Oct 20, 2014  Indonesia

Working towards a reduced footprint

Recycling waste to produce energy

Production of water-based adhesives generates waste on regular basis. To reduce the amount of waste generated, Henkel Indonesia’s Adhesives manufacturing plant in Pasuruan has been partnering Geocycle Indonesia, an environmental management agency, to minimize its footprint.

The waste normally comes from the cleaning process. The waste water goes through sedimentation, separation and drying, resulting in final solid waste. There are different methods to treat the solid waste, including conventional landfill. However, this can affect the quality of underground water.

Henkel Indonesia and Geocycle Indonesia worked together to create an innovative solution to handle this waste–via combustion in incinerators. The solid waste proved to be a suitable alternative energy source (rather than coal or gas) for Geocycle to fire their kiln. This has been a win-win situation as waste is recycled, and energy is generated as the result.

Since the collaboration started, the team in Pasuruan has seen a reduction in solid waste by 9 percent and is now implementing a zero landfill policy. With the initiative, Henkel Indonesia is playing its role in contributing to the company’s goal of tripling efficiency by 2030.