15/12/2011
Ford Australia is taking that extra step to help protect the environment.

Working with waste specialist Geocycle, Ford Australia is aiming to halve the amount of paint sludge disposed to landfill from its Broadmeadows facility and turning it into an alternative fuel source in the cement making process.

Around 10 tons of sludge will be sent to the Geocycle facility in eastern Melbourne each month. Currently, 56 percent of Ford Broadmeadows’ solid waste is recycled and 44 percent is disposed into landfill.

The prescribed sludge is a by-product produced from the paint process at the Broadmeadows plant. It was previously all transported off-site for processing and eventual disposal to a licensed landfill.

“Ford around the world is committed to initiatives aimed at providing a better environment for consumers,” Ford Australia President and CEO Bob Graziano said.

“Ford Australia is part of that process and we continue to seek out solutions with companies like Geocycle to minimise our impact on the environment.”

Geocycle is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Cement Australia group, one of the nation’s leading suppliers of cement and related products and services. It is a waste specialist with a core business processing flammable and hazardous waste.

It uses a ‘mega blender’ that separates organic waste from metal and turns it into useable fuel for a Cement Australia kiln.

“Through its wholly owned subsidiary Geocycle, Cement Australia has invested considerable time and resources into aligning its capabilities with the needs and strategies of industry and regulatory authorities," said Cement Australia CEO and Managing Director Chris Leon.

“The commitment by Ford to work with Geocycle to achieve desirable environmental and business outcomes demonstrates that we are on the right path."

Apart from the Geocycle recycling initiative, in 2010 Ford Australia undertook a $20 million environmental and technical upgrade of the Geelong Iron Casting Plant to make it more efficient.

Among the improvements were electricity efficiency gains, greater use of recycled stormwater and increased use of recycled shredded metal. The Geelong Iron Casting Plant has also increased its sand reclamation, supplying about 50 tonnes of spent foundry sands each week to be used in the manufacture of cement, significantly reducing sand landfill.

Ford Australia also recycles timber and polystyrene. Waste wood is converted into lengths suitable for pallet bases while waste polystyrene is shredded into fine particles that are then used as a fill agent in concrete retaining walls and concrete pavers.

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