During 2013 RPS has expanded the key services it provides world leading automotive company Cummins. Continuing with the success of returning reusable wooden packaging back to the Rocky Mount and Columbus engine plants, RPS has now engaged with Cummins to sustainably remove wood waste from their Darlington site.
It has been a great year at Cummins, with the recovery of reusable packaging items from their Darlington site now confidently being returned to the two American engine plants. Along with clearing the site of redundant wooden pallets, RPS has helped the business to divert 230 tonnes of wooden packaging waste from the UK waste stream.
These activities not only move the packaging items to reuse channels, a preferable option in the waste hierarchy, it also reduces the business’s annual packaging waste obligation delivering a sustainable and economical outcome.
Neville Scott, Cummins’ HSE Manager, said: “At Cummins we were very keen to establish a process for returnable packaging. This was important to us from a corporate social responsibility standpoint and a packaging waste obligation and waste management hierarchy standpoint.
“RPS provided the industry expertise and knowledge to facilitate a complicated packaging return process from the UK back to the USA. RPS's knowledge in relation to the inspection and refurbishing of used packaging as well as their logistics knowledge has been invaluable in both setting up and maintaining the returns process.
“As well as the environmental benefits we have seen a cost saving both in terms of recycling costs in the UK but also cost avoidance from purchasing virgin packaging in the USA”.
With this success, attention has now been turned to other wood waste generated at Darlington that currently cannot be reused. In November, a standing trailer was situated on the Cummins site in order for wood waste to be loaded. Once the trailer is full RPS then collect the wood waste and convert it into wood chip fuel for biomass. It has provided an environmental fuel source that encourages sustainability whilst reducing fossil fuel consumption.
