Our Commitment to the Environment
Schmidt’s commitment to the environment lies in our value of “Community Involvement”. We understand that we are part of a global community that reaches far beyond the neighborhood in which we operate. Therefore, we are committed to protecting our world’s natural resources by using them wisely and disposing of our waste responsibly.
The following demonstrate our commitment to sustaining the global community we call Earth.
Earth Friendly Materials and Suppliers
We are FSC® Certified and we purchase paper from mills that are FSC Certified, SFI or PEFC certified. Our major supplier of hi-bulk paper, Flambeau River Papers, is energy independent and the greenest mill in North America.
Our inks contain renewable resources such as soybean, linseed and vegetable oils as well as rosin-based resin. While the use of petroleum-based products in ink is still necessary in the heatset printing process, our vendor has several active projects to decrease this dependency and incorporate more renewable or recyclable materials.
The poly wrap we use for our card pack products is made with recyclable polypropylene.
Production Methods That Reduce our Carbon Footprint
Schmidt recently invested in a Regenerative Thermal Oxidizer (RTO) afterburner that captures the exhaust from our heatset presses and destroys 99 percent of the Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) which cause air pollution and can lead to depletion of the ozone layer.
The RTO uses the captured exhaust to fuel itself when our press exhaust flow is over 30 percent. With presses running 24 hours a day, seven days a week, it powers itself to purify the VOC gases at oxidation temperatures of 1600 degrees Fahrenheit and exhausts the waste as water vapor and carbon dioxide.
Our UV Presses use inks and coatings that are entirely free of VOCs.
We consolidate mail to postal destinations and use freight consolidators, reducing the resources needed to transport and distribute the products we mail and produce.
Reducing, Reusing and Recycling Our Waste
In a manufacturing environment waste is inevitable. However, we do our best to reduce waste whenever possible and reuse and recycle what we can.
Reduce
We are always seeking ways to operate more efficiently in order to reduce our use of non-renewable energy and waste. Our recent investment in the RTO afterburner is a prime example of our desire to utilize new technology to reduce waste. We are currently looking at a new air compressor that uses significantly less energy to operate than our current system.
Reuse
Our pressroom reuses shop rags by utilizing a centrifuge to remove inks and solvents then sends them offsite to be properly cleaned. The centrifuge waste is then sent to an environmental service company that utilizes a waste-to-energy conversion process that preserves natural energy resources while effectively treating waste.
Schmidt’s mail center and shipping department reuses pallets as well as postal sacks, sleeves and trays used in the distribution of card packs and other direct mail.
Recycle
Paper trim from our presses, cutters and folders are collected with a central vacuum system, baled and sent for recycling. We also recycle all other paper waste, cardboard, used oil and the aluminum plates used on all of our presses.