March Update

just a quick update as to where we are at...

It has now been a long enough period of time since we started reducing our power usage to be able to measure the results. I am pleased to be able to report that we have reduced our day usage by 30% and our nightly usage by 45% (of the average of the preceding 4 years). This is an excellent reduction in our carbon footprint, not to mention the financial benefits.

In terms of our waste collection we are now putting approx 82% less waste to landfill than we were 2 years ago and are making about a 55% saving in the cost of having our waste collected.

These are excellent results.

ISO14001:2004

On the 30th of October we were awarded with ISO 14001 certification.

Plastic Waste

We have just changed our waste contractor as our previous contractor was unable to meet our waste / recycling requirements. We wanted to be able to recycle our plastic waste but that wasn't a service that they could provide.

We now have four different bins - one for paper, one for card, one for plastics and one for general waste. The introduction of the fourth 'plastic waste' bin means that we have again reduced the amount of waste that goes to landfill and that all of our plastic waste is now sent for recycling.

BS 8555 Phase 2 and 3 Certificate

Biodegradable Loose Fill Packing Chips

We have just changed the type of packing chips that we use for a 'greener' option. We are now using Flo-Pak Green.

FLO-PAK GREEN is the first ever polystyrene loosefill made from 100% recycled polystyrene material which degrades in the presence of microorganisms and will degrade within 9-60 months.

This sustainable product is made from 100% recycled content, reusable, 100% recyclable, consuming less energy during production and does not attract any rodents and is a funky green colour.

Eco Printy - The Environmentally Friendly Stamp

We are now selling the Eco-Printy in our shop, an environmentally friendly stamp. For more info visit the Trodat web site.

BS 8555 Phase 2 and 3 Certification

Today we had the second assessment of our environmental management system. I am pleased to say that we have passed !
We have decided to move our final assessment forward to August, seven months ahead of schedule.

Landfill Update

After some number crunching I have worked out that so far we have reduced the amount of waste that we send to landfill by 55%.

Reduction of Water Usage

The first step we have taken to reduce the usage of water was to measure how many times the toilets in the building were flushed each day. This was done on a few different days in order to get an average figure.

We then put a 2 litre plastic bottle, with the top removed, into each of the cisterns. What this does is to reduce the amount of water needed to re-fill the cistern after each flush by 2 litres.

After doing the maths we have discovered that we are using approx 33,500 litres of water LESS per year.

Saxon Recycling

During January we began further segregation of our waste and we now use the services of Saxon Recycling to help us with this.

Changes made since contact with Saxon....

1. All the cleaning rags that get used throughout the company are now placed into seperate bins and not put in with the general waste. Saxon take these away for cleaning.
2. Saxon are also buying our used aluminium plates that we use for offset printing for reprocessing.
3. All effluent from printing processes is now stored in containers and collected by Saxon for disposal.
4. Used plastic containers that had 'harzardous' products in them are now being stored and then collected by Saxon for cleaning and recycling
   

Saxon did their first 'pick-up' from us on January 23rd.

No Paper or Cardboard to Landfill !

We have just had our first waste paper collection.
This means that as of today none of our paper or cardboard waste will be going to landfill !

Segregated Paper & Cardboard Waste

We are now segregating all of our paper and cardboard waste on a daily basis. It is to be collected separately from our general waste and taken away for recycling.

Waste Stream

Last weeks monitoring of the paper waste proved to be very successfull. Not only did it give us actual figures of the amount of paper waste we are generating it also started us with segregating our waste stream.

This week we have begun the monitoring of our plastic waste.

Paper Waste Only

This week we are starting to monitor the amounts of paper waste that we produce with the aim of eventually segregating all of our waste and getting as much of it recycled as possible.

Environmental Policy

There is now a copy of our Environmental Policy posted on the Hertfordshire Display web site. To view it please click here.

BS 8555 Phase 1 Certification

Today we had our first assessment by BSI against BS8555.
I am pleased to say that we have passed this stage.

Next Steps

After having the management meeting and the views of our staff last week we have put a few new things into place within the company.

1. Our retail shop is now to stock more 'green' products.

2. More recycled paper is to be kept in stock to give customers a recycled choice.

3. The two guillotines in the factory have motors and halogen lights in them. Previously they were left on for the whole day but are now switched off when not in use, which is actually about 90% of the day.

4. There was unnecessary lighting being used in the factory, this has been stopped.

5. Lights are now being turned off when the room is vacated.

6. Only one of the shop print machines is turned on at 8a.m. (used by sales between 8 & 9a.m.), the other is left off until the shop opens at 9a.m.

7. All Xerox machines have been put into 'energy saving' mode when idle (likewise on computers ).

8. An anti-syphon valve has been fitted to the outside tap.

The First Management EMS Meeting

This evening we had our first full management meeting in which we spoke to all of the Company Directors and Departmental Managers about our progress with our environmental policy. We discussed what steps we, as a company, have already taken and what direction we should take from here.

During the meeting the management gave us full support of what we are doing and approved our Environmental Policy.

We then went on to discuss and make initial plans as to how we can reduce the amount of electricity the company consumes and also reducing our waste.

Staff Ideas On Reducing Environmental Impact

This week we invited members of our staff to submit their ideas and views on ways to reduce our impact on the environment. The results proved to be excellent, it was good to see so many great ideas and also to see that the staff showed an interest in the environment and in our project. These ideas will all be taken into account and you can be assured you will see many of them being used in this project.

Thanks guys !

WEEE Regulations

Under the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations (WEEE) we have an obligation to accept back used electronic goods that our customers have bought in our shop and dispose of them responsibly on their behalf. Our customers can now bring anything that falls into this category back into our shop and give it to any member of our shop staff. We now dispose of all of our used electronic goods in accordance with these regulations, such as fluorescent tube bulbs. We pay an extra charge when buying them in order to return them for responsible disposal when required. If you have bought anything in our shop that has this logo on and you have finished with it, please bring it back to us for disposal.

Xerox Waste Disposal

During July 2008 we realised the quantity of Xerox consumables (toner, plastic bottles and machine components) that were being put into the general waste bins and ending up in a landfill was quite substantial. We therefore contacted Xerox to see if they had a recycling program and if so, could we return our Xerox based waste to them. They said yes!

Since the 28th July 2008 none of our Xerox waste has ended up in landfill.

Ink Jet Cartridges

It also transpires that our shop staff have been recycling customers' used ink cartridges for over eight years now ! Excellent !

They have been collecting used cartridges back from customers and giving them to a company called Quest Cancer Research. This company raises money for cancer research and are also involved in the recycling of ink cartridges.

Since July 2007 we have also started to recycle the empty ink cartridges used in our large format print machines.

Chemistry-Free 4 Colour Press

Also in April 2006 we purchased our first chemistry-free and environmentally friendly four colour press, a Presstek 34DI-X. For more information about the press please click here to download in pdf format (1.3mb).

Chemistry-Free Plate Maker

In April 2006 we swapped over to the Presstek Vector TX52, a chemistry-free thermal platemaker for our two colour press. This system uses none of the developing chemicals used by traditional platemakers and uses only water to wash the plate. This system uses the Freedom chemistry-free thermal plates. These require no baking, special cleaning fluids, or gumming, resulting in less waste material and a more environmentally friendly print shop. For more information click here to download a pdf.

The Story So Far

The story so far.....

Back in July 2007 we took our first steps towards reducing the amount of waste we put into landfill. The first steps we took were :

1. Cardboard boxes are re-used where possible, where not possible waste boxes are segregated and placed into a separate 'recycling' bin. This is then taken away by a contract waste collection company for recycling. All cardboard waste is also put into this bin.

2. Plastic waste from our polybag machine is collected for re-use as packaging, also any packaging (air bags & chips) from goods-in are collected for re-use.

3. Cardboard inner tubes from the centre of rolls of large format paper are kept and used for putting posters into for delivery / courier.

4. Timber pallets from paper deliveries are kept for re-use for our own deliveries.

Welcome

Hi, I guess if you're looking at this you probably already know who we are, if not... We are a print company based in the town of Ware in Hertfordshire, England. Please visit our web site to find out more about what we do www.hdprint.co.uk.

The reason for us doing this blog is to let our staff and customers see our progress towards reducing the impact our company has on the environment and towards ISO14001 certification. Also the blog will enable people to leave comments or ideas which may help us in this project.

Thanks for looking,
feel free to leave your comments.