BPI cuts waste levels by one third in six years
Polythene manufacturing company BPI Group – parent company of bpi.recycled products – has slashed its packaging waste by one third in the past six years.The 33.4% reduction since 2008 was measured as part of BPI’s ongoing commitment to cutting the levels of waste generated by its manufacturing operations. BPI achieved the saving partly by minimising the amount of material used to package its own products by the equivalent of 25,000 tonnes in the past three years on a like-for-like basis.
BPI has reduced waste by down-gauging the packaging it converts for its customers but only when this is possible without resulting in increased product spoilage. In 2013 BPI used and converted the least amount of packaging since the company’s records began by replacing single use packaging with reusable packaging. The Dumfries site redesigned the way it packages materials by increasing more finished products into the same amount of packaging; thus minimising waste. Last year two BPI sites achieved zero-waste-to-landfill.
“We’re extremely proud to have cut waste so significantly in the past six years,” says group energy manager John Haddow. “It wasn’t easy to achieve this milestone figure but it’s a testament to the commitment to innovation and sustainability that runs through our business that we were able to do so. We won’t be resting on our laurels and will continue to look for ways to cut our packaging waste further in the coming years.”
Waste reduction is just one aspect of BPI’s sustainability programme. The company has put in place a strategy to reduce energy consumption and mitigate its carbon footprint. Employees are encouraged to engage in the process with suggestions and by implementing energy reduction methods.
Meanwhile, BPI subsidiary bpi.recycled products recycles up to 70,000 tonnes of waste polythene every year as part of a closed loop recycling system which saves it from being sent to landfill. The polythene is cleaned and turned into pellets which can be used to create innovative ‘second life’ products. bpi.recycled products uses some of the pellets to create The Green Sack, a range of 100% recycled refuse and recycling sacks.