CSR is committed to contributing to an overall positive impact on the environment, and reducing reliance on non-renewable resources.
This commitment is underpinned by aggressive targets to reduce energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions and solid waste by 20% over 10 years per tonne of saleable product.
This target challenges teams to come up with innovative solutions for dealing with non-essential waste production, and packaging is one of the largest contributors to this issue.
CSR have established a trial partnership between Monier, Gyprock and Plastic Forests at a site in Springvale, VIC to recycle the plastic wrap used to protect concrete rooftiles during transportation.
Staff at Monier Springvale collect, sort and bale the plastic wrapping, before sending it to Plastic Forests, a specialist recycling firm, for further processing.
The plastic wrap is turned into plastic resin, which is used to manufacture gluts that are used as separators in the pallet loading process for Gyprock plasterboard, known as i-90 Dunnage blocks.
Shahid Rafique, Group Procurement Manager, has been heavily involved in setting up this trial, and has been involved in many waste-reduction programs at CSR.
“Often recycling plastics can be extremely wasteful of water, but the team at Plastic Forests use innovative technology to ensure the process is one of the most efficient available,” Shahid said.
Over 28 tonnes of plastic wrap has been collected to date for completion of the production trial.
