Cutting Waste, Not Just Panels
The amount of waste we generate, how we handle it and how we can reduce it has always been something we have been mindful of, particularly the impact of landfill on the environment.
Whilst wood waste, such as sawdust and unusable offcuts, and in-bound packaging are the largest sources of waste, they are also the easiest to deal with.
Packaging – Our inbound stock arrives packed in cardboard and strapped onto wooden bearers with steel banding.
We either reuse the wooden bearers for stacking panels or shred and recycle them through our biomass system.
The metal banding is stored and recycled once or twice a year, whilst in-bound cardboard packaging is re-used for packing customer orders.
Machining – When sanding, edging or routing panels, the dust and woodchips are extracted via our smart extraction system and stored for later use as fuel.
Offcuts of board are another potential waste issue; however, our larger offcuts are cut up for other orders, sold as offcuts or used to pack larger orders. Smaller offcuts are used to protect the edges of smaller orders or shredded and used as fuel.
Non-recyclables – To ensure separation of our non-recyclable waste from our recyclables, we have implemented a colour-coded bin system. One for plastics and glass, one for wood, paper and cardboard and one for the non-recyclable waste.
Investing to Reduce
Whilst we have always been aware of the unsustainable issue of landfill, the amount of energy we use has also become an area for concern, particularly with today’s excessive prices.
Smart Lighting – One of our most recent upgrades was to an intelligent workshop lighting system comprising 150w LED light fitting each with its own sensor to detect light level, and occupancy.
The benefits include lower energy consumption, significantly reduced maintenance costs (no light bulbs to replace) and interruption, and of course, a much brighter working environment.
Intelligent Extraction – Another brilliant investment was the addition of the Ecogate system to our existing extraction system. The intelligent extraction gates, now fitted above each machine, have converted our system from “always on” to “on demand” extraction.
The efficiency of this system has significantly improved air quality in the workshop, reduced mess (sawdust) around the machines, reduced the noise levels and saved a considerable amount in electricity.
From Board to BTUs
Our most significant investment to reduce our non-renewable energy consumption was our 2015 investment in a combined biomass heating and dust extraction system.
The automated system is fuelled exclusively by the wood waste generated in our day-to-day panel processing activities. The waste wood is burnt inside a giant boiler that heats a self-contained water system, which then delivers heat to the workshop and offices via a series of industrial and domestic radiators. Think of it as a giant central heating system.
The system has taken our heating completely off-grid and reduced the volume of wood we send to landfill to zero.
