Simple Green

Feeling green? No, I’m not talking about that nausea-inducing midnight snack. I’m referring to the biggest movement to sweep across both our industry and society as a whole since the Industrial Revolution – the movement towards eco-friendly, or recyclable, material usage, as well as sustainable energy.

If you haven’t heard the catchphrase “going green” by now, you really should crawl out of your cave – and get a haircut while you’re at it (if you happen to be in the Charleston, SC, area, stop by Steve’s Hair Salon, and tell my dad I said, “Hi!”). All joking aside, becoming more aware of how you personally affect the environment is both a conscious and life-changing process to be taken seriously.

With the big buzz about going green these days, one driving question persists: “What does it mean to be green?” I’ve heard it asked in 100 different circles, and it elicits different answers every time. No book or ironclad guidelines provide a concrete answer on what it means to be green; no instruction manual can turn your shop into a green workplace.

This month, I’ll discuss the realities of recycling vinyl products you use every day in your shop and ways to minimize their waste. Some steps could also save you money – the ultimate “green” everyone wants.

Shop fundamentals

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Small steps can reduce your environmental “footprint” and tout your company as “green.” So, before we specifically discuss pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) vinyl products, let’s examine a few initial changes your shop can make. Again, these steps pertain to everyday activities, but can certainly make your business more attractive to customers looking for green vendors.

Recycling is a good place to start. Take stock of your normal trash, and determine what can, and can’t, be recycled. Soda cans, plastic containers, cardboard boxes, etc., can easily be collected in appropriate bins for pickup. If you’re unsure about local recycling, contact your area’s Public Works department.

Next, consider your shop’s electricity consumption. You can save energy and money by replacing your incandescent bulbs with compact-fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs). A trip to any home-improvement store can help. If your building has multiple offices, install sensor-driven light switches that automatically turn lights on and off when someone enters or leaves the room.

Saving energy is simple: Turn off lights, unplug devices and appliances when not in use, and keep your cooling or heat at a constant temperature. You’ll be amazed how much money you can save. If you’re highly motivated to save energy, consider supplementary solar panels. In most cases, a federal tax credit helps offset the costs incurred from installing these panels.

Recycling PSA vinyl

Now, let’s focus on recycling vinyl and minimizing waste. Vinyl films primarily contain polyvinyl chloride (PVC), the same stuff that’s probably in the water pipes in your basement. Recycling pure PVC is easy; however, recycling a roll of PVC vinyl is nearly impossible.

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There’s no effective way to separate the adhesive from the PVC facestock, which severely limits recycling options. However, the roll’s package as a whole provides several recycling possibilities.

Most recycling centers accept the cardboard box that delivers your vinyl; simply flatten the box. Also, you can re-use these boxes to re-ship post-production graphics to a jobsite or subcontractor. The latter option gets more life out of the box and saves packaging costs.

Next, look at the plastic bag that encases the vinyl. Though it’s higher-grade than your basic grocery bag, it’s recyclable. Offer these bags to your recycling center or re-use them as packing material.

A vinyl roll contains either a silicone-coated, paper release liner or a synthetic, clear film. The paper release liner can be recycled, but check with your local recycling center; policies vary by state, city or county. Some companies specialize in taking the silicone-coated paper and converting it back to raw pulp, which makes recycling usage for the release liner almost unlimited. Synthetic liners, which are made from either polyethylene or polyester, can typically be recycled as well.

The cardboard core your vinyl winds around can typically be recycled, like the outer box, as a paper product. Also, as before, if you routinely ship out graphics, these cores can be re-used to roll up your graphics inside or outside the core. This adds protection to the rolled graphics during shipping.

Finally, there’s the vinyl itself. In this case, I’m referring to adhesive-backed vinyl once removed from its release liner. Again, there’s not much you can recycle, but you could make a very colorful chair out of weeded leftovers! All joking aside, if you’ve accumulated signifcant unused, intact vinyl waste, you may find someone who’ll take it as a complementary energy source.

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Old vinyl

Yes, vinyl goes bad over time. You know this if you’ve handled 15-in., light-pink film that’s been on the shelf for three Easters – it’s typically brittle, hard to plot and weed, and smells funny. However, your waste may be useful for another purpose; you may want to find a local cement factory to accept your unserviceable vinyl.

My point? Alternative energy. Kilns that produce cement (cement, not concrete – there’s a difference) require significant heat to operate, and an intact roll of vinyl contains a very high thermal content that makes it a great supplement to the natural gas used to fire these kilns.

Again, volume poses a hurdle. These factories like to buy in bulk. So, here’s a proactive idea: Why not contact all the signshops in your area to see if they’re interested in putting their scrap to good use? Remember, scrap isn’t limited to old vinyl, media you’ve cut off a roll that’s still on its release liner also qualifies. Wrap as much as possible around unused cores and store it until you’ve filled a large trash can.

Several shops might be needed to accumulate enough scrap to sell, but it could make a difference. Just think, what if every city did this? We could put a sizeable dent in material waste in relatively short order.

Resources

Here’s a list of websites that may help your quest to become a greener operation:

• www.epa.gov, the Environmental Protection Agency’s website, supplies pertinent information

on recycling and waste-reduction programs.

• www.channeledresources.com provides a good example of a company that specializes in recycling release liners.

• www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/efficiency/energy_savings.htm links you to energy-saving suggestions for work and home. It also offers a wealth of information on energy-related topics.

It’s up to us

As I’ve said, deciding to incorporate green processes into your business isn’t easy, but we need to gain perspective of how our actions affect the world around us – and the world we’ll pass on to our kids. From a manufacturer’s standpoint, I think I can speak for our company when I say green initiatives represent a top priority, both in terms of raw materials and processes.

Contact vinyl manufacturers to learn about their green objectives. Manufacturers, distributors and you, our consumer, all make a living from these products. We should proactively reinvest some of our time to derive the most life and use out of them. It only helps us all in the long run.

Go green!