The Circularity Journey
The end-of-life of our industry’s material is a burning issue, with infrastructure often too limited to guarantee circularity. Today, we focus on how we, at Antalis, can contribute to creating circular routes by joining forces with other committed industry players. Take a look at our 3-step approach.
The end-of-life of our industry’s material is a burning issue, with infrastructure often too limited to guarantee circularity. Today, we focus on how we, at Antalis, can contribute to creating circular routes by joining forces with other committed industry players. Take a look at our 3-step approach.
Embarking on the circularity journey, a 3-step approach
Our Visual Communication Green Star System® helps you to better understand the impact of various product types and make more responsible material choices. It considers recyclability, a defining factor of the end-of-life of our products. But high recyclability doesn’t necessarily mean that the product will end up being recycled. This depends on the local infrastructure, from collection to end-market recycling. That’s why Antalis teams up with committed partners such as Prismm environmental in the UK, which strives to identify and develop game-changing collection and recycling routes for the solutions we put on the market.
In close collaboration with Antalis, Prismm environmental collects and transfers baled PVC banners to a facility in Lancashire (Northwest England). The material is then shredded, blended with other waste PVC, and put into injection moulding machines to produce traffic cones and temporary traffic barriers.
As John Hutton, Director of Prismm environmental, explains: “creating virtuous end-of-life solutions for Visual Communications materials is an exciting and challenging mission because there is so much to be done. Take polymers, for instance. These materials imply high segregation because they melt at so many different rates. This segregation minimises interest from recyclers due to smaller volumes and unidentified business opportunities“.
Thanks to our partners’ experience of other sectors and materials, we can roll out a 3-step methodology to trace a route towards a circular visual communications economy.
1. Education
All players in our industry have an increasing understanding of sustainability, from printers to retailers. Yet, it remains vital to underline how challenging recycling actually is. With so much effort put into eco-design, sustainable sourcing and responsible purchasing, it is a shame to see that performance at the end-of-life remains insufficient to reach true circularity. Raising awareness is therefore paramount!
2. Collaboration
It’s not breaking news, but we are in a very competitive industry. Yet, the bigger environmental picture is the same for all its players, our grander value chain also. That’s why we need to come together to seize the opportunity that circularity represents. With cooperation, we can identify solutions specific to what we do and inspire positive change beyond our sphere of influence.
3. Projection
As Jon Hutton describes: “The route towards circularity is a long one. We believe that tracing it is a 5-year journey. Solutions exist, no doubt. But it takes time to find them, work creatively with all the stakeholders and develop systems that bring value to all involved“.
We know at Antalis that circularity is a considerable challenge, but we are tackling it head-on. We are determined to make it happen with our partners and community. So, if you have an idea, a question, or if you simply want to join us in this exciting and essential journey, raise your hand!
