Waste Not

posted by on Wednesday, August 27, 2014

“It is not waste until it is wasted.”

Our manufacturing plants in Eugene, Ore., and Watertown, S.D., have embraced this credo to ensure that Pivotal Health Solutions is doing all it can to not only recycle and reuse manufacturing waste, but also make conscious choices to limit the impact of our manufacturing on the environment. Here are a few examples of our efforts to reduce waste from our manufacturing processes:

• We conscientiously recycle everything we can, from wood scraps and sawdust to foam pieces and office supplies. Many of these items are transformed into useful products like particleboard, carpet padding and fresh reams of paper.
   
• We invested in a state-of-the-art computerized router. This precision tool allows us to optimize the layout before cutting so that almost every piece of plywood yields a needed part. This has produced a significant gain in yield efficiency while producing parts with extraordinary precision.

• We use responsibly sourced wood from renewable sources to create a product that is meant to last decades. We use no rain forest-depleting tropical hardwoods. Our ecologically sound plywood is made from the cleanest materials purchased from CARB compliant vendors.

• We have chosen environmentally friendly water-based finishes for our products. Water-based finishes are much gentler on the environment than the more commonly used, solvent-based finishes, which release VOCs (volatile organic compounds) into the atmosphere. This remarkably tough finish is kinder to the environment and safer for our employees. Our powder coat paints also have zero VOCs, and our wood glues are soy-based and formaldehyde free.
   
• Our products are often packaged for safe shipment to you in a recycled box when possible, using recycled and recovered packaging and filler materials.
   
• Our foam contains no chlorofluorocarbons. Instead, our foam systems feature Earth-Cell, which is flexible bio-based foam that is an alternative to petroleum-based polyurethane foams. Using earth-friendly foams gives our customers the performance they expect, but without adding cost. Earth-Cell foams are made of renewable based bio-polyols. This reduces our dependency on fossil fuels, reduces energy demand and creates a smaller environmental footprint.

• We are ROHS2 compliant (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) for all of our electrical components.

• Both our steel and wood products are nearly 100 percent recyclable when they reach end of life.

Making full use of our resources is our way of showing respect for all that we have been given and is a part of our commitment to pre-cycling, recycling and employing practices that are kinder to our fragile environment.