Regency Design’s Andy Dixon on the company’s stance on sustainability.
Regency’s stance on sustainability reflects the ethos of the people that comprise the company. We don’t like waste in our personal lives, we recycle what we can and we try to buy only products that have been produced sustainably. And when it comes to husbanding our resources to have the minimum impact on the environment, we have just the same attitude when it comes to our business.
Progress doesn’t come overnight. We’ve been doing everything we can to make our processes more efficient, our purchasing more discerning and the products we offer for sale as eco-friendly as possible, by using recycled materials wherever we can.
Take our ‘standard’ boards, for example. Did you know that they’re made from 100% mixed plastic waste. So, what’s ‘mixed plastic waste’? It’s a term that covers all non-bottle plastic packaging sourced from the domestic waste stream, including rigid and flexible plastic items of various polymer types and colours that are typically found in the household waste bin. It’s the stuff that won’t go away, so what better solution than to use it again?
Bottle tops, crisp packets; cosmetics and food packaging, garden toys and so on: all the things that give David Attenborough (and a growing army of ‘ordinary’ people) sleepless nights. It’s rough stuff: there could be particles of wood and paper mixed in with it, but that’s not a problem, because the plastic is cleaned and ‘cooked’ at over 200°C during processing.
In fact, the only virgin plastic we use can be found in some of our specialist boards. So, if you want a white or pink board, they consist of 70% recycled material. The same goes if you require a certified fire-retardant skin.
By using what would have been a waste material, we create a circular economy.
The other ‘waste’ material that is helping us achieve our sustainability goals is coffee grounds. We’ve developed a process – for which a patent is pending – which mixes recycled coffee grounds into a variety of plastics, including bioplastics, renewable and recycled polymers, and ocean waste. These materials can then be shaped and formed into many different products. By using what would have been a waste material, we create a circular economy. It’s hard to imagine, but typically, 30% of plastic can be eliminated from the product and replaced by coffee grounds.
Working with expert partners, we’ve identified applications for this ‘new’ material, including in-store point of sale displays, signage, reusable coffee cups, caps and closures.
And that’s not all: there’s our ‘Classics Collection’. These boards are made entirely of ‘Ocean Plastic’. To create this revolutionary material, plastic waste is ‘harvested’. Some is found out at sea; some comes from the shallows close to shore – including ruined fishing nets. Some is plastic that’s washed up onto the beaches and still more is recovered from streams and rivers.
So, if you’re in the business of installing a coffee tower, a vending suite, or a micro-market, please explore the possibilities of using recycled materials. Many of your potential and existing clients will thank you for it…
At Regency, we’re re-purposing shipping containers and creating furniture, some of which is made of up to 80% recycled materials. The circular economy is the key to sustainability, and we see ourselves as facilitators for making this happen.
More news from Regency on Planet Vending HERE
Discover some other, international case studies of businesses adopting Ocean Plastics, HERE.
