Whether you were rooting for the Eagles or the Patriots at this year’s Super Bowl, there’s one thing every fan could cheer: the event’s zero-waste initiative. The NFL, PepsiCo, Aramark, and the U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis teamed up to sustainably and responsibly dispose of 90 percent of the stadium’s trash. The Rush2Recycle initiative called for hand-sorting waste to compost organic material and incinerate non-compostable, non-recyclable waste. The recovered energy generated by the incineration was to be used to heat local homes and businesses.
Everyone on the AMGRAPH team applauded the Rush2Recycle initiative. After all, it was right in line with our company’s long-standing commitment to sustainability.
At AMGRAPH, we recycle everything we can. For the scant waste we create that can’t be recycled, we team with a local energy company who picks up the waste and turns it into pellets that can be burned as fuel. We source sustainable raw materials for our flexible printing processes. And we recently received a tax credit for our new plant’s oxidizer, which enables us to meet the latest emission control requirements.
We have the ability to produce flexible packaging that meets your needs whether it is recyclable, compostable, or biodegradable. Recyclable packaging can be re-manufactured into something else. Compostable packaging will break down naturally over time, but needs light, oxygen, and heat for that to occur. Biodegradable packaging also breaks down over time, but is not necessarily good for the environment. While compostable materials refer to organic matter that turns into nutrient-rich soil, biodegradable materials refer to any material that decomposes into the environment. Compostable materials are biodegradable, but biodegradable materials are not necessarily compostable.
AMGRAPH’s commitment to sustainability is ongoing and industry leading, as demonstrated by our facilities and practices:
- Run operations with two new PureCell® System Model 400 fuel cells, creating 100% of our facility’s electricity
- Provide a water-based ink and adhesive solution instead of solvents, when possible
- Test for any trace contaminants using GC-MS (Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry) in all raw materials – both packaging and product
- Use Electron Beam (EB) inks that eliminate VOCs (volatile organic compounds), allow for complete recycling of paper, require no protective resin coating, and reduce your package costs
- Opened new earth-friendly facility in 2009, which features insulated concrete forms that reduce energy required to heat and cool facility by 71%
- Reduce energy requirements in our new green facility with geothermal cooling, radiant floor heating, and ventilation system heat exchanger
- Feed 70% of our clean waste to an energy-producing facility
- Have zero wastewater-to-ground discharge
- Reuse or recycle 99.5% of our waste stream
- Implemented new purchase strategy requiring environmentally waste-efficient systems
- Replace new motors and drives with Energy Star-rated parts for better efficiency
- Have earned the Eco Choice seal, the symbol of our sustainability commitment in our manufacturing practices, in-house initiatives, and environmental stewardship
