Waste streams that we have introduced as part of our on-going commitment to the environment
WATER BASED COATINGS
Water based coatings are our preferred choice for sealing printed work. The minimal waste from this process is sent to a recycling centre which extracts 5% solid and leaves 95% water which is treated and returned to the relevant water course. The containers that contain the coating solutions are sorted into re-usable/damaged drums. Good condition drums are washed and re-used, damaged drums are shredded and re-used into items such as motorway drainage pipe.
ALUMINIUM LITHO PLATES
Once we have completed the printing process the aluminium litho printing plates are sent to a recycling centre where 100% of the aluminium is melted down and is then re-used as a pure raw material.
CHEMICAL CONTAINERS
Any chemistry we purchase is currently supplied on a consignment stock system. This ensures that we use the minimum that is required and all containers are sent back to the supplier for re-use.
WOODEN PALLETS
During the production of the printed matter, various wooden pallets are used. Once these become damaged and are not re-useable, the pallets are collected from our site, transported and stored prior to shredding. Coarse timber is made into chip and fibre board, whilst finely shredded material is used for animal bedding, etc.
INKS
In conjunction with J&G Environmental we have the facility to recycle any waste ink that is produced. The flammable portion of waste ink can be used as fuel to start blast furnaces, or as a low grade fuel. Toxic oil based Inks are put through a Solidification treatment process to produce low-strength cementation.
TRANSPORT
Our company policy for our transport has been to convert vehicles to LPG fuel. This is not only beneficial to the environment but also allows us to be Congestion Charge exempt, allowing us to pass on these savings to our customers.
PRINTING BLANKETS
Our used printing blankets are now recycled in the following way. The aluminium bars are removed and recycled in the same manner as our litho plates. The compressible rubber blanket is sent to J&G Environmental where it is shipped to a recycling centre, which turns the used rubber into a soft playground surface, which you will find in all modern playgrounds/play areas etc.
ENVIRONMENT
Taking a responsible attitude towards the environment has always been a part of the Linkway Group’s philosophy. We strive to minimise the potentially significant impacts of our operations on the environment. We encourage energy efficiency and promote waste minimisation and environmentally-friendly waste disposal. Our main manufacturing plant in E9 is now accredited to ISO14001, having satisfied the measuring, auditing and improvement in its environmental status in order to be accredited.
This has been achieved in two ways:
Recycling – this maximises the use of resources by extending the life of raw materials, and it saves energy and chemicals. Recycling takes waste out of landfill and back to fulfilling a useful purpose. We separate waste in order to ensure that each type is recycled where possible or disposed of in the most environmentally responsible manner.
Transportation/community – being a fully-integrated group, with all manufacturing facilities on site, we are able to avoid shipping tons of print around our local road system for finishing processes which are usually handled by specialist companies. This significantly reduces our environmental impact and we are currently giving consideration to even cleaner and more efficient vehicles.
We expect any suppliers we may use to demonstrate good environmental, social and ethical management practices.