Going green can
actually save costs
It seems there is no escaping the environmental zeitgeist, especially in cases which show that altruistic concerns and economic expediency are not necessarily mutually exclusive. That is one way of looking at the new waste disposal project implemented by Skanem Liverpool. “With the increasing focus on the environment in our day-to-day life and the spiralling costs for disposal of waste materials through landfill, it was critical that we reviewed our processes in this area,” says Steve Dunne, site managing director. “This is a problem we all face in our daily lives and it is becoming key in any manufacturing business.”
The outcome was a new baling system, backed by a scheme involving the return and re-use of all ink, varnish and chemistry containers both internally and with supply partners. Skanem Liverpool produces around 1,000 tons of disposable waste every year, most of which is PSA laminate. Previously it was compacted and taken off to a landfill site.
The new system directly removes all matrix waste from the presses for baling. It is then loaded onto a transport sledge and removed free of cost from the site by an independent recycling company. This waste is then converted into plastic formed end-user items for the building and agricultural industries. “The success of this project can now be clearly seen in the reduction of compactor collections to one per week from the previous three,” says Dunne. “It has now become a real blueprint for the rest of the group to follow in going green for ours and our children’s future.”