Page 46 - Plastics News September 2024
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FEATURE NEWS




          are now designing products with their entire life-    The manufacturing industry works with many
          cycle in mind. This involves considering the ease     other sectors, meaning that some of the waste
          of disassembly, the recyclability of materials,       produced can be classified as hazardous.
          and the potential for components to be reused.        Whether waste is hazardous or non-hazardous
          For instance, companies in the electronics indus-     is covered by the European Sustainability Re-
          try are developing modular products that can be       porting Standard, but often refers to materials
          easily upgraded or repaired, thereby extending        that are a threat to the health of humans and the
          their lifespan and reducing the volume of elec-       environment.
          tronic waste.
                                                                Scott Hawthorne stressed the importance of
          The food waste crisis                                 hazardous  waste  as an area  that  manufactur-
                                                                ing must focus efforts to improve: “Within the
          While manufacturing as a sector is most closely       manufacturing industry, you’re working with a
          associated with materials such as plastic, scrap      multitude of sectors that can range from expired
          metal, plaster, and chemicals, it’s estimated that    medication and needles from the medical sector
          more than two-thirds of manufacturing waste           to industrial solvents and asbestos. Not only can
          comes from biological sources. One of these is        these contribute significantly to landfills, but the
          food waste, with the UK being one of the largest      damage they can do to the human body and the
          offenders, with more than 6.4 million tonnes of       environment should be a reason enough for the
          edible food being thrown away annually.
                                                                sector to keep on top of the waste produced.
          Finding solutions for manufacturers to reduce         “Prioritising  the  safe  handling  and disposal  of
          food waste is crucial to reducing the amount          this waste will be a huge factor in the future of
          of waste. One method that’s been researched           the sector and something that will constantly de-
          and confirmed for its viability is anaerobic di-      velop. This could be through emerging tech that
          gestion, which involves collecting and transfer-      helps to identify materials that are dangerous to
          ring the waste into a tank deprived of oxygen,        human and environmental health, or auditing the
          breaking it down with microorganisms. Biogas is       sectors your business works with to mitigate the
          produced and can be converted into electricity        amount of harmful materials produced.”
          generation. With 1.3 million tonnes of food waste
          broken down annually, it’s capable of powering        The manufacturing sector is undergoing a signif-
          200,000 homes throughout the UK.                      icant transformation as it tackles the challenge
                                                                of waste. Regulatory and consumer pressures
          By prioritising sending food waste to digestion       further reinforce the importance of these ef-
          plants and working to create a more circular          forts, making waste reduction not just an envi-
          economy within the supply chain, it can not only      ronmental imperative but a business necessity.
          reduce physical waste but also help to reduce         As these trends continue to evolve, the manu-
          the industry’s greenhouse gas emissions, pro-         facturing industry has the potential to become
          tect the environment’s biodiversity, and require      a leader in sustainability, setting an example for
          much less energy for production.
                                                                other sectors to follow.
          The dangers of handling and disposing of haz-                                   Source – Recycling Magazine
          ardous waste


             46 48  PL                                                                         September 2024
                  PLASTICS NEWSASTICS NEWS
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