When you look at recycling in everyday life, we all separate the items that we discard. A can here, a plastic bottle there, what does it add up to?

At S&B Finishing, It adds up.

The total recycling at S&B Finishing, a powder coating company in Chicago, for 2016 was 70,804 lbs.

A definition of recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and reusable objects.

As the second component of the waste hierarchy, “Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle,” Reuse is the process of using an item again. It can be used for its original purpose or can be used in a different way.

Recycling and Reuse

According to Alex Garcia, Quality Control Manager at S&B, the company reuses cardboard, Gaylords (Gaylords are big corrugated boxes attached to wood pallets that are common in your local grocery or big box store), and empty powder boxes.

Garcia says, “Everyday we reuse cardboard, Gaylords, or empty powder boxes, by reusing all these items we reduce the amount of times we purchase new product.”

At S&B, when a customer ships products with an old Gaylord, it is replaced with a different one to protect the product during transportation. At that point, the old Gaylord is cut up and reused for packaging.

Prior to reusing the Gaylord, cardboard, or empty powder boxes, everything is placed in our industrial scale to be weighed. Everything is weighed twice a month. The first time will be at the middle of the month and second time is the last working day of the month. 

The leader of this company-wide process is S&B President, Kenny Spielman. As a nationally known Powder Coating company, the opportunities for Reuse and Recycle are immense.

Spielman says, “S&B Finishing is proud to announce that during 2016 we recycled a total of 70,804 lbs. of cardboard, Gaylords, and empty boxes. We also reduced water consumption in 2016 by 769,294 gallons, over 30%. In 2017 our goal is to exceed these numbers and continue to work for a more environmentally friendly workplace.”