To achieve the best result after the incoming waste running through the reprocessing plant, it is of great importance which material we receive from our customers, and it is therefore important that there is a good balance between the particle sizes to produce garnet for micro and waterjet cutting.
Incoming waste from our Waterjet customers depending on the material that has been cut, pressure and thickness of the material, such as: stone, glass, stainless steel, and hardox, or whether 4000 or 6000 bar pressure has been used for cutting.
Garnet reprocessing system requires a significant capital investment, which means that the establishment of such reprocessing plants requires access to large quantities of waste, within a reasonable distance, as transport constitutes a large part of the total costs.
How does the GMA Garnet™ waste management program work? GMA's waste management program is currently operating in Italy, Dubai and America. Before returning used garnet, it is reviewed by GMA on a case by case basis, with the customer then ensuring it is environmentally safe to transport and process.
To ensure all loads of garnet are nonhazardous and an analysis must be prepared at an accredited laboratory. Next, GMA need a sample for sizing analysis to see whether we can get value from reprocessing the garnet or not.
Are there other sustainable options to offer customers in our reprocessing plants? It is of great importance that, as a responsible supplier, you can offer other options that cater to customers where reprocessing is not possible, because of unreasonably high transport prices or areas/countries where reprocessing is not possible or profitable because of too low volume.
Waste disposal, landfill or reprocessed as a raw material? In many countries in Europe and USA, waste from Waterjet is handled differently by the authorities and right down to the municipality/county level. We experience that the product is analyzed in different ways across different countries and overall it reveals we are at times quite a few steps away from looking into alternative ways to include waste from Waterjet as a raw product, for example, asphalt or concrete industry. The majority of all analyzes comply with applicable limit values and a large part of this is used as landfill.
At the same time, we see major problems in transporting waste across national borders, even if the purpose of this is to make use of our reprocessing facilities.
Fortunately, over many years throughout the world, we have built up competence in this area, which enables us to reprocess and offer alternative sustainable solutions.
Finally, it is the responsibility of the waste generator to ensure that spent materials are disposed in accordance with applicable solid waste regulations.
By Kjeld Lauritzen, GMA Europe