For Bata Plastics, Incorporated, in Grand Rapids, recycling is not just about turning scrap into usable material for manufacturing. Their commitment to the environment extends well beyond.
"We recycled an old Steelcase building," says Matt Hammond, Vice President of Operations and Sales at Bata Plastics, in describing their newly renovated facility. "We had 920,000 sq. ft. of manufacturing space with no offices, so we put on about 3,000 sq ft of LEED Silver certified office space. We also retrofitted the rest of the building to make it LEED certified."
Hammond added,to the best of his knowledge, their organization is the only recycler in North America to have any type of LEED certification.
Starting out as a two-person plastics recycling operation when Lee Hammond, Matt's father, purchased the business 10 years ago, the business has grown to 72 employees. For the past year they have been processing around the clock, five days a week.
"We're pushing the envelope with a lot of different things," says Hammond, "We are a full service recycler. A portion of our business is in plastics, but we also recycle office paper and cardboard, as well as metal and wood pallets."
Scrap is gathered from a wide range of industries and distant locations. "When it comes to raw materials, we are in just about every industry from packaging, furniture, automotive, toys, consumer waste, food and bottling. We bring material back to Grand Rapids from Canada, Mexico, Belgium, Italy and several points east, west, north and south to recycle it here."
Hammond noted their recycled materials end up in a number of major industries from furniture to automotive and can be in the form of service parts or found on assembly lines.
"Our motto has always been recycling for future generations," says Hammond, "Yes, we're trying to run an ethical business, but we're trying to be profitable by providing a service to the community, and the environment too. Our goal is to make the world a better place, through teaching, especially with kids and giving them tools so they can understand what it takes to be good at recycling."
Bata Plastics has partnered with elementary schools and civic organizations on a number of occasions in providing materials for art projects, turning recycled materials into park benches and more.
Other notable partnerships include an endowment program with Ferris State University, where scrap from the Plastics and Rubber Engineering Technology Department is managed and recycled by the local recycler.
Bata Plastics also has formed an alliance with Innovative Resin Technologies, a division of Davidson Plyform and subsidiary of Leggett & Platt. Hammond said some of the materials recycled through the IRT partnership were used at Yankee Stadium.
"We're trying to make people aware of recycling, better our community and provide education for future generations and run a good business as well. We're in business not only to make money, but we feel there are opportunities that are just as rewarding to the bottom line, like programs with schools, parks and recreation and groups like that."
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