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 inhouse 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 continue to make our plastic components more sustainable. Total material consumption Our total material consumption in the reporting period amounted to 518,174 tonnes. It comprised the categories of raw materials (steel, zinc, aluminium, plastics) totalling 298,349 tonnes, the semi-finished components we need to manufacture our products amounting to 22,916 tonnes, operating materials and supplies which came to 66,438 tonnes and packaging materials at 130,471 tonnes. ➔ GRI 301-1 Materials Total weight in t Raw materials (steel, zinc, aluminium, plastic) 298,349 Semi-finished components 22,916 Operating materials and supplies 66,438 Packaging materials 130,471 40 © Copyright by Blum
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