Weisenbach Recycled Products, a manufacturer of recycled and environmentally preferable products, set environmental goals that include salvaging items that it does not yet reuse, recycle or donate; finding recycling opportunities for polyester film, helping to increase the amount of glass that is recycled, and composting leftover food waste, according to the company's first sustainability report (PDF).
Weisenbach repurposes materials such as plastic caps, glass bottles and circuit boards into more than 600 promotional items, awards and retail consumer products.
As a result, the company aims to "close the loop" through operations and products that reduce, reuse and recycle materials. The company also strives to use only high-quality recycled and FSC-certified papers and soy-based cleaning solvents to clean equipment.
Other target goals include to measure and increase its energy efficiency, evaluate and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, source products from local suppliers whenever possible and verify all product claims.
To meet some of these goals, the company pledges to purchase only Energy Star qualified appliances for all future purchases, to consider Energy Star-rated or LEED-certified buildings for lease options, use energy-saving techniques in its plant systems, and implement energy-efficient retrofits when feasible.
Although Weisenbach is not able to reprocess every item used in its business operations, it recycles those materials via traditional and special proprietary methods. In 2009, the company recycled over 11,000 pounds of office paper products and approximately 13 tons of glass.
