Case Study

Geosentinel Australia

Washbox from Geosentinel Australia is an Australian invention that provides a closed-loop tool wash solution for all construction and maintenance sites requiring washout facilities for wet trades.

They’re the first to certify under GECA’s Sustainable Products & Services standard – a unique fusion containing the robust nature of a lifecycle ecolabel with the data generation of a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA).

What are some key sustainability aspects of your GECA certified product?

The WASHBOX uses very little raw portable water compared to conventional tool washout systems, and its filtration system captures virtually all solid waste inputs. WASHBOX is a self-contained wastewater treatment plant with no discharge to ground, sewer or stormwater, eliminating solid waste discharge to the natural environment and preventing pollution.

Employing WASHBOX on a project will eliminate a significant amount of material resources in the form of temporary drums, water connections, and PVC pipe, which will be removed at the end of the project and disposed of in landfill. We designed WASHBOX to be refurbished and put back into service on another project.

Why did you choose to get GECA certification?

GECA is a very well-recognised organisation that can assist anyone committed to continuous improvement in their sustainability. As an environmental service provider, we needed a recognised third party to validate our environmental claims to ensure our clients’ confidence in our service offering. The GECA process is credible and well-received in the marketplace and ensures that we are genuine and trustworthy. GECA also has many resources that are at our disposal, and this is pivotal in creating new opportunities for our business, especially in global markets.

How important is third-party certification to you and your customers?

In the increasingly cost-competitive and deregulated markets, consumers constantly seek assurance of environmental claims, performance and quality of products and services. The GECA ecolabel on your product and service indicates a good environmental choice and can create new opportunities for your business.

The GECA ecolabel tells your customers that you are committed to quality and the environment and have the confidence to have your product independently assessed regularly. As stated previously, as an environmental service provider, we need a recognised third party to validate our environmental claims to ensure our clients are confident in our service offering.

Did you have to make changes to your product to obtain GECA certification?

We did not have to make any changes to our product or service to obtain the GECA certification, as in its current form, the WASHBOX delivers the following environmental load reductions compared with conventional tool washing systems:

•  Human Health: 63% reduction
•  Ecosystems: 77% reduction
•  Resources: 93% reduction

However, undertaking the cradle to grave Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) required to get the GECA certification has highlighted the following key findings:

The upstream module (raw materials and components for WASHBOX) is the most significant contributor to all environmental impact indicators except water depletion. It contributes to 52%-91% of all indicators for WASHBOX.

This new information generated from our GECA LCA allows us to focus on these impact areas. For example, the sourcing of suitable recycled aluminium for the support frame of the WASHBOX, and this in turn, will further reduce our environmental impact as aluminium was the most significant contributor to carbon emissions, accounting for approximately 30% carbon footprint of the WASHBOX.

It was very pleasing to confirm through our GECA LCA that comparing the WASHBOX service and conventional tool washing shows that the WASHBOX delivers a significant reduction of environmental load.