Environment Use of plastic Plastic is a versatile and long-lasting material and therefore a useful addition to our raw material mix. We currently produce around 2,500 plastic components using over 150 different granules, all of which are non-toxic. Because they are thinner and more easily recycled than other materials, plastics generally score well in a life cycle analysis. Nevertheless, we are committed to reducing their impact even further. To that end, we have adopted two strategies based on extensive analyses of our material flows. The first is to reuse the plastic waste from our own processes as a secondary raw material. In this case, any surplus plastic material – known as ‘sprues’ – is fed directly back into our injection moulding system as ‘regrind’ and thus recycled. This in-house recycling system is a very efficient closed-loop system; however, plastic regrind cannot be used in all cases, notably for the production of heavy-duty components. In these cases, the waste plastic sprues are reprocessed by our external partners and then fed back into our production process as ‘regenerate’. This circular system again helps us to reduce waste and, at the same time, conserve resources and cut our emissions. Our second strategy is to prioritise the use of plastics with a low carbon footprint as part of our product innovation process. This includes selecting low-emission plastics for use in new components and also testing existing components to see if these plastics are suitable for them. By switching to greener plastics, we are continuing to make our plastic components more sustainable. Materials used in our products In the reporting period, we procured 262,810.04 tonnes of raw materials. We also purchased a further 23,043.61 tonnes of semi-finished components for use in our product manufacturing processes, along with 66,438.95 tonnes of operating materials and supplies. ➔ GRI 301-1 Raw material Proportion* in % Steel 85% Zinc 2% Aluminium 2% Cardboard 5% Plastic 5% Coating powders 1% *Figures are average values across Blum’s entire product portfolio 46 © Copyright by Blum
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