Printers' Waste Destined For A Mucky Future
Wednesday 30th November 2009
A company specialising in recycling printers' waste has come up with a novel scheme for reducing the industry's cardboard mountain. Dorset-based J&G collect and dispose of waste from more than 2000 UK print firms - including thousands of tons of discarded cardboard which the company is now turning it into horse bedding. New custom-built cutting and shredding equipment has been installed at J&G's Blandford factory where the cardboard is being processed and baled up for sale to stables and equine centres.
J&G general manager John Haines said the scheme was the ultimate in recycling. "Waste creation is one of the printing industry's main environmental impacts and our aim is to find creative ways to recycle as much of it as possible. Cardboard is a prime candidate for reuse and can make ideal animal bedding. It's dust-free, more absorbent and cheaper than traditional animal bedding like straw and wood shavings - and is completely biodegradable. Once it's been finished with, it can be used as an excellent compost which also helps reduce the size of muckheaps at stables". It's also suitable for the game and poultry rearing industries and for use with agricultural livestock.
The new product is being marketed under the name JeeGee Bedding, backed by publicity reminding owners that "horses need quality sleep too!". The bedding quickly attracted the attention of local equestrian enthusiasts who snapped up 600 of the 20kg bales in the first full week of production. Although it's only available in the Dorset area at the moment, J&G hopes to step up production and market the bedding nationally in the future.
