After reaching the finals in two awards, Shred Station won the inaugural Environmental Project of the Year award!
The Environmental Project of the Year
Shred Station was nominated for the Environmental Project of the Year award for their involvement in the Frontline Face Shields Project!
The Frontline Face Shields Project was started in 2020 by Colin Breckons, a man local to Shred Station’s Norwich depot. Colin started the project with the aim of 3D printing face shields for frontline workers during 2020’s national PPE shortage. The project quickly gathered pace and media attention, accruing the help of many local volunteers.
However, as the output increased, volunteers grew concerned that the 3D printing process was generating large volumes of plastic waste. If this waste was properly handled, it could provide more raw material to continue the project’s production run rather than go to landfill. It is also worth noting that there was a national shortage of 3D printer filament at the time, with the price per kilo of extruded plastic skyrocketing over 300% within two weeks.
Shred Station was able to take this production waste, and using their industrial granulators, could break the plastic down into tiny 2-3mm fragments. These fragments were then used to make more 3D printer wire.
This diverted a large amount of plastic waste from landfill, reduced project costs, and meant more masks could be produced. Thanks to Shred Station’s green initiatives and CarbonNeutral® company certification, the carbon footprint of their involvement in the project was also offset to net-zero.
After their win, Shred Station commented on the BSIA’s social media announcement:
“Thank you so much! The whole Shred Station team is delighted. Congratulations also to all of the other finalists. We firmly believe that any and all environmental contributions are worth celebrating”.
Shred Station also made a statement of special thanks to Martin Emms, the company’s Sales Manager, who facilitated the company’s involvement with the project, and to Colin Breckons and all of the Frontline Face Shields Project’s volunteers. With their efforts and determination, the project was able to deliver 50,000 face shields to frontline workers across the UK.
