Our environmental policy

At Seevent Plastics we consider the environmental impact of all our actions. We set legislated targets as our minimum objective and recognise our responsibility not only to the environment as a whole but also to our neighbours and staff. Wherever possible we adopt best practice, utilise current advances in technology and follow guidelines issued by the Environment Agency.

All our products are recyclable. They have been carefully designed to minimise the environmental impact through using less material and energy than traditional materials.

Whenever possible, we recycle our own waste thereby reducing the amount of prime materials we use. We seek to minimise scrap and urge our partners and suppliers to do the same. We also operate environmentally sound transport arrangements. To ensure the success of our environmental policy, we monitor all materials arriving and leaving our site in order to check that our own targets are being met.

We encourage our staff to contribute to the development of our working practices in order to improve our performance, reduce our environmental impacts and operate as good, responsible, neighbours.

Use of plastics for packaging

The use of plastics for packaging materials provides several advantages over other forms of packaging.

• Plastic does not rust, splinter or break easily making it a safer option than many other materials.
• Plastic is tough and can resist chemicals, weather, and wear and tear.
• Plastic is light, meaning less material is used to perform the same function.
• Plastic is easily recycled, refuse sacks, rubble bags, even imitation wood, can be produced from waste plastic packaging.
• Plastic film accounts for approximately 2% of the world’s annual oil production and, compared to other materials, plastic requires less energy to transport and manufacture.
• Although over 40% of the food we buy in the UK is packed in plastic, it only accounts for 4% of the waste we throw away.
• In the UK, only 2% of food produced is thrown away as unfit for consumption before it reaches the consumer, compared with between 30% and 40% of food spoiled in the third world, where packaging is less widely used.
• Re-use of plastic is common practice, although difficult to quantify. Most plastic sacks see second third or even four uses as rubble sacks, garden waste bags, pot liners and numerous other applications. Plastic is easy to recycle but is only beneficial, in environmental terms, when it is amassed into large quantities.
• Plastic does not degrade in landfill, it remains inert, which means it does not produce dangerous gases or harmful contamination to underground water.

Use of raw materials

The main raw material used by Seevent Plastics is polyethylene. We source all raw materials from leading manufacturers.
.
We work with our customers to reduce the thickness of their polythene products, without compromising performance. Our use of the latest generation of polymers, in our unique Xtrastrong blends, has enabled us to provide significant savings to our customers in terms of packaging waste obligations.

Noise

All our plant and machinery is regularly checked for noise emissions. Noisy fans and worn bearings, which create unnecessary machinery noise, are replaced as and when required. Our maximum noise levels are below the current first action level, but our aim is to reduce this even further by adopting modern, more noise efficient motors and fans, when replacing existing units.

Pollution

Pollution of the ground, surface water, drains and sewers is controlled by use of bunded pallets to support drums of ink, solvent and oils. Where possible these are stored inside or undercover, to prevent rainwater contamination.

Polymer granules are swept up promptly to prevent them from entering drains.

VOC emissions

Current printing inks and solvents are used as efficiently as possible. Substitution with water-based inks is planned for the future and trials using the latest available technology are currently being held.

Energy

We are aware of the high use of energy in plastics processing and our engineers monitor all plant and machinery on a regular basis to ensure full operational efficiency. When motors etc require replacement we endeavour to use low energy alternatives, such as inverter motors.

Lighting is installed to achieve satisfactory levels of light to work safely and accurately, without using excessive units. Lighting with low energy use is selected as a priority. Where applicable, timer switches are fitted to ensure lights are not left on unnecessarily and, unoccupied areas are lit to minimum safety levels.

We recycle as much of the heat, produced by the production process, as possible and use it to heat the working areas. Only minimal additional heating is required in exceptionally cold weather.

Liquid Waste

All waste ink and solvent is collected and disposed off using specialist contractors. Oil and other maintenance fluids are treated in a similar way.

General Waste

As much of our process waste as possible (over 90%) is collected for reprocessing and re-used in suitable products.

Ink and solvent containers (205L drums and IBC's) are returned to the suppliers for re-use. Small plastic containers used in-house are re-filled from the bulk containers, resulting in minimal wastage.

Raw material handling is mainly by mechanised systems, resulting in reduced spillage. Pallets of raw material are stored in a dedicated warehouse close to the production area, requiring minimal movement.

Full use of information technology and electronic data storage results in far less office waste being created. This technology is now extended to the production facility.

If you have a question relating to our environmental policy, please call Seevent Plastics on 01903 755877.