Taking a full-team, hands-on approach to zero waste in Argentina
By Juliana Oroquieta, Environmental, Health and Safety Manager
The hub of our international R&D operations and our largest plant in Latin America recently reached their zero-waste-to-landfill goals. We accomplished that feat through the collective efforts of an empowered group of individuals taking ownership as well as the contributions of everyone on-site.
At the Aldo Bonzi cleaning plant near Buenos Aires, Argentina, our path-to-zero program engaged everyone in our facility with training activities, idea sharing from all areas and even sorting the food in the cafeteria.
The interactive and engaging training program used miniature models to show specific examples of waste and how to properly sort items in a section. The sessions were credited as key to getting heads around the effort as the trainer could provide hands-on guidance with corrections or clarifications.
Once team members were implementing their lessons, the learning and feedback continued. Daily inspections were an opportunity to name areas of improvement on things like location, type and number of sorting containers, and labeling to ensure waste was disposed of properly. The feedback loop also allowed the team to find materials that could be reused, such as the plastic bottles from the blowing process.
And the work even stayed top of mind in the cafeteria, where a campaign highlighted food waste and tips for composting.
Thanks to teamwork, the Aldo Bonzi plant and R&D facility help us take another step toward the company’s goals of achieving ZWtL in all plants by 2025 and all global facilities by 2030.