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TORAY PLASTICS (AMERICA), INC.’S SUSTAINABILITY
INITIATIVE ENHANCES ENVIRONMENTAL PROFILE
Comprehensive program helps conserve energy and water
reduce waste, and enables recycling
North Kingstown, Rhode Island (March 18, 2009)—Toray Plastics (America), Inc., North America’s only manufacturer of precision-performance polyester and polypropylene films, is pleased to announce that environmental projects launched in 2004, which are part of a comprehensive sustainability initiative, have improved its environmental profile and now annually save the company 17 million gallons of water, 8.5 million KWHs of electricity, and 10.1 billion BTUs. Those savings are reaped from an array of operational innovations that include zero landfill non-hazardous waste utilization, waste reduction, water conservation and wastewater recycling, best management practices for storm water, condensate heat recovery, HVAC and furnace energy efficiencies, chiller upgrades, lighting improvements, and reverse osmosis technology. In addition, the company uses only 100 percent chlorine-free recycled post-consumer-waste paper in its printers and copiers.
“Consumer-product-goods companies rely on Toray’s thin polyester and polypropylene film advancements to support their sustainability initiatives that call for source reduction, and are aware of our research in plant-derived plastics,” says Rick Schloesser, CEO and President, Toray Plastics (America), Inc. “But in addition to those efforts, we have an ongoing commitment to create efficiencies that ensures operational excellence and a better quality of life for our employees, local citizens, and the global community.”
Following are highlights of Toray’s environmental achievements.
• Zero Landfill Waste—A thousand tons of non-hazardous waste consisting of general trash and solids from an ethylene glycol distillation column no longer goes to a landfill, and instead is sent to a waste-to-energy plant, where it is burned and converted into electricity.
• Water conservation—Onsite wastewater-pretreatment plant effluent is reused as cooling tower-water makeup-water, which saves 9,000,000 gallons of potable water annually.
• Lighting—3,200 fluorescent lamps have been switched for high efficiency-lamps and motion detectors have been installed throughout the plants, automatically shutting off lighting when no one is present.
• Recycled materials— Annual savings include 285 tons of wood, 152 tons of metal, 59 tons of cardboard, and 46 tons of paper, bottles, and cans.
Toray Plastics (America), Inc., is a leading manufacturer of polyester and polypropylene films for flexible and rigid packaging, lidding, graphic, industrial, optical, and electronic applications. The company is a subsidiary of Toray Industries, Inc., the world leader in synthetic fibers and textiles, carbon fibers, plastics, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and high-performance films. Annual sales exceed US$16 billion.
For more information about Toray Plastics (America), Inc.’s entire line of polypropylene and polyester films, contact Eric Bartholomay, Product Development Manager, at eric.bartholomay@toraytpa.com. Toray Plastics (America), Inc., is located at 50 Belver Avenue, North Kingstown, RI 02852-7500, telephone 401-294-4511, fax 401-294-3410. Visit the Toray Plastics (America), Inc., Web site at www.TorayFilms.com.
