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In the 1990s, the Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS) developed an initiative to ensure industrial facilities were provided with best management practices (BMPs) to help prevent the accidental release of plastic products into streams, waterways and oceans.
The American Chemistry Council (ACC) later partnered with PLASTICS, and together they have continuously worked to develop and distribute the message and methods of these BMPs through a program called Operation Clean Sweep® (OCS).
The OCS website, www.opcleansweep.org, states that the organization is "an international program designed to prevent and help keep plastic litter materials out of the marine environment ... The campaign's goal is to help every plastic resin-handling operation implement good housekeeping and pellet, flake, and powder containment practices to work toward achieving zero [product] loss, protecting the environment and saving valuable resources."
While predominantly known for its big blue pumps and tanks, Rain for Rent, a leading provider of temporary liquid-handling solutions throughout the U.S. and Canada, is also recognized for its ability to provide remediation services that separate and capture pollutants through dewatering, bag filtration and solids-handling pumping systems. With this lineup of equipment and its established expertise in solids separation and filtration, Rain for Rent is inherently skilled at implementing the best management practices as outlined by OCS to help manufacturers prevent plastics products from entering the environment.
Case study example
Having experienced accidental product loss, a plastics manufacturing plant required the installation of a temporary system that could prevent plastic pellets and other pollutants from entering bodies of water adjacent to the plant.
Rain for Rent designed a system that removed plastics from the facility's discharge stream and met environmental standards utilizing two LakeTanks®, each with a 48,000-barrel storage capacity, and a pumping system capable of moving 6,000 gallons per minute of process water at 80 feet total dynamic head with 2 miles of discharge pipe. Each LakeTank was outfitted with two turbidity curtains installed in an over-and-under formation to create the filtration function of a weir tank. Telemetric instrumentation including RiteFlo® transmitters and floats automated the pump system to adjust tank volume as needed. The project has kept the facility in compliance for over two years, and the system is projected to remain in place until construction of a permanent filtration system has been completed.
For more information, visit www.rainforrent.com or call 800-742-7246.
