream

(Empty containers for detergents, acids used in sanitizing)

Prescribed waste dealers: Chemsal or Wilsolve

Decontaminated

Around $1,250 per month

Prescribed wastes are placed in proper chemical storage containers until collected

 

Some difficulties

Some areas produce wastes that are difficult to catch in a way that makes them re-useable.

One area of the plant where this occurs is in the Base Tower where large volumes of caramel and nougat waste are generated each month. Access and storage space exacerbate the problem. Rather than being collected in the 1 tonne bulka bags as per other animal food, the waste is collected in 200 litre metal drums, for which there is no current end user. 		 

MasterFoods is not only searching for a suitable end user for these drums, but also investigating possible changes in the way this waste is captured to avoid landfill.

Plastics were another problem as the site produces a quantity that is not suitable for collection. In the raw preparation area, for example, solid blocks of cocoa butter and cocoa liquor, are imported in cardboard boxes and sealed in plastic bags. MasterFoods is changing to a bulk form of the way these ingredients are supplied thus reducing the amount of waste packaging generated.

  Other plastic is generated during the product quality testing. Every 15 minutes, samples from each line of product, such as MARS Bars , are unwrapped and undergo quality and microbiological tests. Product that does not meet the company's high quality standards, is sent off to animal food intact in its packaging. Problems arise in separation of the food from recyclable plastics. MasterFoods had to look further afield to find a company that could remove the plastic for recycling.
Other non-production areas around the plant are also involved in the waste wise program. The canteen provides recycle bins for aluminum cans, plastic/glass and landfill. Previously, the office area had a general purpose bin located at each desk. The contents of these bins went to landfill. A solution was introduced whereby 3 main stations were set up around the office area where cardboard/paper, plastic and landfill are now separated.
 

Future

It is often difficult to justify the cost for collecting and removing waste, especially where there is no direct benefit for the business, and where the amount of waste is only 6% of the total production. Staff are currently aiming for zero waste to land fill. This will be a challenge given the variety of products produced throughout the plant.  
 

Useful Resources and Contacts
 

Acknowledgements

This case was written with the assistance of Bruno Bomitali, Site Services Manager for MasterFoods, Ballarat.

Photos by Linda Darby
   
Content coordinated by Ben Quinney, University of Ballarat. | CRISCOS Provider No 00103D| Disclaimers | Guestbook
Date researched: January 2004 | Case study initially prepared: March 2004