Award for environmental protection
Double Honors for Environmental Protection – In 2017, Only 1% of the Famed Żywiec Residential Waste was shipped for storage!
In 2017, Famed Żywiec produced 183 tons of waste, of which almost 99 percent. has been re-used. During the conference organized at the headquarters of the Polish Ministry of Environment, the company was awarded, among others, the title of the Cleaner Production Leader for 2017.
ALMOST 99 PROC. WASTES ARE RE-USED
In 2015 and 2016, a total of 471 tonnes of waste was generated in connection with the company’s production (264 in 2015 and 207 in 2016 respectively), of which only 10 tonnes were not re-used. In 2017, Famed produced 183 tons of waste. As part of the Closed Circuit Management (GOZ) procedures, all post-production waste (180.64 tonnes) has been recycled – internally or by external companies and other recovery processes. Only 2.3 tons of construction materials created as a result of renovation works and approx. 3 tons of municipal waste were transferred to storage.
EUROPE PRODUCES GARBAGE
According to Eurostat data*, in 2014, 2500 million tonnes of waste were generated in twenty-eight EU countries. The manufacturing sector (production) is responsible for about 10% of them. Almost 180 million tons of waste were generated in Poland, and manufacturing enterprises generated 17.6% of them. It was the largest amount of waste recorded in Eurostat data history, which is related to a growing population and economic development. – In Famed, we systematically reduce the amount of the waste that we generate, and the result we achieved in the area of recycling is a reason for a great satisfaction – comments Jolanta Sygut, Environmental Protection Specialist and Famed Żywiec Laboratory.
FAMED ACTIVITIES DISTINGUISHED
In April, during the “Cleaner Production and Closed Circuit” conference organized under the auspices of the Ministry of the Environment, Famed was honored with the title of Cleaner Production Leader for 2017. The meeting was devoted to preventing pollution and excessive consumption of resources by Polish companies, as well as closed economy. – The implementation of a circular economy is an important element in the creation of a low-emission, resource-efficient, innovative and competitive economy, to which Poland, as a country with aspirations, is fully committed. We strive to improve the potential of waste generated in terms of their recycling and other forms of recovery. The involvement of entrepreneurs will be needed for this – said Sławomir Mazurek, deputy minister of the environment during the ceremony.
During the conference, Famed also received the Clean Production Certificate – in evidence of active participation in the Polish CP Movement, supported by reporting conducted since 1996 – and a certificate confirming the entry into the Polish Register of Cleaner Production and Responsible Entrepreneurship, which he has been a laureate since 2002. The register kept by the Association The Polish Cleaner Production Movement (www.cp.org.pl) operates under the leadership of Deputy Minister of the Environment, Sławomir Mazurek. The patron of the program is the Chief Inspector of Environmental Protection and the Ministry of Enterprise and Technology.
PRODUCTION IN ONE SITE
Famed, as one of the few companies in the medical industry, runs production using self-made elements. The company maintains full control over all processes at every stage of production – from the raw steel that is transported into the steel warehouse from which finished products are made, up to the completion of all production stages consisting of up to several thousand components of hospital beds, treatment armchairs and operating tables.
LABORATORY HELPS TO PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT
The Famed laboratory plays a significant role in activities related to environmental protection. It carries out tests of all materials included in its products, but also develops solutions that contribute to the company’s pro-ecological activities.
Famed Żywiec already in the 1990s introduced a complete segregation of post-production and administrative waste. Thanks to nickel recovery station managed to reduce water consumption and the amount of sewage generated. The Factory Laboratory monitors the quality of sewage discharged into the municipal sewage system, which, as a result, does not exceed the concentrations of parameters, e.g. heavy metals, included in the contract with the water supply company. As a result, they are safe for the environment. In order to reduce the amount of plastic waste, a device was purchased that allows the waste to be processed into granules being a full-value raw material. It is used to form plastics by injection molding or re-plate preparation, used for thermoforming of bed elements, tables and armchairs. 75 percent the mass of waste generated is processed in the company, the remaining 25 percent is transferred for recovery in external companies. Surplus granules are transferred for sale. – When implementing new technological processes, we assess the possibility of minimizing their impact on the environment. We do not waste materials used for production, and consistent investments in technologies and machinery make us pride ourselves in their total re-use – says Jolanta Sygut, Environmental Protection Specialist and Famed Żywiec Laboratory.
Other examples are chemical and electrochemical baths in which steel is prepared before it is subjected to bending, cutting, welding, painting and nickel-chrome coating. – Standard baths used in the steel washing and passivating line work about six months. However, thanks to the use of the right component, our washing bath has been working continuously for 11 years, while maintaining the same, highest quality. Without the possibility of regeneration, bath and rinsing water, every six months in the amount of more than 13 m3 would have to go to utilization, or disposal, explains Jolanta Sygut.
