The project happened from September 2017 to January 2018 in partnership with KLM Airlines. The team worked with a small unit called Scrap Plaza which is part of Engineering and Maintenance Department.
Ingenious is an organizational design process especially designed for the Engineering & Maintenance Department of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines to collaboratively manage their plastic waste. It focuses on the ‘3R rule’ of sustainability: ‘Reduce, Reuse and Recycle’. The process also includes use of technology to provide information and visibility on the waste materials they collect.
KLM Scrap Plaza handles waste management. It was founded in 2006 as a maintenance sector for the aeroplanes that flew via Amsterdam Schiphol airport.
In the past few years, the plastic waste coming out with maintenance and wrapping of those components has been increasing. As they have no sustainable way to deal with plastic, it was being sent for incineration.
The research was composed by desk research on plastic recycling, participant observation, visits to stakeholders. After, there were brainstorming sessions to come up with creative ideas to solve the problems found. The selected idea was a process for the correct delivery on plastic waste.
Ingenious starts with special training sessions and workshops to encourage the employees to reduce the use of plastic. Further, KLM Scrap Plaza’s Providers sort out the plastic waste, which is tracked by sensors, within the unit. This data goes to an app that reads and provides information about what has been collected. Later, the managers can analyse and think on the best destiny for the waste: recycling or selling for reuse, enabling them to make strategic decisions.
Ingenious with its components successfully provides KLM Scrap Plaza with an efficient and strategic solution to send plastic waste for eco-responsible destinies. It makes use of the 3R’s from sustainability “reduce, reuse and recycle” since the system provides tools to reduce the consumption of plastic goods, a platform to sell what can still be reused and proper understanding of steps needed prior plastic recycling.
The technology – Smart Bin and the Scrapalyzing App – is adaptable. Engineering & Maintenance Department cannot only track the volume of specific plastic waste, but also apply to track metal waste. It is also possible to control the waste provided by airlines and reverse the supply-chain. The solution plays in the middle of the process giving an overview of both the production and the destiny of plastic waste. Consequently, managers have enough information to decide the most suitable action regarding sustainability.
