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  • Writer's picturePedro Duarte

Recycling and Sustainability at Dupal UK


Companies operating in the plastic industry need to plan and act responsibly towards our environment and the future of our planet.

From day one, we have asked ourselves the questions: how can we deliver a sustainable recycling shower scheme? How can we guarantee our clients these materials are really being recycled?

It's not unheard what so many "recycling centres" actually do, including incineration and sometimes even landfill, under (presumably) acceptable circumstances.

It's likely these "recycling centres" will issue a recycling certificate and everyone involved might rest in peace in the knowledge that their have washed their hands from any responsibility.

This is why we made a decision, from the very beginning, that our shower heads and hoses would return to our own premises and we would take full responsibility over the entire recycling process, on each material. We wanted to be able to look our clients in the eye and be able to reassure them we were do the right thing with the materials.

For us, recycling is not a marketing exercise. It's part of what we are and what we believe as individuas. It's our responsibility for being in business and doing what we do.

It all starts at collection from our client's sites:

Materials that are taking part on the recycling scheme (fixed shower heads, hand held shower heads and hoses) are collected by our courier services and delivered into our premises.

The materials travel back to us accommodated inside their packaging where they were originally sent in.

Upon arrival we disassemble the units and organise all the materials into categories:

1- ABS plastic (hand held shower heads, fixed heads bodies and rings, hose fittings)

2- Reinforced PVC (hoses)

3- Metal (hose sleeves)

4- Plastic bags

5- Cardboard (boxes)

1- The ABS material is shredded, washed and dried. This is mixed with new ingredient, melted and used to produce brand new shower heads. All the colours are separated and used according to each product (shower head in white, buttons in colour x or y, etc).

2- Reinforced PVC is almost impossible to recycle in its original form. The PVC itself needs to be physically separated from the textile materials that are mixed within. Only then can the PVC itself be used again and only on certain circumstances. This process requires specialist equipment and knowledge that we do not possess yet so we deliver all our hoses to one of the few UK specialists who can ensure that 100% of our PVC is going back into other PVC products.

3, 4 and 5 -The metal from our hose sleeves, the plastic bags and the cardboards are easily recycled and dealt by a regular local recycling centre.

We remain committed to clean, sustainable and environmentally friendly operations, whilst constantly seeking for new and better ways to reduce our carbon footprint.

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