Soyang Europe announces new cushioned floor graphics solution
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The statement follows a report on waste incineration and its possible effects on the environment
PVC-free banner manufacturer Kavalan has given comments following a series of articles about waste-to-energy incineration plants from the BBC.
The wide-ranging analysis from the BBC details how the number of incinerators in the UK burning waste for energy, including plastics, has increased significantly in recent years.
According to the report, the increase in incinerators came after taxes for burying waste were significantly increased, following concern with the waste gases produced from household rubbish in landfills.
But scientists have reportedly warned that the gases that waste incinerators produce are also a “disaster for the climate”. The BBC analysis found that burning waste produces the same amount of greenhouse gases for each unit of energy as coal power, a form of energy production that has largely been abandoned by the UK.
Now, Kavalan, a producer of banner material for the wide-format print industry, has released comments on the report, specifically about the dangers of plastic waste and the importance of finding alternatives.
Explaining the specific dangers of burning plastic waste, marketing manager at Kavalan, Nova Abbott says: “As has been highlighted in the BBC’s report, plastic is the dirtiest type of waste to burn.
“While there are some controls to minimise carbon-related emissions, it is the chlorine-based compounds and phthalates from burning the most toxic of plastics, PVC, that are most concerning.
“Because of the difficulties in monitoring dioxin and furan emissions, it is almost impossible to know the exact quantities of toxic emissions that result from burning PVC, and when the murky world of disposal of toxic fly ash is added to the mix, it is quite clear that the question of PVC disposal should not be around how to dispose of it, but rather whether to produce or use it at all.”
In the statement the Kavalan range is put forward as an alternative. The product, which was recently granted a protective patent, reportedly does not produce toxic emissions when incinerated and is suited for waste-to-energy conversion processes. Should it enter landfill, it is designed to be degradable without leaching harmful substances into the land and water ecosystems.
Abbot continues: “Not only do Kavalan’s PVC-free banner materials avoid PVC’s toxifying production process, but they are also designed with clean, safe, end-of-life disposal in mind, so they do not produce toxic emissions when incinerated for waste-to-energy conversion.”
Continuing her statement, Abbott explains Kavalan’s view that the signage industry should move away from the use of PVC plastics as a whole.
“The negative environmental and human health impacts that result from the industry’s over-reliance on PVC can no longer just be accepted as the cost of doing business. Eco-friendly alternatives offer a more sustainable future for the industry.
“Several businesses in the UK have already successfully switched completely to using PVC-free banner materials. Hopefully, this report will prompt wide-format print businesses to think more holistically about the cradle-to-grave environmental impacts of their products.”
Branding company Ast also recently detailed a sustainable way to process used backing paper, which it is asking printing and signage industries to adopt.
Working with FESPA UK and its chosen waste management provider, Reconomy, the company implemented a multi-stage sustainable process system for used silicone backing paper, allowing for all materials to be either repurposed or recycled.
