Ceramics Manufacture - Managing Water Use and Benchmarking

Ceramics Manufacture - This good practice guide covers the manufacture of ceramics and has been written to help those companies involved in this industry sector to save money through reducing water use and effluent levels.

The Guide provides benchmark data against which companies can compare their performance, and practical hints and tips on how to reduce their water use and effluent generation, saving money directly in terms of water and raw materials and indirectly in terms of energy and labour.

Industry examples highlight companies and the measures they have taken and the cost savings and other benefits that have resulted. Although UK water costs are relatively low, there is much scope to make savings - more than companies might think. Simply by taking measures that cost little or nothing to implement, such as those suggested in this guide, a company could save many tens of thousands of pounds every year through reducing water use and recovering materials.

This guide covers measures at all process stages, from delivery to cleaning, and gives advice on reducing effluent through the recovery of materials for direct re-use.

The best way to tackle waste is in a systematic manner. Section 7 of the guide details an approach that will ensure continuous improvement. It will help companies to look at their own process for cost saving potential and includes tried and tested techniques to help this process. Measuring and benchmarking against good practice and a company’s own on-going data, will help those taking action to improve control of their process and save money in all areas.

This Guide will help companies to save money by providing:

• benchmark data (based on a 1999/2000 industry survey) against which companies can compare their performance;
• clear, concise water/effluent reduction and re-use advice in terms of:
  • practical hints and tips;
  • a systematic approach to monitoring and control.

The Guide also provides Industry Examples that highlight cost savings and other benefits, and a worksheet and checklist to be used around any site(s) to help identify cost saving opportunities.

This Guide is intended to be used by managers who are looking for practical ways of reducing waste and hence costs. This includes those attempting to make improvements within the framework of an environmental management system such as that defined in ISO 14001 or EMAS. The guide complements the Good Practice Guide, Reducing Solid Waste Costs in the Whiteware Industry1, which also addresses the issue of glaze and clay process use and ‘high density’ (non-effluent) recovery.

Extracted from "Managing water use and benchmarking in ceramic manufacture" © Crown copyright

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