Trellidor ticks off next greening goal with recent waste disposal upgrade
Trellidor ticked off another greening goal with the recent installation of a new Reverse Osmosis system. The result? No more toxic chemicals; less wastewater; and double the volume of de-ionized water available for use in the factory.
Responsible waste management
In most production plants there are toxic by-products that must be managed responsibly. Making burglar bars, security doors, roller shutters, and louvre shutters for homes and commercial buildings is no different.
According to Trellidor Production Manager Wayne Halgryn, Trellidor waste disposal processes follow specified protocols, monitored monthly by local municipal officials.
One of those processes is the cleaning out of resins in the filtration system. To do this, an average of 200 liters of hydrochloric acid and 100 liters of caustic soda in liquid form were used in any given month. This was pumped to an on-site effluent plant, where it was treated to remove all impurities.
This process yielded water with a PH level of between 6 and 9, which is acceptable enough for authorities to allow it to be flushed into the stormwater system.
For a business that supplies steel and aluminium products worldwide, these are not substantial amounts of toxic waste. But the company has a hazardous waste policy in place and strives for ongoing improvement.
Significant improvements with Reverse Osmosis
To make these improvements, the de-ionizing process was replaced by the installation of a Reverse Osmosis plant in January 2022. This has made the production process cleaner and greener because:
- No hydrochloric acid or caustic soda is used to treat water.
- Less wastewater is created because the greywater is reusable within the factory.
- A constant supply of de-ionized water is available for manufacturing processes.
What’s next on the list to make the Trellidor plant greener?
The Reverse Osmosis process supplies greywater that will be utilized in two phases.
- Phase one is already in progress. The greywater is piped to the jig stripping plant, where it is used to clean the components used to make Trellidor products, contributing to the high-quality surface coating of all Trellidor security and lifestyle grilles and shutters.
- Phase two will be the use of the greywater to supply the ablution facilities at the factory and the head office administration building, saving on water wastage and costs.
In a water-scarce country like South Africa, every one of these savings is vital. As a Proudly South African company with an international footprint, the Trellidor team intends to continue finding those savings wherever they can.
