THE REVERSE LOGISTICS IMPORTANCE
IN THE MANAGEMENT OF RESIDUES OF PLASTIC PACKAGING OF LUBRICANTS AND THE
PROGRAM JOGUE LIMPO
Everaldo Francisco da Silva
Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e
Tecnologia de São Paulo
E-mail: everaldo_silvaf@globomail.com
Luís Fernando Ferreira Damasceno
Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e
Tecnologia de São Paulo
E-mail: luisfernandofd@yahoo.com.br
Prof. Dr. Luiz Teruo Kawamoto Júnior
Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e
Tecnologia de São Paulo
E-mail: teruo@ifsp.edu.br
Submission: 03/01/2017
Accept: 14/01/2017
ABSTRACT
This article aims to demonstrate the
importance of the Reverse Logistics in the management of solid residues through
the Jogue Limpo program, an initiative dedicated to the destination and recycling
of lubricant packaging. In the current context, where natural resources are
scarce, the environmental issue is a factor of differentiation in business, so
the destination of the waste we produce along the production chain and the
possibility of reuse and mitigation of possible environmental impacts are
extremely important for the society. The article seeks to show how the Reverse
Logistics is the means to interconnect stakeholders for the correct destination
and reuse of resources, as well as the benefits of this initiative for the
society.
Keywords: Reverse Logistics, Jogue
Limpo Program, Waste Management, Plastic Packaging, Lubricants.
1. INTRODUCTION
Over the last years, there is a constant concern for
the planet's natural resources and sustainability. The adoption of new
techniques, tools, technologies, has contributed significantly in this process.
Concern over resource scarcity, pollution of the environment and forms of
responsible consumption triggers the concern about the ultimate destination of
what remains of the process after consumption.
In this context in particular there are types of
packaging that are important that have a differential treatment in their return
to the production process and reuse and its correct destination, because it contains
products that are highly polluting to the soil and water, for example
lubricants, which are oil-derived and in contact with the soil cause enormous
environmental damage.
However, the fact that there is currently innovation
in environmentally sustainable packaging is not enough if there is not, above
all, a waste management policy that can guarantee the tracking of packaging
along the consumption chain and the post-consumption return. This management is
only possible from the involvement of those responsible for the supply chain
that is currently called reverse logistics. The aim of reverse logistics is to
promote the set of actions and practices that guarantees the return of waste to
the production process and the responsible disposal of what cannot be reused.
Initiatives such as the Jogue Limpo program show the reverse logistics in
practice.
2. METHODOLOGY USED
The report will be done through a case study of a
descriptive and qualitative character, since it reports and analyzes the Jogue
Limpo program and the value of the reverse logistics in the management of
residues of lubricating packaging.
One of the methods for data collection and survey will
be based on the use of information about structured and informative interviews
with managers and information, conducted through basically two forms: the first
one is intended to the survey of characteristics of the Jogue Limpo program and
how it performs the reverse logistics, and the second is to investigate the
reasons why it is important to implement this program.
According to Yin (2001), one of the most important
sources of information for a case study is the interviews, as this nature of
the interviews allows you to both inquire about the facts in a way and ask for
their opinion about certain events, and in some situations you may even ask the
respondent to present their own interpretations of certain events.
Data collection will also be used based on the method
of documentation and records in files for use in conjunction with other sources
of information. According to Yin (2001), documents perform an obvious role in
any data collection, when conducting case studies, because systematic searches
for documents are important in any planning for the survey.
3. REVERSE LOGISTICS
To define the concepts that guide Reverse Logistics,
it is necessary to understand the meaning of the evolution of the Logistics
concept and its importance to the results. According to Moura (1989, p. 26, our
translation), it is understood that:
[...] It is
possible to define the company's logistic system as the set of resources
(manpower, production resources, machines, vehicles, handling and storage
elements) employed to physically develop all manufacturing, storage and
handling operations, which ensure the flow of materials from the suppliers to
the customer[1].
Logistics can be conceptualized as the part of Supply
Chain Management that plans, implements and controls the flow and the efficient
and economical storage of raw materials, semi-finished materials and finished
products, as well as information about them, from the point of origin to the
point of consumption, in order to meet the requirements of customers (CARVALHO, 2002, p. 31).
Until the 80's, the concept of
Logistics was only approached about the prism from the raw material, to the end
customer, not caring about the waste of this process. With the evolution of
Logistics itself as a science, the increase in the structure of operations,
processes, tools and indicators to measure the results of Logistics in the
organizations, the incorporations of concepts that have transformed information
flows and goods in the world, such as the Supply Chain Management, the Lean
Manufacturing, the Toyotism, among others, in addition to the advent of concern
with the environment, the concept of Logistics was expanded to include all
operations from conception, passing through information flows, raw material,
manufactured products, passing through the final customer until its correct
disposal, reuse or return to the production process.
This phenomenon was conceptualized as
Reverse Logistics, the Logistics area that is concerned with the reverse flows
of the post-consumer products, the consumer for the correct disposal and the
return to the production process.
It is also defined as:
The process of
planning, implementing and control of the efficiency and cost effectiveness of
the flow of raw materials, process inventories, finished products and the
corresponding information from the point of consumption to the point of origin
with the purpose of recapturing the value or allocating it to the appropriate
layout (ROGERS; TIBBEN-LEMBKE, 1998, p. 2, our translation)[2].
Reverse Logistics’ concern is not only environmental,
but also of adding value to the product, or minimizing the use of raw materials
incorporating post-consumer waste, and ensuring the proper destination of what
can’t be reused. For Leite (2003, our translation), Reverse Logistics is:
[...] Such as the area of business logistics that plans,
operates, and controls the flow and corresponding logistics information from
the return of after-sales and post-consumer goods to the business cycle or
production cycle, through reverse distribution channels, adding value to them
of various natures: economic, ecological, legal, logistic, corporate image,
among others[3].
Liva et al. (2003) divides Reverse Logistics into
three distinct areas:
·
Reverse Logistics after sales: responsible for the
return flows of products under warranty, or errors of orders, or even returns.
·
Post-consumer Reverse Logistics: responsible for the flows
of post-consumer waste to be increased to the production process or appropriate
disposal.
·
Reverse Logistics of Packaging: Responsible for
packaging flows. Although included in the two above, there is a special
attention due to the fact that a packaging has a significant cost in the
productive process.
Within these three large areas of Reverse Logistics,
are concentrated the activities as the illustration below.
Figure 1: Main
Activities of Reverse Logistics
From: Lacerda, 2002.
Residues from establishments that centralize
collections are directed to the following activities of the reverse process:
·
Disposal: Waste that can’t be recycled or those after
a previous separation can’t be reused and are directed to the ground according
to the legal requirements;
·
Recycling: Consumables that can be recycled are
separated and directed to reprocessing and creating new products returning to
the productive cycle of the same or another product.
·
Reconditionnement: Possibility of products that can be
reconditioned or repaired to be re-placed in the market.
·
Resell: There is also the possibility of resale of the
inputs provided by Reverse Logistics to others suppliers who are dedicated to
feed back the production cycle.
·
Return to supplier: The return to the supplier is something
constant within the systems of reverse logistics, mainly of packaging that
return to the productive cycle.
Below is an illustration that shows how these
activities work:
Figure 2: Focus of Reverse Logistics Activities
From:
Leite, 2003.
Currently in Brazil, there are several types of waste
and packaging that are performed by the Reverse Logistics, but this article
will focus on Reverse Logistics of lubricants packaging.
4. PACKAGING OF LUBRICANTS AND RECYCLING
Lubricant
packaging are mostly made of a HDPE body (High Density Polyethylene) and its PP
cap (Polypropylene Synthetic Polymer). According to the Federation of
Industries of the State of São Paulo-FIESP (2007), HDPE is the second most
recycled resin in the world.
According
to the website “Tudo sobre Plástico” (“All About Plastic”, our translation),
HDPE has as its main characteristics the chemical resistance, the lower
viscosity and the higher hardness that is the result of the manufacturing
process. According to the product catalog of Hipermetal, others characteristics
of HDPE are the low coefficient of friction, being weldable, easy to be
moldable and can be printed and non-stick.
According
to the information portal of the company Asta Química, HDPE, by its
characteristics, is used mainly in cosmetic packaging, chemical and cleaning
products, pipes for chemicals and gas products, and even fuel tanks for
automotive vehicles. In the figure below, some HDPE packaging used for
lubricant storage.
Figure 3: Types of HDPE Packaging – Lubricants
From: FIESP, 2007.
The
main packagings of HDPE are in models of 500 ml and 1 liter, but also have
bigger and smaller sizes according to the types of uses. For lubricants there
is the use of larger bottles (20 Liters) for trucks, buses and vans, for
example. Fluid packaging and additives in general have sizes between 200 ml and
500 ml, because their use is not sporadic.
Recycling
of plastic has been a recurring theme in the concerns with the future of the
generations. HDPE, for example, despite being highly recyclable, recycling is
still very low in Brazil. According to data from SINDIPLAST (Syndicate of the
Plastic Material Industry of the State of São Paulo) in the FIESP report
(2007), recycling of HDPE in 2004 was only 8.56% of the packaging produced.
The
most common process for recycling HDPE is mechanical recycling. According to
the site Techduto, after the separation of the packaging, they are ground,
melted, cut and granulated. Below is a flowchart where you can check the steps
of this process.
Figure 4: Plastic recycling process
From: FIESP, 2007.
After
separation, the HDPE packaging goes through a wash where the residues
(lubricating oils) are separated for refining. After this, it passes through
the drying, agglutination, extrusion and cooling to be granulated for later
use.
Each
plastic packaging has a symbology that indicates the type of plastic resin used
in the packaging. According to the norm ABNT NBR 13230/2008, uses numbers from
1 to 7 involved on a triangle of three arrows according to the models below.
What the HDPE indicates is number 2.
Figure 5: Symbology of Identification of Plastic
Materials
From: ABNT NBR 13230/2008.
The
recycling of HDPE comes in Brazil, especially with the implementation of
specific environmental legislation and a Reverse Logistics program that
guarantees the collection of packaging, which will be dealt in the next
chapters.
5. ENVIRONMENTAL LEGISLATION - NATIONAL SOLID WASTE
POLICY
The
regulatory issues about the correct disposal of waste from lubricant packages
and their debris have long been in Brazil. Unfortunately, it took time to
regulate the issue and there are still major shortcomings to be demanded.
Since
the 1990s, there have been major discussions about the subject in the country.
The question of how to regulate the activity, separate the activities of
refining of the contaminated lubricant, the recycling of the packaging and the
responsibilities of each one of the agents involved in the chain were the
questions demanded for the implementation of the current legislation.
In
1993, CONAMA (National Environment Council) determined in Resolution 09/1993
the procedures for the management of the used lubricating oil and its refinery.
This resolution was updated through Resolution 362/2005 where CONAMA provided
for the collecting, the collection and final destination of used or
contaminated lubricating oil. It was regulated by ANP resolutions 125 to
130/99, where it regulated the activity of refining of used or contaminated oil
in Brazil.
In
CONAMA Resolution 362/2005, it was considered in accordance with ABNT NBR
10.004 that the lubricating oil used and its containers as hazardous waste due
to its toxicity, and because of the potential risk of environmental damage,
should have a different treatment for disposal and treatment. However, CONAMA's
resolution was restricted only to the lubricating oil used, not considering the
final destination of the packaging.
Finally,
in 2010, the law 12.305/2010 was sanctioned, instituting the National Policy on
Solid Waste. An advanced legislation, which contemplates the basic principles
for a policy to elaborate initiatives for the correct disposal and reuse of
debris, according to article 13 of the law, includes hazardous solid waste,
which in accordance with ABNT NBR 10.004, including packaging.
The
National Solid Waste Policy, in addition to disciplining the competencies of
Federative entities, those involved in the product life cycle (manufacturers,
importers, distributors, traders, customers) introduced the obligation of the
implementation of Reverse Logistics systems to:
1.
Agrochemicals and packaging;
2.
Piles and Batteries;
3.
Tires;
4.
Lubricating oils, waste and packaging;
5.
Fluorescent lamps, sodium and mercury vapor lamps and
mixed lamps;
6.
Electronic products and their components.
The
National Policy on Solid Waste was regulated by Law 7404/2010, which among
other measures established the obligation of sectoral agreements with the
Public Power to implement Reverse Logistics systems. In the next chapter will
be approached the Jogue Limpo program, which was the result of the sector
agreement in compliance with the legislation.
6. JOGUE LIMPO PROGRAM
The
Jogue Limpo program started its activities in Rio Grande do Sul, in 2005,
initially to comply with the state legislation of the SEMA/FEPAM O1/2003 Ordinance,
the result of an agreement between environmental agencies and lubricant
manufacturers.
There
was a positive repercussion of the program that started an expansion. At 2008
it was implemented in Paraná and at 2010 in Santa Catarina. With the approval
of the National Policy on Solid Waste and the construction of the Sector
Agreement between the representatives of the manufacturers and resellers, the
Ministry of the Environment started an expansion of the program.
By
the end of 2015, the program was present in 3150 municipalities, 14 states and
the Federal District. According to the Executive Director of the Jogue Limpo
Institute, the program received about 4.700 tons of packaging. Today, the
program is responsible for collection in gas stations, transporters, automotive
centers, concessionaires, auto parts, supermarkets and wholesalers registered
in the program.
Below,
the figure 6 shows a graph that represents the participation of the retail
distribution channels in the sale of lubricants in Brazil. The importance of
understanding the Brazilian retail market is fundamental, because it is where
there is a greater focus on the actions of the Jogue Limpo program.
Figure 6: Distribution Channels Retailing of
Lubricants in Brazil
From:
Sindicom/Jogue Limpo 2014.
With
the approval of the sector agreement in 2012 between the Ministry of the
Environment and SINDICOM (Syndicate National of Fuel and Lubricant Distribution
Companies), the companies of the lubricants sector assumed shared
responsibility with manufacturers, importers, distributors and retailers.
According to the agreement provides that:
·
Consumer: Return the used packaging to the dealer or
distributor, preferably where it was purchased.
·
Retail Trade / Retail / Distributor: Store correctly
and make available to the Program Receipts;
·
Manufacturers and Importer: Maintain a Reverse
Logistics system, receive from the dealer or Distributor and make the process
of recycling or correct disposal of the debris.
After
the Industry Agreement, each state has a State agreement, where a compromise
term is signed where there are the main goals and obligations of the agents
involved. Each state makes a bid for the choice of the company that will be
responsible for the collection and destination of the packaging. Below is an
image that shows how the Jogue Limpo program works:
Figure 7: Collection Process of the Jogue Limpo Program
From:
Jogue Limpo Program.
The
trucks of the program leave the bases with the predetermined itinerary of
establishment where the packaging will be collected. All trucks are trackable
with GPS technology.
When
arriving at the establishment the packaging must be collected after having the
proper storage of the place. The amount of packaging is heavy and after the processing,
a way of collection is left with the customer.
Below,
the figure shows the form that should be stored in the packaging for later
collection.
Figure 8: Flow of lubricating oil and separation of
packaging
From:
FIESP, 2007.
After collection in the establishments, the trucks take
the packaging to the Receiving Centers where the material is pressed and stored
to be sent to the recycling process.
Figure 9: Truck of the Jogue Limpo Program
From:
Jogue Limpo Program.
Today, the program has 23 collection centers, 69
trucks that make scheduled collections and 190 people that are employed in this
process. More than 420 million packaging have been recycled since 2005,
according to the program's website.
In addition to the reverse logistics of packaging used
like lubricant, the Jogue Limpo program focuses on environmental education,
raising children's awareness of the importance of recycling for sustainability.
On the site of the program, several materials are aimed at the guidance of
teachers and students about the environmental issue and the correct disposal of
packaging.
Figure 10: Educational Material
From:
Jogue Limpo Program.
Therefore, the Jogue Limpo program is being
implemented in Brazil, and its future goal is to expand to the states of the
Midwest and North of the country and in the states of Maranhão and Piauí, and
the implementation of a new modeling in these states, called PEVs - Points of
Voluntary Deliveries, instead of the collection system.
7. DISCUSSION
In Brazil, the sector responsible for the recycling
processes of used packaging is still very small. It is necessary to encourage
the recycling sector, because despite an advanced legislation, there are not
incentives for the sector. The reduction of taxes could be a way to encourage
the sector, since we are still crawling on the question recycling of many
products.
Another important issue is to oblige manufacturers to
develop a packaging traceability program, because this would bring greater
results to the Jogue Limpo program, as well as being able to control the amount
of packaging from which they are being recycled. This control will also guide
decisions such as which packaging continues to produce, or how to effectively
improve the distribution of products, for example.
Actions like Jogue Limpo are still limited, especially
with regard to the forms of collections. The program should study new ways to
collect packaging, adapt forms of collections according to locations and
improve the efficiency of collections. PEVs (Points of Voluntary Deliveries)
are an alternative, but there is a need for strategic plans and other solutions
that increase collection capacity in remote regions.
The program can use environmental legislation as a way
to help in articulating with the generating points. Improve communication with
generating points, especially in communication for collection, since the
registered establishment does not have access to the day of collection, for
example, with communication with establishments, they can plan actions, improve
the space for separation and accumulation of packaging.
The National Solid Waste Policy was essential for the
introduction of the Reverse Logistics culture of waste, especially those listed
in national legislation. They did not only create the Jogue Limpo program, but
also some other companies specialized in this operation. However, there are
still many conflicts with state and municipal legislations. There is a need for
clearer environmental legislation, with more objective criteria.
8. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS
The present article demonstrated through the Jogue
Limpo program the importance of Reverse Logistics for the return and correct
disposal of waste. Each day, whether due to government requirements or cost
reduction, the company has expanded its collection of waste that is being used,
mainly for reuse in the production process and this is the main purpose: generate
value on what until a time was discarded and took many years for its
decomposition into the environment.
Reverse Logistics is the means by which companies
capture their waste and transform it into business opportunities. In addition
to generating dividends, Reverse Logistics is responsible for new products, mainly
due to the change of focus and the design of sustainable products, which are
more easily returnable to their manufacturers.
Initiatives like the Jogue Limpo program are guiding to
the expansion and accountability / awareness of other sectors of the Brazilian
economy, about the need for Reverse Logistics introduced in its production
processes. Initiatives such as Jogue Limpo will be replicated to other
products.
However, despite the initiative being an important
step, there are still many challenges. One of them is to create incentives to
increase the collection of lubricant packaging. Many customers still do not
have the environmental conscience to deliver empty containers in the stores,
discarding them in an inappropriate place. Encouraging the customer through
subsidies and benefits in fuel stations so that he would return to the establishment
would be feasible for all involved.
Finally, the Jogue Limpo program is a very important
initiative, but for it to be expanded, it is necessary the participation of all
those involved in the product value chain, and the commitment of all parties to
expand the program and increase the quantity of packaging collected. Reverse
Logistics is the process that makes all these happen, but for this must be well
planned and structured. One must think of all the constraints to achieve the
programmed efficiency, and even if it is only at the beginning, you may already
consider it satisfactory to arrive until here.
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