In early August of 2020, the LSO team installed an Evaporator system in the optical filters manufacturing area. This unit enabled the company to safely dispose of the coolant used in the coring operation of our filters, while minimizing the quantity of waste being sent out to our waste management service. Additionally, midway through 2021, a centrifuge was installed on half of our production instruments, providing further reduction of waste coolant. In terms of improving the usable life of the coolant, we are already seeing improvements with the new centrifuge system and will continue to monitor and measure as we implement the centrifuge systems across all core drill areas.

Overall, we have seen a 94% improvement in substantially reducing the liquid waste we produce. Prior to the use of these two recycling systems, 55-gallon steel drums filled with coolant waste were picked up monthly by Rochester’s waste management service at significant cost and adding to carbon footprint from fuel emissions. By comparison, in the last 16 months since installation, the Evaporator system has evaporated dozens of drums worth of waste and reduced the collection to once per year.

We love seeing creative solutions to improve environmental impact at our various sites, and we look forward to increasing our sustainability efforts in the future!