Case Studies Article

How NISP helped two North East companies to turn waste into a resource

Procter and Gamble is saving up to £10,000 a year after a chance meeting at a NISP North East Quick Wins Workshop. Procter and Gamble has been able to develop a long-term business arrangement with WesChem that is diverting 200 tonnes of washing powder a year from landfill.

The challenge

At their Technical Centre in Newcastle upon Tyne, Procter and Gamble develop and test washing powders and detergents for markets across the world.

During the development and testing of these powders they are left with large quantities of raw material such as sodium sulphate and sodium carbonate – along with other surfactants and bleaching agents. Procter and Gamble previously treated these materials as general waste and sent them to local landfill sites at significant cost.

The solution

Procter and Gamble attended a NISP North East Quick Wins Workshop in North Shields. These workshops enable companies to network and find practical and profitable uses for their by-products.

This was the perfect place to find businesses Procter and Gamble could work with; businesses like WesChem, who specialise in finding markets for redundant and surplus stocks of chemicals.           

Procter and Gamble got talking to NISP member WesChem at the workshop. By discussing each other’s business requirements informally in person, they developed a good working relationship. A business opportunity was quick to follow.

WesChem arranged to collect surplus material from Proctor and Gamble on a monthly basis, and sell it on for use in other applications.

The results

• £10,000 of cost savings each year for Procter and Gamble.
• Additional sales for WesChem.
• 200 tonnes of waste a year diverted from landfill.
• 317 tonnes of CO2 emissions a year prevented through the reuse of waste material.
• 200 tonnes of virgin material saved each year.

The future

Procter and Gamble and WesChem will continue to work together, symbiotically, to increase profits and decrease environmental impacts.

Over to you…

Don’t miss out on your chance to create profitable business relationships through the National Industrial Symbiosis Programme (NISP):

01642 342409

northeast@nisp.org.uk

www.nisp.org.uk (select North East from the ‘Regional links’ drop down menu on the home page)

More information:

For more information, visit our section on Exchanging or trading your waste