Wastes from the manufacturing process

The manufacturing process generates various wastes as by-products, and waste reduction targets have been set for all UPM Raflatac factories. This is a key aspect of our ISO14001 certification.

In the new UPM ProFi project, labelstock waste is combined with plastic to make a composite material suitable for patios and other decking.

• Paper and plastic face and backing materials are sent for recycling
• Cores are re-used and cardboard recycled where possible
• Where this is not possible, labelstock waste is sent for use as fuel, i.e. energy recovery; landfill is the last option if none of the above are possible
• Wastewater levels from the adhesive coating process are low; some factories have a wastewater treatment plant on-site, if not the wastewater is treated off-site
• Only low volumes of hazardous waste are produced
• Oils from engineering can be recycled, while other hazardous wastes have to be incinerated