Vanheede Environment Group's role and purpose consists of turning a profit from its know-how in processing and managing waste within companies. The application of a Green Loop model as part of a Total Waste Care programme leads to an optimal waste logistic and a reduction in overall waste-related costs at Crop’s.
“We always start out with the same question: what do we need to obtain maximum waste-related returns,” explains Pieter Vandenberghe who is the Total Waste Care project manager. “The great starting point for this approach is that recycling and avoiding producing waste turns a profit! So from now on these are the two bases for a sound waste management plan."
Crop’s produces frozen fruit and vegetables and ready-to-serve meals. The food industry is governed by particularly strict directives imposed by law. Compliance with these directives is often overseen by different bodies such as the Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (FASFC), suppliers and clients. Production is carried out in cold zones where the supplying of raw materials and the supplying and removal of discarded packaging via forklift trucks is inherent to the production process. Those operating the forklift trucks also handle waste management so they are constantly going from cold zones to warm zones and back again. All these logistical movements have gradually intensified, leading to a considerable waste of energy and evident disorder with regards to the removal of waste. As specialists in the field, Vanheede has therefore taken over the waste logistics. The Outdoor Waste Management in the warm zone is now mission accomplished! Thanks to our man-on-site (MOS) who now bears overall responsibility for waste management, Crop’s can focus all its attention on its core activities. The Green Loop model has been activated.
Waste management can only be handled efficiently if it is harmonised with the production process and coupled with efficient in-house logistics and if everyone is committed to it at all levels. The plan drawn up based on the Green Loop model has to be rolled out and this measure needs to be combined with the necessary training. Crop’s staff have been trained in sorting waste at source which has lead to a dramatic reduction in the quantity of domestic waste. Permanent collection points at work stations in cold zones are used by all Crop’s operators. This waste, having already been sorted at source, is then deposited at set times by operators in the warm zone collection areas outside the production zone. It is in these areas that the man-on-site operates and ensures the waste is taken to the central recycling plant. This kind of organisation results in the whole production plant being clean and tidy. Vanheede staff in charge of the project assess its progression through internal audits and regularly produce reports on the running and the efficiency of the plan. These reports systematically yield new approaches and suggestions for improvements.
In real terms, the efficiency of waste management at Crop’s resides in the fact that we respect the cold zones through the well-organised removal of waste. The production process is not disrupted in any way. Important: this waste management plan creates a stimulating climate in terms of cleanliness and tidiness that resonates throughout the site, with staff showing such enthusiasm that many inspectors take their hats off to them. Vanheede and Crop’s have created a bespoke solution that has reduced costs and eliminated the tension generated by controls. In short, it is a sustainable partnership in a win-win situation.
