The Plastube operation located in Canada has a long history of green initiatives. Canadian environmental laws and manufacturing regulations are among the most innovative and advanced worldwide. Plastube has always met these and worked toward exceeding them. The following list of initiatives and common practices indicates that Plastube is a green manufacturer.
Recycled packaging material
All packaging material used to preserve in-process and finish goods is made out of recycled cardboard.
This year, the Plastube logistic department has developed a new pack out system to reduce the use of boxes to ship finished goods. This initiative will avoid the utilization of thousands of large boxes.
Material recycling
All used cardboard, as well as paper is collected and sent to a local recycler.
All used plastic components are also collected and sent to a local recycler and old metal is sent to a local supplier for reuse purposes.
Hazardous material
Plastube management is always looking for sustainable material to use in the manufacturing process.
Inks and coatings used meet all regulatory requirements and do not hold heavy metals at a concentration higher than 100 ppm.
Hazardous material disposal
Plastube does not throw any chemical into domestic garbage. All residual chemicals are collected and sent to a specialised firm to be disposed of in an environmentally safe manner. Even though this initiative is very expensive with the disposal cost being greater than the initial cost of the raw material, we believe it is a collective awareness responsibility.
Energy
Plastube management is conscious of energy saving impacts on the environment. We work closely with the electricity provider to find solutions to reduce consumption. This year, Plastube will receive credits from the provider for successfully reducing energy used in the water cooling system.
The start-up procedure in the plant was developed to reduce electric consumption.
Manufacturing
Plastube purchasing and engineering departments are working with different suppliers to reduce material used in the manufacturing processes.
We are working on a new project to introduce usage of Post-Consumer Resin material in the extrusion process. We are also working on a project to use internal regrind material in the extrusion process. If these two projects are successful, it will reduce the usage on virgin material by up to 30%.
Office
All office employees are also endorsing the Plastube green initiatives.
· Each office is provided with recycle bins to collect plastic, paper and cardboard.
· The usage of the photocopiers and printers is limited to necessary documents only.
· All used batteries are collected and sent to a specialised recycler.
· All lights and computers must be turned off before leaving the office at night.
A new project is under evaluation to eliminate the usage of the fax and promote computerised document exchange. The administration department is working with our suppliers to encourage computerized invoices as opposed to paper format sent by mail.
Purchasing
The purchasing department is also contributing to the Plastube green initiative by ordering material on line instead of courier or fax. They also encourage all suppliers to use computerized documents instead of paper and courier.
Shipping
The Plastube shipping department is also contributing to the green initiative by promoting full load shipment instead of partials.
The Plastube warehouse was relocated last year across the street from the plant to reduce fuel utilization to transfer finished goods and raw materials.
With environmental consciousness, Plastube is striving to keep a green initiative thinking in its management decision making. We will continue to do everything we can to maintain and improve our current performance.