Forecourt
January/February 2003
How
Green was my
Forecourt?
Part 3 Not in My Back Yard
n the final in our environment series we bring the issue closer to home.
Service stations, in particular those with automotive
workshops, are potentially very high polluters of the environment. But,
the days of flushing oily wastes to the storm water drain are numbered.
It's time to get your environment act together, and in some States,
the resources you need are already here.
Major car companies have programs developed by EMS specialists
for their dealerships - setting industry standards and benchmarks and
usually accreditation to ISO14001, the international EMS standard which
addresses both regulatory compliance and continual improvement. They
are satisfied that Environmental Management Systems (EMSs) can reduce
their business's impact on the environment, improve operational efficiency,
identify opportunities for cost savings and reduce environmental liability.
For example, Ford, in association with Environment Recovery
Systems, has developed a system for its dealer network, including provision
of waste bins, collection and treatment of waste according to government
requirements. Beyond this a Ford Dealership EMS workbook is available.
"Dealer participation in these programs varies across our networks,"
says Henry Marszalek, Manager Environmental Quality Office, Ford Asia
Pacific. "We would like all dealers to be certified to ISO14001.
However, to date only one has taken on this challenge. Environmental
control and waste management at the dealer level needs to be part of
everyday business. Our experience also tells us that there are significant
financial incentives for the introduction of an EMS with reduced waste
and energy costs."
"The major car companies are taking a strategic approach,"
adds Hjalmar Philipp, Director, UTR Australia, an Australian subsidiary
of the international UTR Consulting Group. "We specialize in management
systems and strategies and also work with the vehicle suppliers. They
are establishing the benchmark for the industry. However, smaller workshops
can take some basic steps to improvement by using the correct materials,
appropriate trade waste disposal, and recycling."
Independent automotive repairers, including those attached
to service stations, need to comply with the laws set down by their
State environmental protection authority. Increasingly, society will
want you to do more.
An idea whose
time has come
Three of the motor trades organizations either offer or are developing
specific programs available to workshop owners (and others).
Through CR Management Systems' Warren Mills, the VACC
offers the "Clean Green Shop" program. Developed in consultation
with the Victorian EPA, it leads to accreditation and the right to display
the "Clean Green Shop" logo, and with additional measures,
to ISO 14001 accreditation. The main features of the program are an
internal audit, guided by a comprehensive manual and flipchart, a desk
top review by the VACC, and the development, implementation and continued
operation of a documented environmental management system. The manual
covers both regulatory requirements and good practice guidelines. Coverage
is broad, including waste water (bunding, washing vehicles, waste water
discharge, trade waste agreements); general waste; prescribed waste;
recycling; spray painting; solvents; spills; noise; air pollution; conserving
energy; storage tanks; emergency response procedures; disposal of waste
oil, glycol products, waste batteries, and scrap tyres; and cleaning
parts.
In New South Wales, MTANSW is also working with that State's
EPA to develop the "Green Seal" program. Announced in May
last year, it will offer three levels of accreditation from compliance
to benchmark standard, and a corresponding number of green seals. "The
major environmental issues are damage to waterways and toxic waste to
landfill," says Diane Miller, Division Manager, MTANSW. "We
will focus on providing information about the resources available to
businesses and the costs and benefits of accreditation."
The Green Stamp program developed by the MTAWA in conjunction
with the WA Department of Environmental Protection is assisting small
to medium businesses in the automotive trade to incorporate processes
that avoid, reduce, reuse, recycle or dispose of their wastes in an
environmentally friendly manner. A recent winner of the WA Environment
Award, the program's overall aim is to provide responsible businesses
with the Green Stamp accreditation and encourage vehicle owners to utilise
the services of those businesses.
"When the Department first sent out its codes of
practice to workshops in 1997 the message just did not get through,"
says Bernie Reigler, Green Stamp Coordinator, MTAWA. "We looked
at the regulations and realised we needed to bring it down to practical,
every day activities. The main issues are waste water degreasing, so
the oil does not go into the sewer, or worse the storm water drain;
and waste disposal for products such as oil, coolant, parts washer fluids,
batteries, tyres, and cardboard."
There are three levels
of Green Stamp accreditation:
·
Level 1 The business meets all legislative requirements
and holds all relevant licenses for their business activities. This
is a mandatory entry requirement to the Green Stamp Accreditation.
·
Level 2 The business achieves Level 1 requirements plus a minimum
number of non-legislative practices such as recycling of particular
wastes, use of less toxic chemicals, water-based parts washers, emergency
spill kits, staff education or energy saving devices.
·
Level 3 The business achieves Level 2 requirements plus has an environmental
management system, or similar, that will help monitor and manage their
impacts.
With the MTAWA program - much of it accessible on its
website - there is the free information required to take a business
from below standard to full accreditation. One of its key features is
a comprehensive directory of the 32 suppliers and waste contractors
in WA that will assist with implementing environmentally sound practices.
Environmental audits are available as either a self-assessment or can
be conducted at no cost by an MTA representative on the business' behalf
to develop a management plan. The cost to become Green Stamp accredited
is $165 for MTAWA members, and $275 for non-members.
So far, it has been a mixed response from the workshop
owner. "For many, it is not a lack of will, but a lack of means
and knowledge," says Diane Miller, "The motor trades programs
are designed to fill in the information gap."
Do the right thing,
but how much does it cost?
"There is a strong interest from small businesses to do the right
thing, but often they just don't know what they need to do," adds
Bernie Riegler. "We have had 136 people from 88 companies and organisations
attend 13 environmental seminars since their inception less than 12
months ago."
In Victoria, 60 businesses have completed the program.
"Costs deter some," says Warren Mills. "The Clean Green
Shop program costs $825 (extra for an external audit), and then there
are the costs of implementation and upgrading facilities. They don't
see the benefits, yet there is a net gain if it is managed well."
Bernie Reigler agrees, "Environmental improvement
can both reduce costs and increase costs, depending on how efficient
the business is to start with. At $160 each year for a licence, $150
each time it is emptied, plus the capital outlay, the installation of
a triple interceptor trap is a costly exercise in WA. The biggest complaint
is the lack of enforcement by the authorities. People doing the right
thing are justifiably upset when the business round the corner is washing
oils into the storm water drain. The Department is under-resourced."
"There are insufficient carrots and sticks,"
adds Warren Mills. "In particular, the EPA is not sufficiently
active, with known offenders not acted against. They don't even ensure
their own vehicles are repaired by environmentally responsible repairers."
Perhaps it will be your increasingly environmentally conscious
customers that decide. "The Green Stamp is a marketing tool,"
says Bernie Reigler. "We want consumers to start choosing a repairer
based on environmental performance and to use only accredited businesses.
We will be advertising through newspapers and listing accredited businesses
on the website. It's not that difficult to be accredited. One of the
first businesses to apply for the top level was a 3-person workshop.
They attended one of the Green Stamp's environmental seminars, arranged
an audit (they had no wash down bay or bunding), implemented a plan,
and within 6 months achieved top level. It's just good management at
the end of the day."
An idea whose time has come, the next step is the development
of a national program, with the motor trades organizations, in particular
MTAWA, already working with Environment Australia to this end.
An age old problem
Back on the forecourt, or rather under the forecourt, is the age-old
problem of underground tanks. Is there a national coordinated approach
just around the corner? The new (2002) AIP Code of Practice CP4 for
the design, installation, and operation of underground petroleum storage
systems is part of the new framework of regulation for underground tanks
in Victoria. This regulation has been developed by the EPA Victoria,
in consultation with a range of stakeholders including AIP, PICA, VACC
and the Victorian Workcover Authority. The rest of the country is showing
a lot of interest in the code.
"The emphasis is on leak detection for existing storage.
For new sites (and major refits), you are required to use equipment,
tanks and, more importantly pipes, appropriate to the groundwater risk,"
says Ewen Macpherson, Deputy Director, AIP. "In high risk areas,
you need double skins on pumps and tanks, and monitoring of groundwater.
In some low risk areas, single skins are still acceptable."
The trend with the major oil companies is to exceed the
code. For example, all new Shell retail sites are fitted with double
wall underground tanks with a non-corrosive fibreglass outer skin, flexible
plastic pipes and non-corrosive fittings.
The code recommends two types of leak monitoring - statistical
inventory reconciliation analysis (SIRA) based on daily dips, and automatic
tank gauging. "Most leaks develop from incorrect installation in
the first place," adds Ewen Macpherson. "The Petroleum Industry
Contractors Association has developed an installation code of practice
and accreditation system for installers. You should use someone who
follows the code."
Contacts
Let the sun shine in
Take a glimpse into the future at the new BP Connect
retail sites with the latest solar technology. The new sites use thin
film cells that are painted directly onto the surface of the structure.
The canopy captures solar energy and lets in the light at the same time.
"Energy from the sun is unlimited and pollution free and the cells
provide around ten per cent of the site's energy needs," says Colin
Gomm, Director Environmental Affairs, BP Australia. "While still
not competitive with mains-supplied electricity the gap is narrowing year
on year. We use the sites to demonstrate the technology, and demand is
rising with global sales of solar cells growing at 30% per annum."
Credit where it is due
When Caltex franchisee, Peter Taylor, built his state-of-the-art
service station at Canberra Airport he made the environment one of the
key criteria. Last year, he won the ACT's Master Builders' Association
environmental award in recognition of his use of new technology, including
geothermal heating, double glazing, and water recycling."
In 2001, another Caltex site, this time at Petersham,
NSW, won the Marrickville Council's award for Best Environmental Performance.
The 'winning' elements were the overall cleanliness of the site, the
water recycling programs, disposal of waste oil, and the training provided
to ensure a quick response to oil and fuel spillages.