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[October 2009]
Pilkington’s Tiles Group Champions the Way in Recycling Initiatives
Pilkington’s Tiles Group (Clifton Junction, Manchester, England) has found new and innovative ways to significantly reduce waste streams at two of the company’s manufacturing facilities. These two large scale projects in Manchester and Poole have eliminated over 5,400 tonnes of waste that is no longer sent to landfill but is now recycled.
At the Manchester Terrazzo facility, wash-off water which is used for the cooling and lubrication of the terrazzo grinding machines during manufacture, is collected, settled and filtered under pressure to extract any solids into a filter cake. The filter cake is reprocessed at the cement works and converted back into gypsum and re-used by a cement manufacturer, thus reducing requirement to quarry virgin material as well as eliminating sending waste to landfill by up to 5,000 tonnes annually.
In Poole, Dorset, tile sludge which is generated during the manufacturing process of floor tiles at the Woolliscroft Facility is gathered into slip arks and re-used during another manufacturing run of the same tile, or a similar colour, eradicating the generation of over 400 tonnes of sludge waste annually.
These projects have resulted in many environmental benefits from eradicating landfill by up to 5,400 tonnes every year, to energy conservation and a lesser requirement for virgin materials and water. As a demonstration, 5,400 tonnes of waste that has been eliminated is equivalent to the amount of waste that is recycled by up to 40,000 people annually (Environment Agency figure).
Eliminating waste and not sending it to landfill reduces CO2 and methane emissions from landfill sites that contribute to climate change. Additionally other negative impacts of landfill sites, such as emitting explosive gases and polluting liquids which eventually cause pollution to surface water, groundwater, soil and air, are reduced.
Pilkington’s Tiles Group said it was committed to continue to find and invest in new and innovative ways to improve its environmental performance and offer a contribution to sustainable architecture.
Steve Lloyd, Group Managing Director, commented: “These recycling initiatives demonstrate our commitment to environmental protection and sustainability. These projects are part of our environmental investment programme, which has resulted in significant environmental benefits and reduction in the requirement of virgin materials in our manufacturing operations as well as elimination of sending a significant amount of waste to landfill. The company is committed to achieving excellence in our environmental performance now and in the future”.
ENDS