(Re)turning waste into resources

(Re)turning waste into resources

To recycle materials from our production is an important measure to lessen the need for virgin materials and to decrease the amount of waste stored as landfill. At Höganäs Brazil, the team designed a reverse logistics plan which contributes to returning waste into the supply chain.

Höganäs is commited to reducing the amount of waste sent to landfill. The team at Höganäs in Brazil started the project “The reverse logistics plan” to contribute to avoid landfilling. The reverse logistics plan returns waste that usually would be discarded back to the supply chain.

Assertively, reverse logistics as a whole is a sustainable initiative. Today, in Brazil as well as the rest of the world, waste disposal is a critical issue. Our challenge is to start this work within the company and gradually impact our community and surroundings.

The strategy was designed in 2022 and when the project was launched it started with a specific type of general plant waste, cardboard tubes, as a test. The cardboard tubes are used to support the plastic that packs some of Höganäs’ products during transportation.

We are still in a trial phase together with the supplier. Since our waste generation is small, we need a long period to accumulate enough waste to send for recycling.

The cardboard tubes are collected manually and stored in a warehouse in a specific waste collector. When there is enough material in the waste collector it is returned to the supplier to be used again for the same purpose.

The reverse logistics plan is a tool to help both Höganäs and its suppliers to create circular loops within the supply chain. It contributes to the reduction of costs with disposal, and with the reuse in the production of other products.

To reach the plan’s full potential, the entire company must be involved, and the suppliers need to be engaged.

The teams involved are environment, purchasing and logistics, and the intention is to map all the waste that is subject to Reverse Logistics with current suppliers. By the end of 2023, we want to leverage waste management and produce as little waste as possible.

 

     
 

Reverse Logistics Plan

  • The project started in 2022 aiming to return more waste material into the production process and decrease the amount of material disposed to landfill.
  • Cardboard tubes are the first materials in the project, which are collected and then shipped back to the producer to go back into the production to create a circular loop.