Gumte: Going green with water and chemical management

Moving towards a greener economy, National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) recently awarded Plascon the National Sustainable Environment Award in the Paint Factories sector for making the most effort towards protecting the environment through; Waste water management and Chemical waste management.

The recognition, Santosh Gumte, managing director at Plascon, says helps them know that what they are doing is on track and it always feels nice to be appreciated for doing something good.

“It acts as a morale booster for the whole team especially the personnel in charge of waste management and encourages us to do more,” Gumte says.

He adds that in conjunction with NEMA, they shall try to improve and get better technologies as they become more affordable.

Why

Gumte reveals they have been interacting with NEMA for a few years now and while he may be unsure about the other companies’ data, NEMA has their data.

“Maybe they’re impressed with what we do. They come and check independently. I believe it was after a series of visits and checks of different parameters that they may have got their conclusion,” he says.

Being environmentally friendly

One of the main contents in paint is lead, which is harmful. Over the years, Gumte says they have tried to make their paints lead-free making them eco-friendly.

“All our paints are also free of Volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Back in the day, you would enter a freshly painted house, and it would have that strong pungent smell. It is a different case now. We also make sure that most of our paints are water-based. We do not need additional solvents to make the paint ready for use,” he says.

He says that all solvents are chemicals that require more processing and can be bad for the environment. Therefore, they sell significant amounts of water-based products and are consistently doing innovations into even the products that previously would never be thought to be water-based. For instance, the recently rolled out water based woodcare varnish that protects timber, preserving its natural look for years.

“Like gloss paints are mostly solvent based. We are now making water-based gloss paints. That is also a significant amount that goes into research and development for these products to make them eco-friendly and less harmful to the environment,” he says.

Chemical, water management

Because paint waste can turn harmful when just released to the environment, Plascon has a plant where waste from the factory is collected and converted into a sludge.

“We separate chemicals from the water, the water is tested, treated. The residue is made into a sludge, which is sent to the incinerator for proper disposing in Nakasongola,” he says.

The benefit in that is all the chemicals that have not been utilised are compressed into a much smaller volume (sludge), which is then transported by NEMA certified transporters and burnt without releasing chemicals to the air.

Water treatment

Gumte reveals that they have had water treatment policies and facilities for more than 25 years and they have been upgrading their systems since.

Having a water treatment plant in Namanve and at Second Street industrial area, helps them treat the water in-house.

“As long as we are concerned, we are focusing on treating water because we are in an area with quite a significant population, we have to be mindful of the impact we are going to have on the environment as well as accidents. So, we focus on zero contamination of groundwater and soil,” he says.

Water treatment is largely done in Namanve, Plascon headquarters in Uganda because it was constructed accordingly

Water can get contaminated when making paint and it spills. Rainwater that falls on the premises is also collected for treatment because it can get contaminated.

After channelling it to the water treatment plant, it is treated and tested by dedicated chemists certified by NEMA for different parameters. After the testing, the water is then released or reused.

Selling the idea

“There are actually other companies who come to see our water treatment plant and how it works and we take them through several processes before they leave, so they can borrow a leaf for their facilities,” he says.

Companies, he says are getting conscious at the moment and people are looking more at how to reduce harmful impact on the environment. So everybody wants to learn from people who have been doing it.

“We show them what we are doing but it is up to them to implement them in their businesses. However, the fact that they are interested in the things we do to create a clean environment is a huge start. Everyone is quite conscious of their impact on the environment and corporates are heading towards cleaner energy, reducing waste as well,” he adds.

Environmental conservation initiatives

Gumte reveals that they have participated in tree planting initiatives with different entities like Tooro kingdom, the malaria consortium, the Health Ministry, and that is something they continuously do.

Some organisations who undertake tree planting usually reach out for sponsorships in that regard, the sponsorships they normally take on as well.

“The forest coverage is being depleted fast from firewood, charcoal and timber harvesters, yet it is a very important aspect for soil conservation and cleaner air. We want to be a part of those who want to replenish the forest cover that is reducing through planting trees,” he says.

This is more than giving back to the community according to the Plascon managing director. Doing their bit in conserving the environment by planting trees, treating water and treating solvents that they use to reuse them instead of releasing them to the environment.

“We try and treat waste and recycle as much as we can to conserve the resources, and the environment.”

To reduce the use of paper in a bid to be part of a greener environment, Gumte says that they are trying to do more things digitally. Looking at how many reams of paper are used in a month and finding a way of reducing them, among other initiatives.

Any damaged paint, he adds, is also taken back for proper disposal as per company and ISO guidelines. This adds to the culture that every employee, in their own way, tries to reduce waste.

He thus advises everyone to be responsible on how they dispose of the empty paint containers. With instructions on how to dispose of the used containers and more instructions online their hope if for their clients to store and dispose of them on sites in a better way. 

“Let us get in the habit of reducing waste, recycling and if some plastics are not recyclable, dispose in a better way rather than disposing them in the road or water body,” Gumte says.