About the Frontline Face Shields Project
The Frontline Face Shields Project was started by Colin Breckons at the first peak of the coronavirus pandemic. Colin, a man local to Shred Station’s head office, started the project with the aim of producing a few face shields for frontline workers in the area using the 3D printer he had in his shed. At the time there was a national PPE shortage, so news of Colin’s efforts soon spread, accruing the help of many local volunteers.
As the momentum of the project increased, volunteers became concerned that the 3D printing process was generating a large volume of plastic waste. If this waste was properly handled, there was an opportunity for it to provide more raw materials to continue the project’s production run rather than going to landfill. It’s also worth noting, there was also a national shortage of 3D printer filament at this time, and the price per kilo of extruded plastic was around 300% higher than usual cost prices.
Shred Station was able to use one of their powerful granulators to turn this filament into tiny 2-3mm fragments, making it suitable to reuse. Their involvement diverted a large amount of plastic waste from landfill, reduced project costs, and meant even more masks could be produced. As Shred Station are also CarbonNeutral® certified, the carbon footprint of their involvement was also off-set to net-zero.
Kristian Carter, Commercial Director at Shred Station, says:
“A huge thank you to the BSIA for organising the awards, which we all thoroughly enjoyed even though we couldn’t be together in person for this year’s ceremony! We are, of course, delighted to win the Environmental Project of the Year award. We try to do good in our local communities, and this fantastic project would not have been possible without all of the project’s volunteers who dedicated so much of their time to keep the region’s frontline workers a little safer from the threat of coronavirus. Our Sales Manager, Martin Emms, facilitated our involvement with the project, so a huge thank you to Martin too for all of his hard work. We would also like to say congratulations to all of the other finalists. We believe all environmental efforts are worth celebrating, and safeguarding our environment is the only way to make sure we’re all winners in the face of climate change”.
Shred Station’s other environmental achievements
On top of winning this award, Shred Station is well-known in the data destruction industry for meeting their environmental responsibilities head-on, something the company has focused on since their formation over a decade ago. No greenwashing marketing tactics or shortcuts, this is a company with their environmental commitments at the very core of their ethos. Here are just a few of the ways Shred Station is setting the bar high for other companies in terms of environmental policies:
CarbonNeutral® certification
Shred Station is a CarbonNeutral® certified company and has been since January 2019. Through their already numerous methods of reducing emissions, alongside their offsetting projects, the company has had net-zero greenhouse gas emissions for the past three years. This certification is awarded by Natural Capital Partners who are experts in the delivery of solutions for positive impact on carbon and renewable energy.
Global offsetting projects
As part of their CarbonNeutral® certification, Shred Station has invested in several offsetting projects around the globe, all meeting numerous United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. These projects included a community reforestation project in Uganda, providing important education to local farmers on biodiversity, conservation farming methods, and business acumen to maximise the yield of their land. Farmers were also compensated for all of the trees successfully grown. There have also been multiple investments into wind power projects. This year, the company is offsetting through the West India Wind Project and the Gobi Wind Power Project in China – two of the world’s biggest polluting countries with an urgent need for renewable energy resources.
Plans to go carbon negative
Neutrality wasn’t enough for Shred Station, and this year they have plans to further offset their carbon emissions beyond net-zero. This will mean Shred Station’s operations for 2021 will be carbon negative.
Shred a Tonne, Plant a Tree scheme
Shred Station’s ‘Shred a Tonne, Plant a Tree’ scheme was introduced in 2017 before the company’s CarbonNeutral® certification. Over 4,200 trees were planted in the area local to the company’s head office, which, when fully grown, will sequester 201,600lbs of C02 from the atmosphere each year. This year the company relaunched the scheme, wishing to give their customers the option to plant trees for every tonne they have shredded with Shred Station. This was inspired by the UN Environment Programme’s ecosystem restoration plans promoted through World Environment Day.
Eco-friendly fleet
Shred Station’s fleet is comprised of ultra-low emission vehicles meeting Euro 6 emissions standards. To get a picture of how low the fleet emissions are, the majority of Shred Station’s trucks, even high-tonnage trucks, can drive for free in London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone. Not only this, but the company already has plans in place to incorporate fully electric collection vehicles into their fleet by the end of 2021. The emissions of the company’s fleet are also covered under the scope of the company’s CarbonNeutral® certification, meaning all of their journeys are also certified carbon neutral.
Company cars moving to hybrid or fully electric
Shred Station has already invested in car-charging ports at each of their depots, and are transitioning all company of their cars to hybrid or fully electric models.
Solar-powered head office in Norwich
Shred Station’s Norwich head office is powered by solar, displaying the company’s understanding of the importance of using renewable energy.
Zero to Landfill policy and 100% paper recycling
Absolutely nothing Shred Station destroys goes to landfill, and 100% of the paper they shred is recycled at UK mills. Simply by shredding all of the paper they shred for their customers, they save 30,838 trees per month, as well as 12,698,000 gallons of water, 689,320 gallons of oil, 7,256,000 kWh energy, and 5,442 cubic yards of landfill space.
More information about the Frontline Face Shields Project and information about Shred Station’s environmental commitments can be found on the Shred Station website: www.shredstation.co.uk.
