Conversations: Padnos
A couple of months ago we had the opportunity to take a tour at one of the PADNOS Manufacturing and Processing facilities. We were especially interested in meeting with this company because they deal specifically with manufacturing scrap and recycling. Our studio works with many larger corporations, so it was very beneficial to see what happens at the end of a product’s life and how that could be improved.
Image from PADNOS on Twitter
While at PADNOS, we were amazed to see the sheer amount of boxes filled to the brim with plastic. So much plastic. It gave us a great point of view into the amount of scrap being produced nonstop by local companies, and this isn’t even all of West Michigan! Some of these boxes were filled with plastic regrind, a result of an internal processing capability to both shred and grind clean streams of plastic scrap. They also have a float sink, which is able to sort out any impurities from their regrind material through density.
Example image from Youtube (not PADNOS)
After watching material climb the conveyors to their shredder, we were taken into a lab where we learned more about recycling processes. Their team in the lab must run several tests on the regrind to ensure it meets customer specs. One test they run melts the sample of regrind into a flat patty. Due to varying melt flows of plastics, non-conforming plastic resins will be visible in this patty as un-melted specs. We found an image of a ‘patty’ similar to the ones they created at PADNOS in the image below.
Example image of molded plastic regrind - Youtube
One of our favorite parts of the tour was seeing that a local company was creating plastic product, sending all of their post industrial scrap materials to PADNOS, who is shredding it, pelotizing it, and once again creating new product! That is circular economy thinking put into action, and we love to see it.
Image from PADNOS on Twitter
Aside from the physical tour, we were able to have some valuable conversations with the sustainability team at PADNOS, and they had some great information to offer us. Below are some of the design ideas we took away from our tour:
For recyclability, designers should aim for materials that fit one of these three categories:
Liberate Materials (easy to separate/easily taken apart)
Filter Materials
Use Compatible Materials (materials that can be recycled together)
When labeling bottles or products, use compatible labels
For single use items, use Aluminum (this material is infinitely recyclable!)
Work with PADNOS early on in the design process to pick the best materials and to ensure recyclability at the end of the products life
If you are a manufacturer, try to stay away from virgin material. Introduce grey and black plastics, as there are many inputs and colors accepted into these ranges
Thank you to the PADNOS Sustainability Team for teaching us about large scale recycling and for being so open and willing to share thoughts on sustainable design. If this post sparked any ideas for more places we could visit to learn about recycling or sustainability, please leave a comment below!