Hino South Africa (SA) will this year double the energy output from the solar roof panel project at its truck assembly plant in Durban, says VP Anton Falck. 

“Currently the roof panels provide 600 kWp. A further 800 kWp will be added by the middle of the year as a further 6 600 m2 of roofing is covered with solar panels. 

“This will bring the total energy output to 1 400 kWp,” notes Falck.

Roof repairs and strengthening of the support structure are already in progress, with the installation of panels, inverters and cables set to start in April. 

Construction will take place at night to prevent any impact on manufacturing operations during the day, says Falck.

The local arm of the Japanese truck maker also aims to become a zero waste-to-landfill manufacturing facility. 

Hino SA’s factory waste in 2021 amounted to 31.67 t, with 72% diverted from going to landfills. 

In 2022, 77% of the 28.84 t of waste was diverted, and last year the amount of waste decreased to 20.88 t, but with 71% diverted from landfills. 

This year the target is to divert 81% of waste from entering landfills.

Waste segregation at the Durban plant takes place at source, with various methods used to dispose of it, so it does not end up in landfills. 

Dry, hazardous waste is disposed of through incineration, while food waste from the canteen is recycled using bugology treatment.

This involves feeding waste food to maggots, more specifically the Black Soldier fly, which converts it to compost in a nine-hour cycle, explains Falck.

The World Wildlife Fund estimates that 32-million tonnes of food waste end up in landfills in South Africa each year, leading to harmful methane emissions, as well as soil/water/air contamination and the spread of disease,

“Hino SA, like all the other Hino factories and distributors around the world, is committed to assist Hino Motors in its Environmental Challenge 2050, where the target is carbon neutrality,” says Falck.