Waste diversion strategies successful in winning lubes production network a global standard.
Mobil 1 production plant Image: ExxonMobil |
ExxonMobil's lubes production facilities have been awarded a Silver standard Zero Waste to Landfill validation from global certification, inspection and audit company UL (Underwriters Laboratories).
Focusing on plants producing its Mobil 1 lubricants, the company identified 14 types of waste produced that could be re-used, recycled or avoided altogether. It then implemented a range of diversion techniques and strategies to ensure the plants met the rigorous standards required to meet the UL 2799a validation - the first petroleum products company to achieve this.
The standard is at silver level, meaning more than 90% of Exxon's lubricant operations' waste is successfully diverted from local landfills. In reality, that means some 50,000 tons of annual waste is re-used or recycled. Gold Standard requires a 100% success rate.
ExxonMobil began its global waste management programme in 2012 and had rolled it out fully by 2015, quoting examples such as technology to safely drain aerosol cans or using a distillation process to recover lab solvents.
UL's validation process is not a one-off test, but involves monitoring over several years including measuring material flows in and out of facilities, extensive documentation examinations and pilot programmes.
According to Alberto Uggetti, Vice President and General Manager at UL: "For a company like ExxonMobil which has operations facilities across the globe, achieving UL’s Zero Waste to Landfill Silver validation is no easy feat. The program’s rigorous validation process is designed to recognize companies that handle waste in environmentally responsible and innovative ways, and ExxonMobil has implemented a comprehensive, far-reaching program that meets this rigor and reflects its commitment to operating in an environmentally responsible way.”