Shrink Wrap / Environmental Policy

Our Environmental Policy

Objectives

1. Choice - Our customers have total choice; hence our ranges of materials and machinery include all appropriate equipment specifications and every presentation shrink and inert film.
2. Advice - We provide the best available advice, to allow our customers to make the most appropriate decisions. Our impartiality is guaranteed as a direct function of the total cover provided by our products.
3. Responsible manufacturing - Our plants seek to embrace good manufacturing practice in this area.
4. Responsible products - We seek to ensure that our products have a neutral or positive environmental impact.
5. Responsible operations - Our own operations include a commitment to environmental responsibility, minimising any detrimental effects, and maximising any potential benefits.
6. Compliance - We meet all and any statutory requirements, and work to assist our customers to do the same. The recovery and recycling of packaging waste falls into this category - we actively help our customers to meet the required targets.

Policy Development

1. The analysis of our films - It is necessary to consider all the relevant film types, and their relative advantages. Display films may be classified into PVC and non-PVC materials where the latter may be divided again into relatively simple films, or sophisticated complexes - both are categorised as polyolefins. In this context, polyolefins include both standard and linear polyethylene and polypropylene structures - these may be used singly, in multi-layer form, and with treatment - such as irradiation. PVC has an amorphous crystalline structure which includes in its final form, a high level - in the order of 30% - of other materials, notably plasticiser.
2. The concerns - The areas that are relevant to this analysis are the manufacture and subsequent use of the films, and the disposal of process and final waste.
3. Advice on forming policy - Each film will offer any user specific advantages in absolute and environmental terms and we would wish to offer specific advice, as this subject's size requires that this approach is used. This advice will also incorporate the appropriate considerations that are relevant to the manufacturing stage of any material. Following the above, the user must look to the combination of film with equipment and the pack, to be able to view the end result objectively, with environmental concerns factored into the conclusion. Policy may be limited as a result of this full overview.
4. Assessing the environmental impact - There are four main non-manufacturing assessment criteria that may be applied to film analysis; source reduction, recovery including incineration, recycling and finally landfill. These have been listed in accordance with their desirability. Clearly, the minimisation of use and take-up of non-renewable resources is the most desirable. Recovery, which includes waste-to-energy incineration, enhances the value of any film. Recycling so that materials are remanufactured or other products are created, provides a valid means of dealing with waste. Although landfill is the least desirable disposal route, films have distinct virtues in this area as well.
5. Compliance - As a responsible company we fulfil the European Directive targets on the the recovery and recycling of packaging waste. We subscribe to a scheme run by Onyxpak, who are part of the Onyx Environment Group, one of the UK's market leaders in waste management. Onyxpak operate an extensive range of waste management, recovery and recycling facilities, including modern energy from waste plants, and state of the art recycling centres.

Our Conclusion