IP Retail is a world leader in supermarket design, retail design and décor fabrication that serves independent and chain retailers to provide customized solutions that connect with their clientele. At its plant just outside of Cincinnati, OH, USA, the company runs an extensive design, project management, engineering and fabrication operation, including digital printing and routing processes to create bespoke visual display experiences. The company operates wide-format digital printers, cutters and routers over two shifts, using a variety of substrates including Celtec® expanded PVC sheets from Vycom.
Being “Aware of the World” is a core value of CIP Retail and it strives to use materials and processes that minimize the company’s footprint and conserve resources. Keeping true to this value presented a conundrum: as a considerable user of PVC and other plastics, how could it also reduce its environmental impact? The company had amassed a significant quantity of PVC scrap over the years as it searched for a solution to prevent it from going to a landfill.
During a visit by Vycom representatives to CIP Retail in late 2019, the company’s management learned about the recently announced Vycom PVC Recycling Program where printed and unprinted PVC sheets as well as scraps and drops from finishing and fabricating are recovered and recycled. Through subsequent meetings with Matt Brunner, territory manager at Vycom and supported by Laird Plastics in Dayton, OH, USA, a plan was quickly developed and implemented to recover all the PVC scrap and transport it to Return Polymers, a sister organization within The AZEK Company and a leader in PVC recycling and compounding.
CIP Retail generates approximately one trailer load (a combination of 20 gaylords and pallets) of PVC scrap every month, which is now regularly transported to Return Polymers for recycling. The recovered scrap PVC is processed and distributed to various entities within The AZEK Company to manufacture long-lasting performance products. Empty gaylords are returned to CIP Retail to start the process over again. There is no cost to CIP Retail for this program.
Most importantly, the waste is being diverted from landfills, enabling the company to continue to be good stewards of the environment. “We’re setting a good example that is appreciated by our clients, our employees and our community,” said Miller.