Vitrex Medical
A flexible and user-friendly waste solution must ensure optimization of waste sorting
Over the past 50 years, Vitrex Medical has specialized in the development of capillary tubes for the transport of liquids in the pharmaceutical industry and is now a world leader in the field. Vitrex employs approx. 70 employees and export their products to 90 countries worldwide.
At the factory in Herlev in Denmark, they needed to optimize their waste solution for sorting household waste. Vitrex had a very good handle on their production-related waste, but in line with the new legislation in the waste area, their focus was both changed and sharpened around the 10 new waste fractions.
The challenge
Many questions had to be answered before a choice of waste solution could be made
Vitrex took part in a pilot project set up by the municipality of Herlev. Together with a consulting company within waste sorting, they were able to map waste quantities, waste types, emptying frequency, working environment and much more in order to arrive at an efficient, flexible and long-term solution in relation to the expanded waste sorting.
Like so many other companies, Vitrex had a number of unanswered questions in relation to the household waste: Where should the sorting take place? How many types of waste must be sorted? How many bins? How should the waste be handled? It should also be mentioned that at Vitrex the employee group is made up of several different nationalities and therefore dialogue with the employees has been important in order to create a common understanding of sorting.
Stylish and efficient waste sorting for different types of waste
Vitrex has, among other things, placed a Bica Model 950 with 4 fractions in connection with their canteen. With visible pictograms, glass, food waste, residual waste and plastic/metal/Food & beverage cartons are sorted into separate fractions.
The solution
Flexible waste systems located in central locations in the company must increase the sorting of waste for recycling
After thorough mapping of waste quantities and needs in the company, Vitrex chose to go with different Bica models located in central places: By the canteen, changing rooms, kitchenettes and by the coffee machines. Vitrex made an extra effort to present the new solutions at joint meetings, and overall the new waste solutions were very well received. The visible pictograms on the front of the bins should also help to make the different types of waste visible.
From waste to resources
The waste solution has been carefully selected to cover our various waste types and at the same time with a focus that they must be easy for the cleaning staff to handle, so that they avoid heavy lifting.
Klaus Steen Hansen, Environmental Specialist, Vitrex Medical
The result
Increased focus yielded results: 25% less residual waste in 2023
Vitrex is a company that has a strong focus on sending as much waste as possible for recycling and not for incineration. It requires continuous effort and ongoing evaluation. Vitrex's goal for 2023 was to reduce residual waste by 5%. They managed to reduce the amount of residual waste by 25% and as much as 3 tons of waste was sent for recycling.
All in all, they had 13 tons of household waste in 2023, of which residual waste made up as much as 80%, so the effort produced both less waste and benefited their efforts towards a more environmentally sound organization, and this will influence their future climate accounts.
From waste to resources
In 2023, we managed to reduce the amount of residual waste by as much as 25%, and 3 tons of waste were sent for recycling instead of incineration.
Klaus Steen Hansen, Environmental Specialist, Vitrex Medical
Future expectations
Bica waste solutions must play a central role in further reducing waste volumes
The company is facing the opening of a new changing room for their employees, and waste sorting must of course also be available here. Here, the advantage of Bica waste sorting is that the solution can be scaled up and down as needed. In addition, the waste systems are easy to move around thanks to the mounted wheels behind the plinth. Also the steel surfaces make it possible to attach sorting guidelines with magnets to the waste bins and be able to easily remove them again.
Vitrex's ambition is to reduce the total amount of waste in the company over the next few years. Data for the first four months of 2024 show, compared to the same period in 2023, that their total amount of waste has decreased by 4 tons and the amount of residual waste has decreased by 0.5 tons. Over the past few years, they have gained some good experience in sorting and handling the "new" waste fractions. However, this is only possible because they work in a structured way and continuously make adjustments and evaluations of the waste quantities.
From waste to resources
We regularly make small news for the colleagues about the need of sorting the resources and not thrown away as residual waste. We believe this has a positive effect.
Klaus Steen Hansen, Environmental Specialist, Vitrex Medical
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