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Eco bus-cleaning trial proves a success

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26 Jan, 2024

This post was originally published on Sustainability Matters

In 2022, Australian bus operator Busways was searching for a sustainable set of detergents to replace the traditional cleaners used in its depots for bus washes, internal bus cleaning, depot cleaning and employee hand hygiene, including mechanics’ handwashing.

The company started a trial in October of that year, working with Klenall Industrial Suppliers (KIS) to test different products over an 8-week period. This involved engaging with Busways depot employees and adjusting the solution mix in response to feedback. A range of Good Environmental Choice Australia (GECA)-certified ecolabel nontoxic and biodegradable cleaning and degreasing solutions were tested in the trial, which proved a success.

Bus-wash automated control and dispenser.

The resulting cleaning solutions were rolled out to 19 Busways sites across NSW and SA by December 2022 in a concentrate form. Additionally, a custom-made automated dispenser for bus washes was developed, significantly reducing waste.

Since then, the cleaning solutions have kept Busways’ fleet of more than 1350 buses sparkling through over 46,000 bus wash cycles while leading to an 80% reduction in chemical drum packaging going to landfill, saving over 10,000 litres in chemicals manufactured and reducing transport emissions, with 14.6 fewer tonnes of freight shipped to Busways sites.1

Busways COO Chris Wolf said it was tricky to get the formulas just right. “There was a lot of testing and adjusting to achieve the right outcome that could deal with heavy-duty cleaning required in the bus industry,” he said.

“We already use grey water for our bus washes, but we felt it was important to invest in this next level to further enhance the safety of our people and the local environment around our depots as well as lowering our carbon footprint.”

GECA CEO Josh Begbie emphasised that certification from the independent not-for-profit organisation is a significant achievement. “GECA’s third-party assessment procedures are trusted and rigorous, looking at impacts across a product’s entire lifecycle, from extraction of raw materials to end of its life,” he said.

“Our licensees, Chemform and SC Johnson, had their products independently assessed against critical environmental, health, social and quality criteria. By procuring GECA-certified products, Busways has made a better choice for its employees, customers and our planet, and positioned itself as a leader and innovator within the industry.

“Our employees and communities can be confident that the cleaning products we now use have undergone a transparent, independent, third-party assessment against science-based criteria for a wide range of environmental, human health and social impacts across their entire lifecycle, while performing as promised,” Wolf added.

1. Figures are sourced from Klenall Industrial Suppliers reports on Busways site usage showing quantities of packaging, liquid products supplied and transport for product delivery.

Top image caption: Wheel cleaning.

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ABB receives EPD status for gearless mill drive ring motor

ABB receives EPD status for gearless mill drive ring motor

ABB has gained Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) status for its Gearless Mill Drive (GMD) ring motor — technology used to drive large grinding mills in the mining industry.

An EPD is a standardised document that provides detailed information about the environmental impact of a product throughout its life cycle. Based on a comprehensive Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study, the EPD highlights ABB’s commitment to transparency, environmental responsibility and supporting customers in making informed decisions on sustainability in their supply chains.

ABB analysed the environmental impact of a ring motor across its entire life cycle from supply chain and production to usage and end-of-life disposal. The study was conducted for a ring motor of a semi-autogenous grinding (SAG) mill with an installed power of 24 MW and was based on a reference service life of 25 years.

“Sustainability is at the core of our purpose at ABB, influencing how we operate and innovate for customers,” said Andrea Quinta, Sustainability Specialist at ABB. “By earning the Environmental Product Declaration for our ring motor, we emphasise our environmental stewardship and industry leadership for this technology. We adhered to the highest standards throughout this process, as we do in the ABB Ring Motor factory every day. This recognition highlights to the mining industry what they are bringing into their own operations when they work with ABB.”

The comprehensive LCA was conducted at ABB’s factory in Bilbao, Spain, and was externally verified and published in accordance with international standards ISO 14025 and ISO 14040/14044. It will remain valid for five years.

The ring motor, a key component of the GMD, is a drive system without any gears where the transmission of the torque between the motor and the mill is done through the magnetic field in the air gap between the motor stator and the motor rotor. It optimises grinding applications in the minerals and mining industries by enabling variable-speed operation, leading to energy and cost savings.

The full EPD for the ABB GMD Ring Motor can be viewed on EPD International.

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