Project Energy

EAGAN, Minn. (WCCO) ― Every minute 600 cans fly down the productions lines of the Coca-Cola facility in Eagan. As one of the largest plants in the country, it moved quickly to reuse, recycle and go green. Coca-Cola has a very ambitious plan.

"Our goal is to recycle 100 percent of the amount of stuff that we consume here," according to Stan Mathews, Production Manager of the Coca-Cola Eagan plant.

To do that, Coca-Cola started with simple things like collection barrels for shrink wrap. Nearly every shred of cardboard is recycled; that's 373 tons of it just last year.

A new machine crushes and packs plastic bottles and aluminum cans quickly and cleanly. It bales the used material and allows the company to sell the plastic and aluminum directly to a recycler, avoiding a middle man. Coca-Cola now saves about half million dollars in raw aluminum materials alone.

Those were the practical ideas, and then came the innovation.

The production lines now use a silicone lubricant to keep the cans sliding down the conveyor. Before it used water, lots of water.

"We were able to save, plant-wide, over two million gallons of water per year," according to Matthews.

Little plastic containers represent the most innovative change, a fascinating process that cost $17 million to install.

Only about two inches tall, they look like tiny bottles you would find in a medical lab. The small plastic tubes are automatically loaded and lined up. Next, they are heated to make the plastic soft and pliable.

Then, a fast moving machine fills the small mold with air, and poof, it expands into a full size plastic bottle. It's called a blow mold operation and produces 375 bottles per minute.

Now, the full size bottle is ready to be filled. You'll notice it on a store shelf as a bottle of Dasani water.

The system should pay for itself in about four years. Not because of the cost of plastic, but the cost of fuel.

"If we ship [the regular size bottle] across the road we need about 8.7 truckloads of these to make one truck load of [the tiny bottles]. So we're basically saving 7-and-a-half trips by sending it in [the regular size bottle] configurations versus [the tiny bottle] configuration," Matthews said.

Coca-Cola thinks lots of companies can save on energy and material, that's why it was one of the founding members of Waste Wise, an affiliate program of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce.

"We provide strategic environmental consulting to businesses so that they can save money on waste reduction, resource conservation and energy efficiency," said Mark Blaiser, Executive Director of Waste Wise.

Blaiser said the rising cost of fuel has really pushed companies to re-think every aspect of their business. It's not just about being environmentally responsible, it's about dollars and sense.

"What they are starting to realize is that they can save money in these areas, whereas in the past even five to 10 years ago some of these ideas cost businesses money, therefore they're a little harder to initiate," he said.

Coca-Cola made a huge investment in Hybrid electric trucks. The company even helped develop the technology for the electric system.

The electric rigs cost 70 percent more than a traditional diesel vehicle, but the investment will pay off according to Ken Norton, distribution manager, at the Eagan plant.

"For what we'll save in fuel over the course of a 10-year life span will more than pay for the cost of the truck," he said.

Coca-Cola has reduced carbon emissions, saved tons of resources and made money with the changes in Eagan. It's learned a lot along the way, and it's actually willing to share those lessons with other Minnesota companies.

"We're very proud of what we've done and we're very happy to share those best practices with other Minnesota businesses because Minnesotans recycle more than any other state in this country and we want to continue that," said Coca-Cola Vice President of Public Affairs Kevin Morris.

And that kind of leadership is from a huge corporation sets a good example for businesses big and small. Blaiser said that makes a sense.

"Hey, if they're doing it, it must be smart business so we should take a look at it as well," he said.

 

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