acrobat JSPD 8 - The Centre for Sustainable Design

Plastic bottle cap to office chair
HAG has produced one of the world’s
first office chairs made from recycled
plastic (polypropylene). Through the
Norwegian bottle return system, used
bottle caps separated from returned
bottles are collected, ground up and
converted into new plastic raw material.
This is then sent to Dynoplast, HAG’s
business partner, to produce the seat and
back shells for HAG’s new ‘Scio’ chair. It is
estimated that 100 tonnes of plastic bottle
caps are used every year by this project.
All green for orange – the Flymo experience
Flymo/Partner – Europe’s largest lawnmower manufacturer
recently celebrated its ISO14001 accreditation. A priority for
Flymo is to develop products with lower weight and materials
usage, lower operating noise, and, with an increased product
and packaging recyclability.
In the manufacturing process, Flymo reports significant
improvements following the implementation of environmental
management systems. Particularly significant has been the
minimisation of waste through the segregation and recycling
of waste materials. Overall, process waste has been reduced from
3.7% in 1996 to 2.6% last year. Waste to landfill is down from
51% in 1996 to 36% in 1997 and the percentage of waste recycled
is up from 47% in 1996 to 62% in 1997. Solvents have also been
eliminated from the production process. Packaging has been
another area of environmental improvement with 80% now using
recycled cardboard.
left: Venturer 320 lawnmower, efficient in its use of
materials and with an operating noise of only 77db
JANUARY 1999 · THE JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE PRODUCT DESIGN
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