Environmental Initiatives to make Dudley Associates a more environmentally friendly place to be.
As a company that manufactures plastic parts, we are only too aware of our impact on the environment.
Plastic is everywhere. No doubt that where you are sat or stood reading this article, you will have plastic parts and devices in eyesight.
The issue of plastic waste is high on the agenda for so many people. Looking after our environment is a hot topic, and rightly so. We need to take more responsibility as individuals, companies, societies, and countries, for our environmental impact.
So where do we start?
Dudley Associates has a firm belief that we are all independently and as a team, responsible for upholding initiatives to improve sustainability. Our company statement found here on our website sets out our understanding of the company’s impact and gives examples of how we are working to improve and reduce this.
Start with the basics
We have recycling bins located throughout our three buildings, in the office alone you will find bins for print cartridges, for paper and for plastics. We have a recycling base in our central unit where cardboard and paper, plastics and metals are taken. We do not allow our general waste bins to be used for anything that isn’t just that.
Each member of our team contributes to each initiative, so we ventured into the mouldshop and toolrooms to see what they had to say and how they each contribute to a more environmentally friendly society.
Mark, our CNC Leader had this to say, “Tooling manufacture can produce a lot of metal waste, especially in the form of metal chippings called ‘Swarf’. Not only is this a waste of material, but the mess that it can create around the machinery – if not cleaned off regularly – can result in a poorly performing machine. This would then lead to a reduction in energy efficiency, so it is crucial that all machinery is cleaned off before and after each run.”
He went on to say, “We won't then just throw this waste away, we will put it into our metal recycling bins which will then be taken off by our recycling partner to be melted down and sold on to use again.”
Recycled Plastics
Over in the mouldshop, similar initiatives take place as our production manager Brett explained to us “It’s not often we will get a job in using recycled plastics, but there have been some. The problem is that when you re-use granules, you aren’t getting a colour match or the necessary additives needed for the part in question – any flame retardancy, for example, is void once recycled, and when mixed together to get enough material, 9 times out of 10 you will end up with a brown/black colour.”
Brett continued “that isn’t to say that it's never done, if aesthetics aren’t an issue for you, then recycled plastics can be the perfect choice, especially for environmentally conscientious”.
Investments
Over the years, and more so in the last 3-4 years, Dudley Associates has invested in new machinery and facilities. The newer the technology, the more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly the machinery is.
From our Arburg and Engel moulding machines to our Röders twin automated CNC in our Toolroom, our equipment is carefully chosen to ensure our impact on the environment is minimal.
We all know how important is to do our part in protecting the environment, which is why we pledge to do all that we can in order to keep our impact as positive as possible.
Written By Lucy Glover, Sales and Marketing Manager
For any Sales or Marketing information, please contact Lucy at lucy.glover@dudleyasssociates.com
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