Environmental Responsibility

Working with the ENVIRONMENT

When it comes to the environment, we’re all in it together.
For almost 50 years, Wilsonart International has been a responsible member of the global community. And in recent years, as our manufacturing and distribution networks have grown into a worldwide network, our impact on the environment has become an increasingly important part of our culture. The fact is, environmental responsibility is a policy to us, not a one-time project. It’s simply good business. Here are just a few of the ways we address the environmental issues we face on a daily basis.

Environmental responsibility:
Through products

• Only renewable forest products are used in our laminates. They contain no heavy metals, rain forest timber or tropical hardwoods.

• Our products do not contain, nor are they manufactured with, ozone-depleting substances.

Environmental responsibility:
Through processes

• Scrap kraft paper used as protective padding in our presses is recycled into cereal boxes and drywall backing.

• Laminate scrap is ground, bagged and sold to the oil industry as a drilling fluid additive, which prevents the loss of this potentially contaminating fluid into the earth.
  

• Scrap metal from aging equipment and maintenance functions is recycled into angle iron and rebar.
  

• Scrap melamine-treated paper is recycled into dinnerware, electrical components and buttons.
  

• Aluminum foil still used in some laminate texturing is recycled into other aluminum sheet products.
  

• Metal banding, cardboard packaging and plastic containers from incoming goods are recycled into usable materials.
  

• All PCB transformers have been removed from service and replaced with non-PCB containing devices.
  

• Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) from our truck fleet’s air conditioners are captured and recycled by license service technicians.
  

• Truck fleet and forklift drain oil is saved and reblended into new marine grade fuels.
  

• Worn fleet truck tires are removed, recapped and reinstalled from 2 to 4 times before being removed from service (when they are sent to a recycling facility).
  

• No hazardous wastes are generated in the decorative paper treating process.
  

• Use of reusable stainless steel plates in lieu of aluminum foil for laminate surface texturing has nearly eliminated the need for aluminum foil.
  

• Heat from the incineration of dust generated by sanding the back side of laminate, and incineration of fumes given off by the curing resins in our ovens, is used to produce steam for our laminate presses, reducing natural gas use by 30-40% annually.
  

• Wash water from the cleaning of paper-treating equipment is reused in the phenolic resin treating process in lieu of tap water.
  

• Reducing our laminate sample size by 32% reduced our material requirements and eliminated nearly 375 tons of laminate waste in sample production.

Environmental Responsibility:
through partners

Wilsonart International has many partners and suppliers who share our vision for a clean and safe environment, and who take measures of their own to ensure their practices and efforts meet high environmental standards. For example, our primary kraft paper supplier was awarded the National Geographic Society’s Chairman’s Award for Resource Conservation and Education, the North American Waterfowl Management Plan Committee’s Blue Heron Award, and the Ecological Society of America’s Corporate Award.

Environmental Responsibility:
through community involvement

Wilsonart International supports Habitat for Humanity International’s efforts to recycle recently removed, but functional, cabinetry, countertops and fixtures. Many Habitat for Humanity affiliates around the country operate “Re-Stores” where surplus materials and items help fund the building of homes which are sold to Habitat partner families through a combination of “sweat equity” and non-profit loans. A list of Habitat for Humanity Re-Store locations is available at www.habitat/env/restore.html.
Another way we protect the environment after the product leaves our plant is by recycling sample chips. We encourage you to return unneeded sample chips and chains to your Wilsonart sales representative or distribution centre. Usable portions will be removed and recycled into new chains by individuals enrolled in Texas’ Mental Health and Mental Retardation (MHMR) rehabilitation program.

Environmental Responsibility:
through working together

You can help us focus our efforts even more by inquiring about recycled content in our products, and by asking about alternative substrates and adhesives. If you have resource or cost-saving ideas of an environmental nature, we’d like to hear from you.

Please contact our environmental staff at 254-207-7000.
For more information on Wilsonart Laminate and the environment, visit us on the Web at www.wilsonart.com.