SMILE CaseStudy Booklet 2014

www.smileexchange.ie 1

FOREWORD

After our fledgling three years SMILE now works

with over 1,000 active business members availing of the free service supporting the re-

use of materials. SMILE continues to deliver on its overall goals of supporting business

in achieving both significant cost savings and reducing environmental impacts.

Business can avail of the SMILE service regardless of size, as the various resources in

place offer opportunities from the most micro of enterprises to those of significant

scale.

The unique Waste Exchange Networking events hosted by SMILE have been very

successful in showcasing just what hidden opportunities exist for businesses both in

sourcing effectively free resources/raw materials and/or securing avenues that

dramatically reduce their waste disposal costs.

Alongside the networking opportunities, SMILE offers a dedicated staff to support the

members in identifying exchanges, provides an active website where resources can be

posted and/or sourced and in general continues to bring the message to the business

community that hidden resources exist around every corner.

We are very grateful to all our partners and in particular the County & City Enterprise

Boards, the visionary Local Authorities that have placed their faith in the process and

all our member businesses that have proven the model through the benefits achieved.

The backbone of the support we have achieved has been from the Environmental

Protection Agency, not only through the significant financial contribution made to date

but through the expertise and advice permanently available to the project.

On behalf of the SMILE Steering Group I especially wish to place on record our thanks

and acknowledgement of the tremendous work of the SMILE Team and its manager

Michelle Green. We very much look forward to the implementation of the ambitious

plans we all have for SMILE and to the continued benefit it will deliver to both the

businesses throughout Ireland and the environment we all have a responsibility to take

care of.

Best Regards

Sean O’Sullivan

Chairman, SMILE Resource Exchange


WHAT IS SMILE RESOURCE EXCHANGE?

SMILE Resource Exchange was launched in 2010 and stands for Saving Money through

Industry Links and Exchanges. It is a free service that assists businesses in re-using each

other’s materials, by-products and surplus ‘waste’ products in order to reduce waste going to

landfill, to increase the life of resources through reuse and therefore reducing costs and

promoting more sustainable business practises. Based on the concept of “one person’s

waste is another’s treasure”, it supports businesses in identifying what they have in their

business that they no longer have a use for and which another business could reuse or

recycle. Through identification of such synergies, businesses can save money on both

disposal costs and purchasing costs.

SMILE FOR SAVING MONEY THROUGH REUSE

SMILE is based on the term Industrial Symbiosis (IS) which is “the sharing of services, utility,

and by-product resources among industries in order to add value, reduce costs and improve

the environment” according to Agarwal, A. and Strachan, P. 2008. The concepts of reuse

and industrial symbiosis are becoming much more widely discussed topics across Europe

and reuse is now second from the top in the waste hierarchy table. SMILE has recently

become a founding member of a European association on Industrial Symbiosis, EUR-ISA,

which stands for European Industrial Symbiosis Association. This association will provide a

knowledge sharing platform enabling the industrial symbiosis networks that are part of EUR-

ISA to share data, best practice, innovation and expertise and enable wide scale and speedy

implementation across Europe based on the proven models of EUR-ISA members.


SMILE FUNDERS

The SMILE initiative is funded through a partnership between the Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA), Cork County & City Enterprise Boards, Cork County Council, Cork City

Council, Southern Region Waste Management Office, Limerick County and City Enterprise

Boards, Clare County Enterprise Board, Kerry County Enterprise Board, South Dublin

County Council, South Dublin County Enterprise Board, South Dublin Chamber and is

project managed by Macroom E. Macroom E is an established centre that develops

enterprise, environmental and community projects for the public sector to influence positive

change and a sustainable future (www.macroom-e.com).

SMILE JOURNEY

SMILE was piloted in Cork in 2010 and expanded into Limerick, Clare and Kerry in 2011 and

subsequently to Dublin in 2012. Potential synergies are identified through unique networking

events, an online exchange facility (www.smileexchange.ie) and a support team to assist

throughout. Thus far SMILE has held 11 events in total across the three regions.

SMILE Events held since its inception in 2010

March 2010 - The Oriel House, Ballincollig, Cork

November 2010 - Vienna Woods Hotel, Glanmire, Cork

February 2011 - Montenotte Hotel, Montenotte, Cork

October 2011 - The Brehon Hotel, Killarney, Kerry

November 2011 - The Radisson Blu Hotel, Ennis Rd, Limerick

March 2012 - The Castlemartyr Hotel , Castlemartyr, Cork

October 2012 - Croke Park Stadium, Jones Rd, Dublin

November 2012 - The Woodlands House Hotel, Adare, Limerick

April 2013 - Tallaght Stadium, Tallaght, Dublin

May 2013 - The Oak Wood Arms, Shannon, Clare

October 2013 - The Maryborough Hotel & Spa, Douglas, Cork

http://www.macroom-e.com/

http://www.smileexchange.ie/


ACHIEVEMENTS TO DATE

1000+ members

11 unique networking events

held to date with an average of

80 in attendance at each

Communicating a positive

message on waste

151 successful synergies

recorded to date

Provision of technical support

to SMILE members through the

Cleaner Greener Production

Programme and SPeco

Services.

A hub for discussing reuse and

collaboration with other

organisations

Collaboration with other

industrial symbiosis networks

in Europe to form the European

Industrial Symbiosis

Association (EUR-ISA)

180,000 hits recorded

on the website

151 Successful Synergies

recorded to date

700+ potential synergies

634 Resources posted on the

SMILE website


CASE STUDIES

When a successful synergy takes place between two SMILE members, follow up is made to

collect detailed information on what was exchanged and the economic and environmental

benefits of the synergy. This information is collated and is formatted into what we call a

“Case Study”.

Each of the case studies outlined in this document are classified into different waste

streams i.e. cardboard & paper, plastics, pallets & timber etc. and are assigned a different

colour code as outlined below.

Waste Stream Page Numbers

Plastics………………………………………………………………………………...9, 10, 11, 23, 26, 45, 50, 51

Pallets and Timber…………………………………………………………………………...….20, 30, 47, 49, 52

WEEE & Equipment…………………………………………………………………………………….…..22, 24, 35

Cardboard & Paper………………………………………………………..13, 17, 18, 27, 38, 39, 41, 42, 48

Textiles……………………………………………………………………………………………….…….33, 34, 37, 53

Metal………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...54

Containers……………………………………………………………………………………………………….…………12

Food……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………8, 55

Miscellaneous…………………………………………………………………..……………..7, 14, 15, 19, 31, 43


CASE STUDIES


"The Smile networking event was a great success for O'Donovan

Engineering. It was astonishing to see the variations in 'waste' and the amount of companies who actually wanted this material! We found a home for our now famous plastic

reels which really proved that one companies waste is indeed another's

raw material”

Dermot McCarthy – O’Donovan Engineering

About the Members:

O’Donovan Engineering (Cork) specialise in the

designing, manufacturing and supplying of products

in the agriculture, construction and manufacturing

sectors.

WF Recycling (Cork) are a recycling company that

specialise in non-metal waste and scrap.

About the Synergy:

O'Donovan Engineering took part in the Eco

Business Ireland awards in 2008 run by Macroom E

and the Clean Technology Centre. Through this project they learned how to streamline all

their waste and how to implement a green team in their organisation in order to reduce the

waste they created. After streamlining all of their waste they were left with 5000 plastic reels

(circular in shape) which they could not identify any clear recyclable marking on.

At a SMILE event in Cork O’Donovan Engineering were connected with WF Recycling who

were interested in taking the 5000 reels free of charge which could be broken up in a large

crushing machine for reuse in the plastic manufacturing process.

Results:

O’Donovan Engineering now store the plastic reels for collection by WF Recycling once

or twice per year

5000 plastic reels have been diverted from landfill to date.

O’Donovan Engineering now save approx. €2160 per year in waste collection charges

Each plastic reel weighs 750g therefore 3.75 tonnes of plastic reels have been diverted

from landfill to date

This material replaced 3.75 tonnes of virgin material and saved almost 16 tonnes in CO2

emissions associated with the production of new plastic

SAVINGS OF €2,160 PER YEAR

ON PLASTIC REELS

http://www.google.ie/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=BE+GREEN+EPA&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=ngzNA8nMWTbC9M&tbnid=caZfwn8v5_-3tM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http://www.epa.ie/begreen/begreenguides/&ei=M7V_UYSCL4u5hAed6ICoBg&bvm=bv.45645796,d.ZG4&psig=AFQjCNG8SkFm1lDqh1upLgr1SqoG-omNaA&ust=1367410343129487


About the Members:

Murphy’s Ice Cream (Kerry) manufactures ice cream, sorbet, sauces, tartlets and brownies

with fresh, natural & real ingredients in Dingle, Co. Kerry.

Real World Combat & Fitness (Cork) largest martial arts fitness gym in Cork based in

Drimoleague. They provide seminars, classes and private training groups focusing on martial

arts, fitness, and health & well-being.

About the Synergy:

Murphy’s Ice Cream use egg yolks to make their ice creams but have no further use for the

egg whites and therefore have been disposing of large quantities of them. Murphy’s Ice

Cream posted the resource on the SMILE website and Real World Combat & Fitness were

interested in using the egg whites for making health cakes and omelettes to increase the

protein intake of their members.

Real World Combat & Fitness are now receiving approximately 30kg of egg whites a month.

Results:

Exchange of 30kg of egg whites per month

(360kg per annum)

30kg of egg white retails at approximately

€209 which can create an annual cost saving

of €2,508 for Real World Fitness

There is also a benefit for Murphy’s Ice cream

as they no longer have to dispose of the

resource

EGGCITING EXCHANGE SAVES €2,500

“Using the SMILE EXCHANGE has benefited my business and my customers financially and

also gives us the feeling of making a small difference by

not wasting potential resources. Everybody wins

with such a thing”

Neill Ferron – Real World Combat & Fitness



About the Members:

Ummera Smoked Products (Cork) specialise in the smoking of food products.

Bantry Glass (Cork) is a glass and glazing company in West Cork.

About the Synergy:

Ummera Smoked Products had 200 polystyrene boxes. The boxes were previously used in

the packaging of smoked fish products and once used were no longer needed. Ummera

Smoke Products got in touch with SMILE to see if there were any businesses interested in

reusing these boxes.

The SMILE team made a connection with Bantry Glass who were looking for sustainable

packaging solutions for their products. Bantry Glass received 200 polystyrene boxes and are

reusing the boxes as protective packaging around their glass products.

Results:

This exchange has seen Ummera save approximately €100 in disposal charges and has

saved €200 for Bantry Glass on purchasing this resource themselves

A connection has now been established between the two businesses and it is expected

that 1000+ boxes will be reused per year

This on-going exchange represents an approximate cost saving of €1000 per annum for

Bantry Glass

The recycling and disposal of polystyrene represents a significant challenge in the

current environment. Reuse is an excellent option

REUSING POLYSTYRENE BOXES FOR

PACKAGING



About the Members:

PK Rubber (Cork) is owned by Pat and Anne Kelleher and has its headquarters at

Roovesmore, Coachford, Co Cork. Pat Kelleher entered into the waste management

industry in 1999 by setting up “Pat Kelleher Waste Tyre Services”. The waste tyre collection

services expanded into a recycling plant where by tyres are converted into a useful shredded

rubber product.

Wilson Agriculture (Northern Ireland), based in Coleraine specialises in the design and

manufacturing of cow mattresses.

About the Synergy:

Wilson Agriculture was looking for crumb rubber to be used as filling for cow mattresses.

Cow mattresses provide additional comfort for dairy cows and increases milk yield. Each

comfort mattress requires 65kg of crumb rubber as a filling material. Through the links

between SMILE and International Synergies (an industrial symbiosis programme in Northern

Ireland, PK Rubber & Wilson Agriculture were connected with one another.

PK Rubber sent a sample of crumbed rubber to Wilson Agriculture to see if it was suitable as

a filler for cow mattresses and as a result 600 tonnes has been supplied by PK Rubber to

Wilson Agriculture to date. PK Rubber will provide a sustainable supply of crumb rubber

from waste tyres which Wilson Agriculture can convert into a high valuable product for the

agriculture sector.

Results:

600 tonnes of crumb rubber diverted from landfill

CO2 reduction: 1400 tonnes

Virgin material saved: 600 tonnes

Revenue for PK Rubber: €36,000

600 TONNES OF RUBBER

DIVERTED FROM LANDFILL



About the Members:

Agility Logistics (Cork) is a global logistics leader with two main lines of business:

commercial logistics and a portfolio of logistics-related businesses.

IrishPackaging.com (Cork) is a product packaging company that specialises in the design,

print and production of all packaging needs and caters for both large and small orders.

About the Synergy:

Agility Logistics has teamed up with IrishPackaging.com to divert 500kg per week of

Styrofoam packaging from landfill. Agility Logistics has very large volumes of Styrofoam

packaging from electrical appliances that are imported from Turkey which is regularly sent to

landfill. Due to the nature of the packaging it cannot be recycled.

Through SMILE Agility Logistics connected with IrishPackaging.com who are now reusing

the Styrofoam as packaging for their goods which is saving on the cost of buying it as a raw

material.

Results:

Agility Logistics are saving approximately €200 per week in disposal costs

IrishPackaging.com is saving on the cost of purchasing materials

This Styrofoam is replacing virgin Styrofoam and saving more than 2 tonnes of CO2 per

week associated with the manufacture of new foam

STYROFOAM PACKAGING EASY TO

REUSE & SAVES €200 PER WEEK



About the Members:

SuBar (Cork) is a juice bar in Kinsale

Cheeky Cherubs (Cork) is an Early Years Schools catering for up to 130 children at 3

locations in Cork.

About the Synergy:

SuBar had large white buckets complete with lids that

they received their products in and were paying to

dispose of. They were interested in finding a reuse outlet

for them so they attended a SMILE event.

At the event SMILE introduced them to Cheeky Cherubs

who were currently buying in plastic containers to store

toys, paints and arts & crafts etc. and were intrigued to

hear that SuBar had a similar product on offer for free.

As a result SuBar now provide Cheeky Cherubs with

approximately 20 buckets per month which are being reused.

Results:

Cheeky Cherubs have saved approximately €70 per month as they were previously

buying approximately 20 containers a month at a cost of €10 for a pack of 3

This arrangement is long term so Cheeky Cherubs can save up to €840 per year

Cheeky Cherubs have also found the containers received from SuBar to be stronger

therefore they tend to last longer

SuBar Juice Bar was paying for these plastic buckets to be recycled so they are now

saving money on disposal costs

“I think that Smile Exchange is an excellent

resource for people doing business and helping the environment and saving

money”

Niamh O’Mahony – Elegant Fine Jewellery

PLASTIC BUCKETS FOR STORAGE -

€800 SAVINGS



About the Members:

Denis Crowley & Co Solicitors (Cork) is a general

accountancy and tax practice in Riverstick, Co Cork

serving the South Cork area.

Fotaview Boarding Kennels (Cork) is a dog kennel,

grooming and chauffeur service based in Passage

West Co. Cork.

About the Synergy:

Fotaview Boarding Kennels were looking for alternative sources of dog bedding and were

connected with Denis Crowley & Co Accountants through the SMILE website. Denis

Crowley & Co Accountants was paying for the shredded paper to be collected on a weekly

basis by a waste management company.

Fotaview Boarding Kennel now receives 2 bags of shredded paper on a weekly basis from

Denis Crowley & Co Accountants for use as bedding for the dogs in the kennel service.

Results:

This exchange saw Fotaview Boarding Kennel save on the cost of regularly buying

kennel bedding which can cost up to €100 a month, or €1200 per year

Denis Crowley & Co. saved on the cost of recycling charges for the paper

Fotaview Boarding Kennels composts the paper removed from the kennels for use as

garden manure

FROM OFFICE PAPER TO DOG BEDDING

AND HOW TO SAVE €1,200

“Great idea - very beneficial to both parties - saves

money and helps to recycle”

Con Keane – Bantry Glass



15,000 UNUSABLE HOTEL KEY

CARDS

About the Members:

HotelKeyCards Ltd. (Kerry) supply door key cards to the Hotel Industry.

ReMake Design Network (Dublin) is a network of designers in Ireland making products from

waste materials. They run workshops, pop-up shops and exhibitions.

About the Synergy:

HotelKeyCards Ltd. had 15,000 unusable hotel key cards that were unusable due to a

printing error. Instead of disposing of this as a waste, HotelKeyCards Ltd. decided to try to

discover if there was another possible use for the resource.

Hotel Key Cards were introduced to the ReMake Design Network by SMILE and have

received over 15,000 of the previously unusable hotel key cards with the view of using them

as a material for design workshops that they hold in the future.

Results:

Remake Design saved on the cost of buying a

similar plastic material for use their workshops

Remake Design received 15,000 key cards each

costing an average of €0.23 each which creates an

estimated cost saving of €3,450

HotelKeyCards saved on the cost of disposing of

the hotel key cards

“Smile Resource is an excellent way of recycling

materials etc. which would otherwise end up in

landfill”

Patrick Cosgrove – Probation Services



About the Members:

IKEA (Dublin) design and sell ready-to-assemble furniture (such as beds, chairs, and

desks), appliances, and home accessories.

One Fine Day (Dublin) is a start-up business providing boutique eco-sensitive camping for

guests at a range of different carefully selected sites.

About the Synergy:

From time to time, IKEA have damaged,

unsalable and/or end of line stock that they no

longer need. As part of their Corporate Social

Responsibility initiatives, IKEA have engaged

with SMILE to find an alternative use for these

items.

One Fine Day and IKEA met at a SMILE event

in Dublin where a synergy was identified.

IKEA had 12 rugs/mats weighing up to 70kg

which were surplus to requirement. One Fine

Day received the 12 rugs/mats which they will

use as a comfortable, contemporary and eco-

friendly grounding for the tents in their

‘glamping’ start up business.

Results:

One Fine Day saved on the costs associated with purchasing 12 new rugs/mats

IKEA has saved on disposal costs of this resource and now also have a connection with

One Fine Day to make exchanges like this in the future

70kg of unwanted materials was diverted from landfill/recycling

FRIENDLY GLAMPING REUSING AND

SAVING

“The SMILE resource is an amazing initiative for start-ups or small SMEs

who have limited funds. As the tagline states one person’s waste is

another company’s opportunity. This is so true. We are hoping to be able to support a number of Charitable

causes throughout the summer also as Social Impact is a very important part of my philosophy and ethos for

the business.”

Maria Flanagan – One Fine Day



SMILE AMBASSADORS

An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny

Cork Ladies Footballers, All Ireland

Champions 2013

Minister for the Environment,

Community and Local Government,

Phil Hogan

Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh, former

sports commentator


About the Members:

Valentia Industries (Kerry) manufacture release liner tape

from polyester, polypropylene, PVC, polyethylene etc. They

have developed a highly sophisticated coating system which

ensures the production of release films with the lowest

possible migration.

MacWaste Management (Kerry) are both consultants and a

dry recycling company who offer total Waste Management

Solutions. Their focus is on providing a full range of waste

management related services to help private industries and

public sector authorities.

About the Synergy:

Valentia Industries had a build-up of cardboard and paper in their premises and at a SMILE

event they were connected with MacWaste Management Services, a waste management

company who recycle paper and cardboard.

MacWaste Management Services collected the paper & cardboard from Valentia Industries.

Results:

MacWaste Management generated new business contacts, repeat business and

additional resources to their recycling business

For Valentia Industries it generated a cost savings of approximately €840 and assisted in

freeing up of storage space

Every tonne of paper and cardboard recycled saves up to 17 trees and 7,000 litres of

water

CARDBOARD AND PAPER IN COUNTY

KERRY - €840 IN SAVINGS

“Great not to waste good items that

someone else can use".

Dave Moran – Dmos Ltd



About the Members:

Astellas Ireland (Kerry) is a large worldwide pharmaceutical research and development

facility.

MacWaste Management Services (Kerry) is both a consultant and a dry recycling company

who offer total Waste Management Solutions and their focus is on providing a full range of

waste management related services to help private industries and public sector authorities.

About the Synergy:

Astellas Ireland were introduced to MacWaste Management Services at a SMILE event as

they had had large quantities of paper and cardboard building up at their facility and this is

one of the waste streams that MacWaste Management Services deal with.

MacWaste Management Services collected 6.7 tonnes of paper and 1.7 tonnes of cardboard

from Astellas Ireland. The paper will be recycled by the MacWaste Management Services.

Results:

Astellas Ireland will be receiving a

payment from MacWaste Management

Services for the purchase of this material.

This will be an on-going exchange and

MacWaste Management Services expect

to receive approximately 50 tonnes per

annum

50 tonnes of paper and cardboard

recycled represents a saving of 850 trees

and 350,000 litres of water if the resources was manufactured as new

CARDBOARD AND PAPER MAKE KERRY

COMPANIES SMILE

“Follow up by SMILE office serves as a reminder and a motivation to take

further action on the item”.

Mary McGillicuddy - Fexco



About the Members:

IrishPackaging.com (Cork) is a product packaging company that specialises in the design,

print and production of all packaging needs and cater to both large and small orders.

Mayfly Dublin (Dublin) are a collective of crafty people who take discarded items and

upcycle them into new saleable art.

About the Synergy:

IrishPackaging.com had 10,000 blue string pieces leftover from an order that they completed

which they had on offer at a SMILE event in Cork. They also brought a sample to the event

which created a lot of interest. This was an ideal resource for Mayfly Dublin as they were

interested in using an obscure material to create new products through the process of

upcycling and as a result were connected with IrishPackaging.com.

IrishPackaging.com posted 10,000 pieces of blue string to Mayfly who used them in creating

various arts and crafts products such as crafty soft toy monsters (pic below).

Results:

This exchange resulted in IrishPackaging.com being able to divert the blue string from

going to landfill or recycling which saved IrishPackaging.com the associated costs of this

Mayfly saved on purchasing a material to use in the production of their products

BLUE STRING TO CRAFTY MONSTER



About the Members:

Webprint (Cork) is an independent publishing company that specialises in web offset

printing technology.

Apollo Print (Cork) is a second generation family owned printing business centrally located

in Kerry Pike, Co. Cork.

About the Synergy:

Webprint had unwanted pallets and cardboard

boxes that they had intended to send for recycling

as they no longer had a use for the items but

offered them at a SMILE event in Cork. Apollo

Print was interested in taking these items for

reuse as a means of storing some of their goods.

Apollo Print collected the pallets and cardboard

boxes and are now using them for storing goods.

Results:

Webprint save on the cost of recycling the wood pallets and cardboard and also cleared

out much needed storage space

Apollo Print saved on the cost of purchasing a similar resource as well as tidying up

storage space on their premises

PALLETS AND CARDBOARD REUSE

“Environmentally this is a very useful tool for us and we are

able to deal with a local company who are happy for us to collect these boxes when they are available. It works very well

and seems to suit both businesses”

Eithne Tobin - Bizcom



MEET THE SMILE TEAM

Maeve Bowen

Michelle Green

Katherine Corkery

Eoin O’Luasa


About the Members:

Cavanagh’s of Charleville (Cork) are a car

dealership and servicing centre in North

Cork.

Kavanagh Environmental (Dublin) is a

leader in the Reception, Storage and

Recovery of Waste Electrical and Electronic

Equipment (WEEE).

About the Synergy:

Cavanagh’s of Charleville contacted SMILE as they were currently storing unwanted IT

equipment which needed to be cleared as it was taking up storage space which was now

needed. They posted the resource on the SMILE website which Kavanagh’s Environmental

enquired about.

Kavanagh’s Environmental collected approximately 300 pieces of IT equipment including

monitors, keyboards, hard drives etc. which will be prepared for reuse by Kavanagh’s.

Results:

Cavanagh’s of Charleville saved approximately €200 on disposal costs and received a

data protection guarantee

The unwanted IT equipment will now be reused which is higher up on the waste

hierarchy in comparison to recycling

This exchange generates revenue for Kavanagh Environmental as they will prepare the

equipment for reuse or will use the spare parts to fix other equipment

OLD COMPUTERS PREPARED FOR

REUSE

“I'm ecstatic I came across the SMILE resource exchange. For years, I've

been thinking of something like this, and it is such a joy to finally see it happening. Reusing our resources over and over again, and diverting

them from a landfill where possible, is definitely the way to go in the 21st century. I'm glad I am a part of it.”

Zile Sibanyoni – Zile’s Organics



About the Members:

Molex Shannon (Clare) Molex is a leading one-source supplier of interconnect products,

focused on the design, development and distribution of innovative product solutions.

MacWaste Management Services (Kerry) are consultants and a dry recycling company that

offer total Waste Management Solutions, focused on providing a full range of waste

management related services to help private industries and public sector authorities.

About the Synergy:

MacWaste Management Services enquired about the Plastic Resin on offer through the

SMILE website that Molex Shannon were looking for an outlet for. As a result of the

connection made through the SMILE website MacWaste Management Services collect 16.2

tonnes of plastic resin which was otherwise destined for landfill.

Results:

16.2 tonnes of plastic resin has been diverted from landfill

MacWaste Management Services generated revenue from this exchange as they sold

the product to another company who are able

to use it in their plastic processing

Molex Shannon saved on the disposal costs

of this material which if sent to landfill could

cost up to €3,000

The production of 16.2 tonnes of new plastic

resin would represent 68 tonnes of CO2

emissions

PLASTIC RESIN COLLECTED AND

PROCESSED

PLASTIC RESIN COLLECTED AND

PROCESSED – SAVING €3,000

“Smile Exchange acts as an invaluable conduit between those who have items to give

away/need to dispose and those who need such items. A great

service, let’s all make more use of it!”

Colum Cronin – Dunmanway Family Resource Centre



About the Members:

Avocent International (Clare) is a provider of Business Critical solutions for Datacentre

Infrastructure Management.

Citrus Training & Consulting (Cork) is focused on delivering real world training solutions to

the corporate market.

About the Synergy:

Avocent International had a CD/DVD

replicator/copier on offer on the SMILE website

which they no longer needed. They were

looking for below market value for the machine

as it was in perfect working order and had a

value. Citrus Training & Consulting enquired

about the machine for use in a charity

organisation that they are involved in (The Kino

Boys Club). The Kino Boys Club bring together

young musicians who are not old enough to

play in pubs and put on gigs in the Old Kino

Cinema on Washington street, record the

music and sell the CD’s to pay for day to day

running’s of the venue.

Avocent International donated the machine for free to the Kino Boys Club through their

corporate social responsibility policy. The machine was collected by the Kino Boys Club and

is currently being used in the club.

Results:

The Kino Boys Club saved €3,000 on purchasing a second hand CD/DVD replicator

Avocent International was happy to fund the donation through their corporate social

responsibility fund

CD/DVD REPLICATOR SENT FOR

GOOD USE IN CHARITY

“The recent SMILE event was a superbly organised opportunity to

connect with other like-thinking companies with regard to surplus items. It opened my eyes to a new

way of looking at items that would otherwise be binned or disposed of.

The SMILE team run a very professional and very necessary

service.”

Mike Derham – Citrus Training and Consulting Ltd



AWARDS

LAMA Awards – Local Authority

Members Association Awards

Winners 2013

World you Like Challenge 2013

Highest ranked Irish Project

Voted top 5% of all entries

Green Awards

Finalists 2012 & 2013


About the Members:

ArcRoyal (Meath) is a privately-owned

manufacturer and distributor of single-use

Medical Products and Custom Procedure

Trays.

Smallwares (Louth) are plastic injection

moulders that manufacture a wide range of

plastic products.

About the Synergy:

At a SMILE event in Croke Park, ArcRoyal

had manufactured polypropylene trays and

bowls on offer which they no longer

required. SMILE introduced them to

Smallwares as they were interested in

receiving the polypropylene plastic to

manufacture new plastic products. The exchange of 1,800 trays and bowls took place and is

likely to continue on a monthly basis.

Results:

1.8 tonnes of polypropylene has been diverted from landfill

The manufacture of 1.8 tonnes of polypropylene would release 7.5 tonnes of CO2 into

the atmosphere

Smallwares will be making a cost saving of approximately €4,320 per annum

ArcRoyal are benefitting from saving on the disposal costs of the resource

USING POLYPROPYLENE SAVES OVER

€4,000

“I found the SMILE networking event a very worthwhile event to attend and was delighted to have found a home

for 50 of the 10ltr empty buckets which I have no use for. I gave the

buckets to Green Works, who run free courses for jobseekers, with a focus on

up skilling the workforce for the growing opportunities within

Ireland's Green Economy. Green Works are reusing the buckets for the

transportation of materials in their garden which is used as part of the

training.”

Aidan Buckley – Buckley Painting & Decorator



About the Members:

Force Field (Clare) manufactures and distributes electric fence energisers and all fence

accessories to Co-Ops, hardware stores and all shops associated with farming activities.

They also manufacture and sell a state of the art electronic animal containment system for

dogs.

Aaron PCB (Clare) is an electronic and electromechanical assembly manufacturer who

supplies electronic circuits, cabling and assemblies to markets in Ireland, UK, Spain,

Germany and the USA.

About the Synergy:

Force Fields fencing supplies come in strong cardboard packaging which is then no longer

required and which they need to dispose of on a regular basis. The company was looking

for an alternative to paying recycling and landfill charges for the cardboard.

Aaron PCB are based just down the road from Force Field and they buy in cardboard boxes

to ship their products to Germany and Spain. Through SMILE both companies connected

and Aaron PCB now receive approximately 20 cardboard boxes per week from Force Field

which they reuse.

Results:

780 kilograms of cardboard diverted from landfill and recycling per annum

CO2 reduction of 1125 kilograms per annum is equivalent to driving a family car 7,264

kilometres

Reduction of 12.5 trees during manufacturing (USA EPA)

Reduction of 20,667 litres of water during manufacturing (USA EPA)

Cost savings of €3,120 per annum for Aaron PCB

CARDBOARD BOXES REUSED IN

CLARE – SAVINGS OF €3,120



UNIQUE EVENTS ARRIVAL – PARTICIPANTS ARRIVE, REGISTER AND

NETWORK WITH OTHER BUSINESSES OVER TEA AND COFFEE

LUNCH – BUSINESSES CONNECT &

DISCUSS SYNERGIES


SHOW CASE – GENERATES IDEAS

FOR SYNERGIES BY SHOWING SOME OF

THE MORE INTERESTING ITEMS

SPEED DATING -

BUSINESSES SAY THAT SMILE

OFFERS EXCELLENT

NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES

& SMILE ENCOURAGES THIS

AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE

SPEAKER SESSION – SMILE CASE

STUDIES AND RESOURCE EFFICIENT COMPANIES


About the Members:

Recordati Ireland (Cork) is a European pharmaceutical group dedicated to the research,

development, manufacturing and marketing of pharmaceuticals.

Probation Services (Cork) provide probation supervision, community service, offending

behaviour programmes and specialist support services to both adult and young offenders,

which aim to stop those committing further offences.

About the Synergy:

Recordati had pallets on offer through the SMILE website which had been stock piled and

were taking up storage space which the Probation Service were interested in using in their

service.

A successful exchange of 80 pallets was made and the Probation Service will now use these

in their community service workshops, where they will be made into kindling and distributed

to St Vincent DePaul shops in Cork.

Results:

A cost saving of €4,800 was made on the

purchase of raw materials for the workshops

The sale of the kindling will create revenue for

Saint Vincent DePaul charity shops in Cork

City

Recordati benefitted from avoiding any

disposal costs associated with this resource

PROBATION SERVICE WORKS UP

SAVINGS - SAVE €4,800

“Great facility and quick

response always from the team

involved at SMILE. Setting up

your resource account is simple

and the website is easy to

navigate around”.

Brian Derby – Croom Precision



About the Members:

Primeline Logistics (Cork) specialises in providing end to end logistics and supply chain

solutions based on leading edge technology, innovative thinking and design, to deliver cost

savings and competitive advantage to its customers.

McAllister Engineering (Cork) is an engineering company that specialise in air treatment

supplies, vacuum pumps & components.

About the Synergy:

Large sheets of envirotuff aluminium insulation were previously being used to keep items at

the appropriate cool temperatures while being transported by Primeline Logistics. Primeline

Logistics were connected with McAllister Engineering through the SMILE website who were

interested in taking this resource for reuse in their operations as insulation. They may require

more of this resource in the future and will contact Primeline Logistics if necessary.

Results:

McAllister Engineering made a cost saving of €300 on the purchase of this resource

Primeline Logistics benefitted from the disposal costs associated with disposing of this

resource

5 large sheets of insulation have been diverted from landfill reducing Co2 emissions

KEEP IT COOL AND SAVE



THE SMILE BRAND “Reuse and make the World SMILE”


About the Members:

Cassidy Covers (Dublin) supply the General Haulage, Transport and Warehousing

Industries with everything from clothing to signage to safety equipment.

The Rediscovery Centre (Dublin) is a collection of waste focused social enterprises in the

heart of Ballymun whose mission is “leading change from waste to resource through reuse,

redesign, research and education".

About the Synergy:

Cassidy Covers had 45 embroidered polo shirts that

they had overprinted for an order. The polo shirts

were destined for landfill until Cassidy Covers were

introduced to The Rediscovery Centre at the SMILE

Dublin Event in Croke Park.

The Rediscovery Centre took 45 embroidered polo

shirts totalling a weight of 16kg for use in children’s

workshops to demonstrate textile reuse/upcycling into

new fashion, home ware & accessories.

Results:

16kg of embroidered garments have been diverted from landfill

The Rediscovery Centre received much needed resources for their workshops

These garments will be reused in upcycling and textile reuse workshops

Cassidy Covers saved on disposal costs associated with finding and outlet for this

resource

DRESSING UP SUSTAINABLE

WORKSHOPS

“Excellent resource, I was very impressed at the wide range of diverse uses our

waste streams could be put to”.

Vincent Keating – Reprographic Systems



About the Members:

Cassidy Covers (Dublin) supply the General Haulage, Transport and Warehousing

Industries with everything from clothing to signage to safety equipment.

MAMUKKO (Cork) produce a contemporary and affordable range of handmade bags &

accessories made of upcycled sailcloth, PVC tarpaulin and marine fabrics.

About the Synergy:

Cassidy Covers had approximately 35kg of end of roll unwanted scrap PVC Tarpaulin from

the manufacturing of transport/haulage truck canvas. After being introduced to MAMUKKO

at a SMILE event in Croke Park, MAMUKKO were interested in receiving the PVC Tarpaulin

as it is one of the main resources used to create their contemporary bags and accessories.

The PVC Tarpaulin which was previously being recycled is now being used as a raw

material in the production of products for sale by MAMUKKO.

Results:

35kg of end roll PVC Tarpaulin is diverted from landfill

MAMUKKO have made a cost saving of €250 if they were to buy 35kg of this material

The material received will be enough to make approx. 35 bags which will generate

revenue for MAMUKKO

It is likely the resource will be available 4/5 times a year which creates a potential for cost savings of €1000 to €1250 annually for MAMUKKO as well as associated cost savings on recycling charges for Cassidy Covers

UPCYCLED BAGS MADE FROM PVC

€1,000+ IN SAVINGS



About the Members:

Prosalis (Dublin) an IT Services company with their

own cloud infrastructure targeting the SME sector.

Kavanagh Environmental (Dublin) specialise in the

recovery of and preparation for reuse of hi tech

equipment

About the Synergy:

Prosalis have electronic office equipment which they

no longer need after an upgrade of the items took

place and offered the resources through the SMILE

website. Kavanagh Environmental enquired about the

items as they are interested in recovering IT equipment and preparing them for reuse.

A successful synergy was made of the electronic office equipment including servers, PCs

and other electrical items. Now that this connection has been made between the companies

it is expected that as items become available again in the future that they will be able to

make a successful synergy again in the future.

Results:

Kavanagh Environmental will create revenue of a minimum of €100 for the items that

they have received

Prosalis have saved approximately €3 / kg equalling a total of €330 in waste collection

charges

Further savings are possible with planned exchanges in the future

WEEE RECOVERY & REUSE

“Without SMILE I would not have become aware of Prosalis and the work that they do. We now

have a provisional agreement to accept future computer

equipment donations from Prosalis, which will be very

beneficial to us in the future”.

Sam Lehane - CAMARA



MATTRESS RECYCLING PROJECT Boomerang

“Bring Back and Reuse”

As a result of SMILE events and relationship building SMILE has becoming a natural hub for discussing reuse

opportunities and ideas of setting up more social enterprises around the theme of reuse have emerged. From

these discussions SMILE has since collaborated with Cork Environmental Forum and a multi-agency consortium

to establish a Mattress Recycling Project called “Boomerang, Bring Back and Reuse”.

SMILE conducted a lot of desk research in early 2013 on mattress recycling as members expressed their

frustrations with the hassle and costs of disposing of unwanted mattresses. From the research it was

ascertained that there is a consistent supply of mattresses in Ireland and that there are similar project

internationally and nationally. As a result SMILE met the manager of a similar project in Dublin called the Eco

Mattress project and have since been liaising with them on a regular basis for best practice advice and support.

From there a submission was made for Green Enterprise Funding in 2013 and a project manager has since been

appointed and the facility is due to open in March 2014. The mattress recycling facility will be set up as a social

enterprise and will see workers from the Tús Programme gain invaluable work experience. The Tús workers

will manually strip the mattresses and segregate the materials for reuse or recycling thus diverting these bulky

goods form landfill.


About the Members:

MAMUKKO (Cork) is a creative workshop run by two Hungarian brothers in Kinsale, Co.

Cork. MAMUKKO design and create a range of bags from upcycling sail cloth, PVC

tarpaulin and marine fabrics. Sustainable and eco-friendly product development is at the

core of MAMUKKO’s business. MAMUKKO mix elegant and classical styles with daring

unique materials, creating an eco-style of its own.

Howth Yacht Club (Dublin), a member of Dalkey Business Group, had a number of boat

sails which are replaced at the end of the boating season, and are usually disposed of to

landfill. Dalkey Business Group was looking for a cheaper solution for the disposal of their

boat sails.

About the Synergy:

Howth Yacht Club, a member of Dalkey Business Group, had a number of boat sails which

are replaced at the end of the boating season, and are usually disposed of to landfill. Dalkey

Business Group were looking for a cheaper solution for the disposal of their boat sails and

were introduced to MAMUKKO by SMILE at a SMILE event in Dublin.

A successful synergy took place and MAMUKKO are now using the boat sails to upcycle

them into eco-friendly bags.

Results:

Sustainable supply of material for MAMUKKO to create bags that can be reused.

Cost savings on the purchase of virgin materials: €2,120

Twenty Boat sails has cut parts for 106 bags

Additional MAMUKO sales of 106 bags: €10,600

Landfill diversion: 500 kilograms

CO2 reduction: 2,100 kilograms

UPCYCLED BAGS FROM OLD SAILS –

COST SAVINGS OF OVER €2,000



About the Members:

ArcRoyal (Dublin) is a privately-owned manufacturer and distributor of single-use Medical

Products and Custom Procedure Trays.

Deepak Fastners (Clare) manufacture high-strength bolts and screws for a wide range of

Industrial and Engineering applications.

About the Synergy:

Deepak Fastners were looking for large cardboard boxes to fit on euro pallets for use in

exporting goods. They were connected with ArcRoyal through the SMILE website as they

have suitable cardboard boxes which could be reused by Deepak Fasteners.

Results:

Deepak fasteners have taken a number of these boxes to test their suitability and are

currently in discussion about negotiating an appropriate below market value price for the

resource

At present the cost savings for this exchange have yet to be finalised however the

exchange should be an on-going exchange as the resource will be available regularly

which will potentially save both companies on their annual costs

Every tonne of cardboard reused represents a saving of 17 trees and 7,000 litres of

water

LARGE CARDBOARD BOXES FOR

EURO PALLETS



About the Members:

The Carambola (Limerick) produces and delivers healthy school lunches to schools all over

the country.

Bizcom (Limerick) is an Office Supplies, Stationery and Office Furniture Company serving

our customers in the North Munster area

About the Synergy:

On a monthly basis hundreds of reusable cardboard boxes containing raw materials used by

the Carambola for school lunches were being baled and recycled. The Carambola

connected with Bizcom through the website who regularly purchase cardboard boxes for the

packaging of their goods for delivery.

As a result Bizcom received 100 cardboard boxes from the Carambola which will be reused.

Both companies have agreed to keep in touch so that they may make exchanges again in

the future if the need arises.

Results:

A cost saving of €360 on the purchase of these cardboard boxes was made if Bizcom

were to purchase the cardboard boxes as new

A saving of 1.7 trees and 700litres of water representing the virgin materials required to

make new boxes

The Carambola have now avoided using their compactor and sending the cardboard for

recycling. This will therefore make their business more resource efficient by reducing

their electricity and recycling charges

Delivery Goods in Reusable Boxes

DELIVERY GOODS IN REUSABLE BOXES



In its 2020 flagship initiative, 'Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe' the European

Commission highlighted the role industrial symbiosis schemes can play in achieving a resource

efficient union. Earlier this year, the European Resource Efficiency Platform (EREP) further

acknowledged the role of 'facilitated industrial symbiosis' schemes in “diverting waste from

landfill, contributing to the preservation of resources and moving waste up the value chain” and

called for the wide-scale implementation of industrial symbiosis networks across Europe. In

response some of Europe's leading organisations in the implementation and development of

facilitated industrial symbiosis, projects and networks have joined forces to create the European

Industrial Symbiosis Association (EUR-ISA). EUR-ISA brings together the organisations

responsible for up to 10 established industrial symbiosis programmes and provides the

European Commission with a focal point to accelerate Industrial Symbiosis in Europe in order to

generate substantial economic, environmental and social benefits.

Outlined below are just two of the other founding members of EUR-ISA who run similar projects

to SMILE Resource Exchange

International Synergies – UK

International Synergies was established in 2005 and is widely acknowledged for its global expertise in devising

and managing industrial symbiosis programmes across five continents working with public and private sector

clients.

The demand-led facilitative approach of implementing Industrial Symbiosis has received global recognition and is

cited as being one of the world’s top 50 ‘Green Game Changing’ solutions by the World Wildlife Fund and best

practice within the European Waste Framework Directive. International Synergies has three offices; Birmingham

(Head office), Belfast and Brussels.

http://www.international-synergies.com/

Motiva & Sitra – Finland

During 2013 Motiva and Sitra from Finland piloted how the British NISP model could be applied to Finland. The

pilot project, which is funded by Sitra, the Ministry of Employment and Economy and the Ministry of the

Environment, aims to test the NISP working methods and discover what would be the most effective way for

Finland to promote industrial symbiosis at a national level.

The project will assess the possibility of implementation of a national industrial symbiosis program and propose a

plan for the preparation of the program.

http://www.motiva.fi/en/areas_of_operation/material_efficiency/industrial_symbiosis

EUR-ISA

http://www.international-synergies.com/

http://www.motiva.fi/en/areas_of_operation/material_efficiency/industrial_symbiosis


About the Members:

Xerox (Dublin) is a solutions company for document management, digital colour printing

equipment, office & production printers, and business process outsourcing.

Re-box Recycling (Dublin) is a recycling company who manufacture Boxes from recycled

board and recycled boxes.

About the Synergy:

Xerox were introduced to Re-box Recycling at a SMILE event in Croke Park as they had

large quantities of reusable cardboard boxes available on a weekly basis which Re-box

Recycling were interested in reusing.

Re-box Recycling now receive 500 kg of cardboard boxes weekly.

Results:

Xerox now save approximately €8,000 annually on disposal costs of these cardboard

boxes

Re-box Recycling are saving on the purchasing costs of buying a raw material

Approximately 2 tonnes of cardboard will be reused on a monthly basis

This represents a saving of over 400 trees and 165,000 litres of water on an annual

basis representing virgin material not required

2 TONNES OF BOXES REUSED

MONTHLY - €8,000 SAVED



About the Members:

Michael Twomey Butchers (Cork) is a popular family butchers in Macroom.

Aaltonen International (Cork) is a removals and storage business which specialise in local,

national, international, residential, commercial and office relocation.

About the Synergy:

Michael Twomey Butchers had 200+ flat pack cardboard boxes that were over-purchased for

packaging internet orders. SMILE connected them with Aaltonen International as they reuse

cardboard boxes in their removals business

Aaltonen International collected the boxes on the same day that the initial contact was made

and are now reusing them.

Results:

A cost saving of approximately €30 was made as a

result of this exchange as Aaltonen Removals &

Storage received the boxes at a below market price

The cardboard boxes were reused instead of being

recycled

Michael Twomey’s Butchers found a reuse outlet

for the unwanted stock which freed up much

needed storage space

UNWANTED CARDBOARD BOXES

“Great facility and quick response always from the team

involved at SMILE. Setting up your resource account is simple

and the website is easy to navigate around”.

Dermot Hale – Smithstown Light Engineering



About the Members:

Ageing Well Network (Limerick) is a network dedicated to reframe the agenda on ageing

and to act as a catalyst and support for the ageing community.

The Gay Games (Limerick) are an international sporting and cultural event held every four

years. Gay Games Bid X is an organisation bidding to hold the Games in Limerick in 2018.

About the Synergy:

Ageing Well Network got in touch with the SMILE

Resource Exchange as they had 20 pop up

stands following a number of events which they

no longer needed.

SMILE connected the Ageing Well Network with

Gay Games Bid who were able to reuse the pop

up stands for a campaign.

Results:

A cost saving of €3,000 was made if the Gay

Games had to purchase the pop up stands as new

The Ageing Well Network benefitted from avoiding any disposal costs of the resource

20 pop up stands have been diverted from landfill

POP UP SAVINGS OF €3,000

“The Smile Resource Exchange is great way to network with other businesses, do something good for the environment and save

money. I would highly recommend that every business

gets involved”.

Paul Flynn – Flynn Designs



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About the Members:

Perch Dynamic Solutions (Dublin) are driven to problem solve, simplify and create design

solutions that will improve the quality of living.

Springfield Plastics (Dublin) are a manufacturer of quality HDPE pipe drainage products for

agricultural, residential, building, commercial and highway markets.

About the Synergy:

Perch Dynamics contacted the SMILE team as they were in contact with a large plastics

company in Cork who had 50+ tonnes of unwanted plastics. This plastic was suitable for re-

processing. The SMILE team connected them with Springfield Plastic’s as they reprocess

plastics for resale and a successful synergy took place.

Unwanted product, seconds and off-cuts of plastic were passed to Springfield Plastic for

reprocessing and were diverted from landfill.

Results:

60 tonnes of HDPE plastic was recycled and diverted from landfill

This reduced the need for virgin plastic and 250 tonnes of CO2 would have been

released into the atmosphere to produce this

This is the equivalent of taking 100 family cars off the road

60 TONNES OF HDPE PLASTIC



TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE SMILE Resource Exchange collaborated with SPeco Services to apply for Cleaner Greener

Production Programme (CGPP) funding to assist the SMILE project with technical support.

SPeco Services have been meeting with SMILE members and carrying out site visits to

assist synergies in taking place. The following case studies are just a few of the synergies

recorded to date through the CGPP project.


About the Members:

Creganna (Galway) are a well-established expert in medical device manufacturing, where

they make a wide range of medical devices. Originally established in 1980, Creganna is

headquartered in Galway city employing over 750 people.

Harty Bio fuels (Galway) are both an International transport company and Biofuels

manufacturing company where they turn waste vegetable oil into Biofuel. Harty then uses its

own Biofuel in its transport company as well as selling the oil to consumers.

About the Synergy:

Creganna have acquired a large number of pallets on site from which they receive materials

on and have no further use for. Harty Biofuels have a requirement for pallets for storing and

transporting their products and are now receiving 3.5 tonnes of Cregannas unwanted pallets

on a monthly basis.

Results:

42 tonnes of pallets to be reused annually

CO2 reduction of 60 tonnes per annum

HBF saved on costs of purchasing new pallets

Broken pallets are recovered and reused

PALLETS FOR STORAGE AND

TRANSPORT



About the Members:

Ecocel (Cork) is a manufacturing company where they manufacture environmentally friendly

eco insulation. Ecocel manufacture their eco insulation by recycling old newspapers,

cardboard and general office paper waste. The Ecocel product is as effective as other types

of insulation and sold at a cheaper rate.

Unbrako (Clare) are also a manufacturing company where they manufacture bolts and

socket screws, Unbrako export their products to over 25 countries globally. Unbrakos

products are used in a wide variety of products to tools and heavy duty machinery.

About the Synergy:

Ecocel are continuously looking to source waste paper and cardboard to produce their eco-

friendly insulation product. Unbrako identified a large amount of unwanted paper and

cardboard which was generated on site from materials and processes and were looking for

an alternative of disposing the paper and cardboard to landfill.

The synergy was identified during a site visit to Unbrako who were then introduced to

Ecocel. To date Ecocel have received over 2 and a half tonnes of paper and cardboard from

Unbrako and the exchange will occur on a monthly basis.

Results:

Ecocel saved on the cost of purchasing materials to produce their eco-friendly insulation.

Two and a half tonnes of paper and cardboard saved from landfill or exported out of

Ireland

CO2 reduction of 3.6 tonnes

Reduction of 32 trees during manufacturing (USA EPA)

CARDBOARD AND PAPER TO ECO

INSULATION



About the Members:

Loughnanes Joinery (Galway) is a family run timber joinery and manufacturing business

where they manufacture wooden doors, stairs, window frames, and a range of kitchen fit-

outs. As well as working with timber materials Loughnanes Joinery can also manufacture

similar products using PVC instead of timber at the client’s request.

National Custom Renders (Galway) are a construction company where they offer a wide

range of services from machine plastering, External Insulation, ICF Rendering and materials

distribution.

About the Synergy:

During the manufacturing process of timber products at Loughnanes Joinery, they generate

a large amount of timber waste from timber off cuts, timber lats and thicker planks of timber.

National Custom Renders are in the rendering process of a building, varying lengths of

timber lats are required to carry out the rendering process of a building to the design

National Custom Renders were connected with Loughnanes Joinery who have reused over

four tonne of the timber offcuts to date,

Results:

Over 4 tonnes of pine timber reused and diverted from landfill

Saving of 5.8 tonnes of CO2

Loughnanes Joinery saved on recycling or landfill charges of the timber offcuts

National Customer Renders saved on purchasing costs

REUSING WASTE TIMBER IN

CONSTRUCTION



About the Members:

Vistamed (National) was established in 1999 and is a leading provider of extrusion and

catheters to the medical industry. Vistamed has 42000 sq foot of manufacturing space

between its two facilities in Rooskey and Carrick on Shannon. Vistamed prides itself on

providing innovative solutions to complex medical device challenges.

ADN Plastics (National) were established in 2011 in county Monaghan where they provide a

plastics removal and recycling service by partnering with plastic remanufactures.

About the Synergy:

During the manufacturing process of medical devices, Vistamed generate 3.5 tonnes of

HDPE plastic waste monthly which cannot be reused in the manufacturing line therefore they

have no further need or use to hold onto the plastic waste.

The synergy was established during a site visit to Vistamed. Vistamed was connected with

the recently established ADN plastics recycling plant in their area as they process plastic for

reuse within the plastics industry in Ireland and would be interested in the plastic waste.

ADN have since collected 3.5 tonnes of the HDPE plastic to reprocess for reuse in the

plastic industry. This exchange will occur on a monthly basis.

Results:

42 tonnes of HDPE per annum diverted from landfill

Vistamed receives approximately €190 per tonne for HDPE or €7890 per annum

Prevention of 42 tonnes of virgin materials being consumed in the plastics industry

60.9 tonnes of CO2 are saved per annum

REUSE OF PLASTIC HDPE



About the Members:

Tech Group Dublin (Dublin) has been in operation Since 1998. Tech Group Europe has

been a leading manufacturer of medical device products, supporting the device requirements

of our pharma and medtech customers. Tech Group Europe also offers Development and

Engineering support from the concept phase of development through high volume

manufacturing.

Oxigen Environmental (Dublin) is a waste recycling and waste Management Company.

They are committed to promoting sustainability by reducing waste, while at the same time

increasing Recycling and Energy Generation

About the Synergy:

During the manufacturing of the medical devices at Tech Group they generate a

considerable amount of plastic waste, approx 8 tonnes per month, which they are reluctant

to dispose of to landfill. Tech Group were introduced to Oxigen environmental through the

SMILE Resource Exchange network as they have a passion for diverting waste from landfill

and look for such plastic waste to recycle and reintroduce to the manufacturing sector.

Oxigen Environmental take the 8 tonnes per month of plastic material to be recycled at their

facility.

Results:

8 Tonnes of plastic waste was diverted from landfill

Less virgin material consumed in the plastic manufacturing sector

11.6 tonnes of CO2 are saved per month or 139.2 tonnes per annum

RECYCLING WASTE PLASTIC



About the Members:





manufacturing.

Mid-Cork Pallets & Packaging (Cork) is the leading manufacturer of pallets in Ireland

established in 1977. Operating from a 20,000 square meter facility near Macroom in Cork

and a 7,000 square meter storage and distribution centre in Dunboyne, Co. Meath

About the Synergy:

During the manufacturing process at Tech Group Dublin they acquire considerable amount

of pallets on site per month due to delivery of materials and stock on site. Tech Group Dublin

were looking to upcycle the pallets in an environmentally friendly way instead of disposing of

them with a waste company.

As a result of Tech Group being a member of the SMILE Resource Exchange Network they

were introduced to Mid-Cork Pallets as they look to source unwanted pallets that can be

reused as part its business service. To date one Tonne of pallets have been exchanged

between the companies.

Results:

1 tonnes of timber pallets diverted from landfill

CO2 reduction of 1.45 tonnes

REUSING WASTE TIMBER PALLETS



About the Members:

AIB (National) is a Financial Institution set up and founded in Ireland in 1783 where they

have many branches located throughout the country including a AIB Branch Located in

Oranmore Co Galway.

Cope Galway (Galway) are a Charity Organisation originally established in 1970 employing

over 100 people where they provide a service to improve the quality of life to people who are

affected by homelessness, domestic violence and also services for the elderly.

About the Synergy:

Cope Galway has plans to open its first charity shop in October and are continually seeking

donations of good quality clothes to be reused to aid their support services. While AIB are

always keen to help out charitable organisations where they can and give back to the

community as part of their corporate social responsibility and therefore both companies were

introduced to one another.

Members of staff of AIB were made aware of the collection and were encouraged to make

donations if possible.

Results:

10 bags including 12 shirts of good quality clothes were collected from AIB bank in Oranmore

Cope Galway will benefit as the clothes will be sold in the shop to generate revenue for the charity

50 kilograms of clothes were diverted from landfill

REUSING CLOTHES IN CHARITY SHOP



About the Members:





manufacturing.

A Metal Upcycler (Dublin) takes small amounts of waste metal and converts into model

bikes and army tanks

About the Synergy:

Following on from a discussion at the “UpCycle Movement” event in Dublin it was discovered

that Tech Group has waste metal on site which is collected by waste collection company.

The metal upcycler is always looking for waste metal to up cycle into model bikes and army

tanks.

Following from the event a representative from Tech Group Europe was put in contact with

the metal upcycler. A synergy was established following from a meeting on site between the

two. The exchange may take place biannually depending on the amount of metal that is

suitable and easy to use.

Results:

250 kg of waste metal was diverted from leaving the Country.

The metal is u cycled in Ireland

250 kg of virgin metal was reused as parts to make a number of model bikes.

847.5 kgCO2 saved verses making the products from virgin material.

MODEL BIKE MADE FROM WASTE

METAL



About the Members:

Jack Cuthbert’s Bakery (Cork) was established in 1993 when Jack decided to set up his own bakery and with his wealth of baking experience he developed his now famous pezo pan. The pezo pan, a premium loaf with the characteristic of Italian bread made with a lighter dough.

Saint Vincent De Paul (Cork) is the largest, voluntary, charitable organisation in Ireland. This unique network of social concern also gives practical support to those experiencing poverty and social exclusion, by providing a wide range of services to people in need.

About the Synergy:

Jack Cuthbert’s Bakery supplies bread to a number of supermarkets and local shops in

Cork. The shelves in the shops are stacked a number of times per week and unsold bread is

brought back to the bakery for disposal.

Jack Cutbert’s Bakery was introduced to Saint Vincent De Paul food bank as they are

delivering vital supplies to charity organisations across Cork and families in need. The food

bank will collect the surplus bread from Jack Cuthbert’s which is now being shared between

the following organisations; Penny dinners, Simon Community and St Vincent de Paul

Results:

32 trays or 448 surplus loafs of bread used per week

Food bank will distribute the food between a numbers of organisations

Approximately 18,000kg per annum or 21,884 kg CO2 equivalent. ( Source Green

Research USA)

SURPLUS FOOD USED BY CHARITY



NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR – MACROOM E

Since 2010, SMILE Resource Exchange has been actively assisting businesses in

reducing their waste streams, diverting waste from landfill and saving businesses

money. SMILE connects businesses with one another to establish synergies so that

unwanted resources, surplus products and by products can be reused.

Outlined in this booklet are some of the successful synergies that have taken place

since 2010 which demonstrates the type of resources which can be exchanged and

illustrates economic benefits and cost savings made by the businesses involved.

Reuse is becoming more widely spoken about and “the world is an oyster” when it

comes to reuse.

We would like to thank the businesses who are actively involved in the project and for

their continued support throughout. We would also like to thank them for the

information that they have provided which has assisted us greatly in preparing the

case studies.

Finally we would like to thanks Jonathan Derham, Keiron Phillips and Shane Colgan

from the Environmental Protection Agency for their guidance and continued support of

the project.

Documents

SMILE CaseStudy Booklet 2014