When you double in size - square footage, revenue, and employees - can you expect to put
less to the solid waste stream? Not ordinarily...
Rob Varnel, R&M Laminating, a Vancouver BC trade laminator, did just that. He doubled the size of his company and reduced the amount of waste going into land fills to one quarter of the amount he
used to dispose of.
Being located within shouting distance of plastics, paper, and corrugated recyclers has made all the difference. Varnel and his team have room in their operation to "cage" and store separated waste for collection by special recyclers.
Rigid plastic - the spindles on which his laminating film is shipped - is separated from the soft plastic shrink wrap that pallets of print jobs are wrapped in when he gets them. He flattens and stores corrugated in a different cage for the corrugated recycler and keeps all the flat sheet and shredded documents separate for the paper recycler.
In 2008,
R&M began offering an "Earth-Friendly Laminate" made with a film from wood cellulose rather than petroleum products. Unfortunately the waste laminate and laminated "off cuts" are coated with an adhesive that prevents them from being recycled. Rob solved his disposal problem by contracting with a company that burns waste for energy production.
Because he has a steady stream of a particular balance of film and paper, Varnel's waste management partner can calculate the heat level required to dispose of the waste while capturing the maximum energy output and gas emissions.
Is it difficult to manage all these waste streams? According to Varnel, "all you need is space." By storing separate materials until the container is full, both R&M and the recycling partner benefit.
