Environmentally Responsible Plastics Manufacturing
We all learned in primary school that the best way to help our planet is to remember three simple words: “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!” It’s easy to follow through on those ideas at home, but how do custom injection molding factories manage it? After all, their potential impact on the environment is huge; do these plants do their part to help the planet?
Of course they do! More and more plants are implementing environmentally friendly policies to both lower their consumption of raw materials and reduce waste. By basing their procedures on these three simple guidelines, factories are making a huge difference.
Custom Injection Molding: Reduce
The first rule of conservation is to reduce consumption. One resource that many manufacturers forget about is fuel! The finished products have to get to a distribution centre somehow, and those trucks use plenty of gas. A great solution to this problem is to build the distribution centre close to the factory, or even on the same premises. That will cut down significantly on the amount of fuel required to get those finished products where they need to go.
Electricity is another great place to cut down on consumption. Many factories, as well as other commercial centres, are switching to more efficient lighting systems that use much less electricity than the older incandescent light bulbs. Additionally, keeping up with the latest developments in cooling saves a lot of power as well.
There are even power management systems that can be installed to monitor where electricity is being used and keep it to a minimum. For example, why have all the lights on in an area where nobody is currently working? Putting motion sensors on those lights will ensure that they are only lit when they are needed rather than wasting all that power.
Custom Injection Molding: Reuse
In the old days, any scrap materials left over after a project might have been simply swept up and thrown out. Now, however, they are melted down and used for the next job, reducing waste and cutting costs at the same time. Such a simple common-sense solution, but it really makes a big difference!
And what about packaging? Seems silly to stick to materials that can only be used once, right? Well, many manufacturers agree, and are switching to packaging supplies that can be extensively reused. And once they’ve gotten to the point where they just can’t be utilized another time, they’re recycled rather than thrown away.
Custom Injection Molding: Recycle
Which brings us to the big one: recycling! Hardly anything is simply thrown into the garbage anymore, since just about everything can be recycled these days. Some materials can be recycled on-site, such as the scrap materials mentioned above, and many factories have partnered with recycling plants to take care of everything else. Paper, electronics, and even batteries are collected and sent off for proper recycling rather than being dumped into a landfill.
In addition to recycling their own waste products, custom injection molding can make extensive use of recycled supplies themselves! You might be surprised at how many commercial products are made from reprocessed materials. A responsible factory will participate in both ends of the recycling game, by recycling their own materials and using recycle materials themselves.
Baytech Plastics is committed to maintaining Earth-friendly strategies in all of our custom injection molding processes. Contact us today to learn more about how we protect our planet without compromising on quality.