Product category:
Materials and components
News Release from: MacDermid Autotype
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 03 November 2003
Waste management programme cuts landfill
use
Autotype International has implemented a waste management programme that has enabled it to reduce its landfill waste by over 90%, from an annual total of more than 700t to just a few tonnes.
Autotype International has implemented a waste management programme that has enabled it to reduce its landfill waste by over 90%, from an annual total of more than 700t to just a few tonnes The company's site in Oxfordshire covers 11 acres and operates 24 hours a day, manufacturing over 20 million square metres of coated film and more than a 1kt of chemical products every year
This article was originally published on Engineeringtalk on 3 Apr 2002 at 8.00am (UK)
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As a leading UK manufacturing company, Autotype is committed to a long-term strategy to minimise the environmental impact of its production process and has a dedicated environmental management team.
Faced with a shortage of landfill sites, the rising costs of disposal and the certainty of rising landfill tax, combined with the company's obligations under its ISO14001 environmental management system, the environmental management team has gradually implemented new methods of recycling and waste management procedures to reduce its landfill waste.
To achieve this, Autotype worked with two waste management specialists: Eurokey and Fibrefuel.
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Eurokey specialises in plastics recycling, and found alternative applications for Autotype's scrap coated films and offcuts, resulting in a reduction of 290t in previous landfill waste.
In addition, Autotype generates an average of 400t of miscellaneous waste including offcuts, packaging, magazines, cardboard and plastic cups.
This waste is now transported in compacted containers to Slough, where Fibrefuel has a newly established plant for turning industrial process waste into fuel pellets.
This initiative has resulted in Autotype's waste being used as pellets in a power station to generate electricity for use by the Slough Trading Estate.
To support these waste management programmes, Autotype has implemented rigorous controls over its waste streams and introduced separate collection arrangements to ensure that unsuitable materials, such as chlorinated materials as well as metallic, ceramic and large objects, are not included in the waste used by Fibrefuel.
Dr Sem Seaborne, Regulatory Affairs Manager at Autotype explains: "In addition to the new waste management initiatives we have put in place, we also implemented an educational programme targeted at employees, suppliers and contractors to ensure that the concept of waste streaming was successfully adopted by all concerned.
We are delighted that both the Eurokey and Fibrefuel schemes are operating effectively, as we have been able to reduce our landfill waste from the previous hundreds to just a few tonnes, benefiting both the environment and the organisation, in terms of operating profits". Request free introductory details about products from MacDermid Autotype ...
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