In order to plan for a long term future, Australian Manufacturers need to create a sustainable manufacturing path in order to survive. It has become a critical part of doing business in the current age and evidently all companies need to consider sustainability around their production and operations. However, every company differs, and with this in mind each manufacturer needs to define what they deem as being sustainable for themselves – this means turning to innovation, resource efficiency and reducing the amount of materials that end up as waste.¹

The plastics industry itself was once seen as the ‘environmental vandals’ of the industry but many are now cleaning up their act.

So, in saying all this, what is Everhard Industries doing to combat this ‘environmental vandal’ image?

Everhard Industries ensures their drainage is made with conscious materials – polymer, a high quality plastic with a long shelf life that reduces the chance of having to discard the product later in life. All aspects of the designs of the newest EasyDRAIN Edge have been thought through meticulously. Prototyping of the product was completed locally by 3D printing, using PLA – a plant based material and using an additive manufacturing method which reduces waste in comparison to subtractive manufacturing methods.

All EasyDRAIN polymer products are produced with a circular economy in mind – polymer is a sustainable material and to increase the lifespan of the product we add a UV stabiliser, protecting it from degradation of UV rays – this increases the life of the product and reduces the need for replacements. At the end of the product life EasyDRAIN can be recycled back into the economy instead of going into landfill.

This is just one of the small manufacturing changes that Everhard has made in order to be more towards a more circular economy in manufacturing.

 

¹ Johnson, Alan. 2014. Understanding environmental sustainability in manufacturing. https://www.manmonthly.com.au/features/understanding-environmental-sustainability-in-manufacturing/