From the Resene News – issue 4/2008

Washing wisely - Resene WashWise Reclaimer
Keen to leave no stone unturned in the quest for sustainability, the new Club Tower in Christchurch designed to achieve a green star rating is also putting sustainability initiatives into action on site. The Resene WashWise system has been set up on site to take care of painter wastes. The system drains into a main waste water flow effectively controlling the waste water flow from site.

The Resene WashWise Reclaimer is portable, fast and easy to use with quick separation, requiring only a low quantity of treatment chemicals reducing the materials needed to separate the water and paint, and the water phase can be used as the primary wash for application equipment and returned to the unit minimising water consumption.

The grey water from a Reclaimer unit after 1 hour of settling will pass through a 5 micron filter. After 12 hours settlement it will pass through a 0.5 micron carbon filter. The technology is based on the same flocculation techniques used in paint factories that require stages of additives and agitation. All that is needed for ongoing use is Resene WashWise Reclaimate.

Each Resene WashWise Reclaimer is manufactured from industrial grade fibreglass and coated on the inside with chemical resistant gel coat. This provides a durable long-term solution that can stand up to the rigours of the weather.

The high quality effluent produced by this system can be reused saving massive amounts of potable water. Field-testing completed by RA Industries shows that 95% of the original water can be saved each treatment and reused. A Mk1 300 litre Reclaimer can therefore recycle the content of the holding tank 20 times and have 50 litres remaining in the tank. This equates to a saving of approximately 2,500 litres of potable water. If the system is in permanent use in a static situation the holding tank can be regularly topped up and polished to extend water quality and water savings.

The Reclaimer system has been thoroughly tested and confirmed for use by The Queensland Government and separately Sydney Water in conjunction with the Master Painters Association of NSW.

With the Resene WashWise Reclaimer taking care of all waterborne paint wash waste, the Resene ‘two container’ system can be used to take care of the solventborne wash.

Building contractor: Hawkins Construction
Resene: Haydn George, Canterbury Trade Sales Representative

 
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