Plasman Windsor One Manufacturing JET Committee
At Plasman, we believe that creating a better, more sustainable, and inclusive future is our collective responsibility. It is with such dedication that we are changing the way we work and how we see the future.
In celebration of Earth Day and as part of our commitment for a greener future, we are proud to highlight one of our Canadian locations and share how over the past five years, they have been creating a culture of environmental responsibility.
Windsor One Manufacturing created a Joint Environmental Team (JET) that consists of six team members and two management members that meet on a bi-monthly basis. The committee is responsible for communicating environmental issues, completing monthly walkthrough audits, and checking for any internal or external leaks or resin spills.
“About 6 years ago, our management team decided to sit down and brainstorm how we could be more on top of environmental issues here at Windsor One Manufacturing after realizing some of our normal practices were out of date and not as efficient as we originally had thought,” explained Delia Surace, Health & Safety Coordinator, Plasman Windsor Plant 1.
When the plant started JET almost five years ago, their recycling program scheduled seven roadside pickups per week and since the committee was formed, are now up to 20 roadside pickups per week.
They have also had to be at their best, collaborating to overcome unforeseen barriers that could derail them from their goals. Recently, the location was challenged with a switch over in recycling vendors were everything needed to be separated or the new vendor wouldn’t pick it up. By having this committee, they knew what had to be done to fix the issue, and the JET team implemented their own recycle sorting by clearly relabeling their recycle bins to indicate where each recycled item should be placed.
Recently, the committee celebrated the first anniversary of their Aerocan Initiative which came to light as they had found through their monthly walkthroughs that aerosol cans were not being 100% recycled at their location. They took swift action by ensuring the aerosol cans were properly recycled which resulted in the implementation of their aerocan program named Aerocan Power. The goal of this program is to remove aerosol cans from the plant and recycle them in the correct labelled containers. Employees are encouraged to participate by identifying each aerosol can they deposit through their employee number as each quarter the total number of cans deposited are tallied and the employee with the most cans recycled earns a lieu day. To help educate the team and support this worthwhile cause, Aerry the Aerocan Mascot can be seen around the location promoting the initiative.
Above all, JET has accomplished many milestones by working diligently towards the greater cause. Some of these accomplishments include:
-Implementing a water treatment system to reuse the dirty water from the presses
-Installing Whirlybirds on the roof that act as an electricity-free roof ventilator extracting warm air from the ceiling cavity allowing them to use less fans in the summer
-Building an indoor storage safety area for their empty oil containers
-Change out of all lights to LED with some on sensors to conserve energy
-Commitment to planting a tree every year in recognition of Earth Day at their location
-Ensuring all scrap plastics are repalletized and reused, and have both their steel and wood pallets recycled
Through this committee, Windsor One Manufacturing continues to develop more active roles for all team members related to environmental-friendly processes and sustainability. Thank you, Windsor 1, for the steps you have taken to make our planet a better place for our communities and generations to come.
