Founded in 1968, Bardyke Chemicals Ltd. in Lanarkshire, UK specialises in developing and manufacturing copper compounds primarily used as antifouling coatings on yacht hulls. The company is based in Blantyre near Glasgow and has 18 employees.

After attending a Zero Waste Scotland training workshop, the company saw additional opportunities to prevent waste from supplier packaging and, ultimately, cut its own waste disposal costs. With management support, the business began to engage with its supply chain to get a clearer picture of all the waste that is generated and identify opportunities for waste-reduction and cost-savings.

The company started by inspecting and monitoring its skips and bins to identify potential improvements. One of the raw materials used in the production process was supplied in a dry form in 25 kg plastic bags. The company did not produce sufficient quantities of empty bags to justify setting up a regular collection with a recycling contractor, and had insufficient space to store them until there was enough for a one-off collection. So, the bags were put in a skip. In the past, Bardyke Chemicals had investigated the possibility of the product being supplied in a liquid form, but this was not economically viable. However, following a change of supplier and in preparation for the implementation of the Waste (Scotland) Regulations, this was revisited.

Key results

Working with its supplier, the company has now installed equipment to store deliveries of liquid product. This action has resulted in 20 tonnes of plastic bags being completely removed from the waste stream.

Another raw material used in Bardyke’s production process comes from Australia. On investigation, it was discovered that 100 kg of cardboard ‘slips’ were used in each container to protect the product during transportation. The slips also ended up in skips destined for landfill. By engaging with its Australian supplier, Bardyke learned that it, too, was very interested in finding less wasteful practices. To determine if the slips were really necessary, the two companies agreed to a trial involving three containers where no slips were used. This proved successful and helped to remove 4 tonnes of cardboard annually from the waste stream.

Because Bardyke Chemicals has reduced the amount of material being sent to landfill, the annual number of skip change-overs has reduced from 46 to 26, saving some €2 254 (£ 2 000).