Wrapping up recycling
June 1st 2010 Plastic is often seen as in opposition to green practices, but recycling provides the answer says Cromwell Polythene. Waste not want not
Cromwell Polythene says it has been among the leading protagonists of ‘closed loop’ recycling for a while, having used recovered waste packaging in the production of its own recycled black refuse sacks for many years. During this time the company has pioneered the need for increased performance from polymers at lower gauges to reduce the amount of plastic used.
More recently Cromwell opened its own dedicated recycling facility in January 2006 and now offers a collection service for a wide range of post industrial plastics and cardboard, working in partnership with its suppliers to identify, segregate and bale the recyclable element of their waste, saving money and reducing the impact on the environment.
Among its recycled blends Cromwell Polythene provides a 97% recycled content and actively promotes the use of this grade wherever possible. The company will, however, supply other materials when only virgin films are appropriate, such as for food use. Both types – recycled and virgin – are marketed under Cromwell’s own ‘LOWCO2T’ approach, which applies light weighting manufacturing techniques without any loss of performance.
In the bag While Cromwell promotes the concept of reuse and recycling, it is glad to service the growing demand for degradable polythene refuse sacks and offers a wide range of waste management products, including refuse sacks, wheeled bin liners, dog waste bags, recycling collection bags, sandbags and bio-degradable plastics for the storage and collection of compost waste.
In addition to the extensive range of bags and sacks it holds in stock, the company supplies the cleaning and janitorial sector with a full technical printing and bespoke size service.
Also on offer is a specially engineered range of ‘LOWCO2T’ aprons that use up to 40% less polythene than competitive products. “Not only does that mean substantial savings on fuel and emissions throughout the supply chain, but less volume and therefore less cost when it comes to disposal, whether by landfill, incineration, or alternative treatment,” says Garth Iminson, general manager. “We also re-examined the cutting form to optimise the size and shape of head hole and aprons ties and minimise the amount of production scrap generated. As you would expect, all production scraps are fed back into the production cycle anyway, so all of our aprons contain an amount of clean recycled material.
The same criteria have been applied to Cromwell’s water soluble strip bags,” adds Iminson. “The carbon footprint for one tonne of polythene, from cradle to grave, is variously reported as being somewhere between three to six tonnes.
“On the conservative side, assuming that one tonne of polythene aprons accounts for four tonnes of CO2, our LowCO2T aprons and bags show a potential CO2 saving of 1.6 tonnes per tonne of product,” says Iminson.
Completing Cromwell’s wide range of cleaning and janitorial products are high quality disposable gloves, available in vinyl, nitrile and latex to satisfy customers’ requirements. The latex gloves are bio-degradable and manufactured from natural rubber, using sustainable resources. Like the aprons, the production process uses the latest techniques to produce thinner, stronger gloves, which remain fit for purpose. The improved specification of the material results in smaller packaging and increased volumes being shipped in every container, once again reducing the products’ carbon footprint.
www.cromwellpolythene.co.uk | 
