RPL replaces ABS moulding material to accelerate sustainability targets

Sustainability is at the core of the Moulding business area at Ricoh UK Products Ltd (RPL).

The in-house moulding facility produces a wide range of plastic components for toner bottles which are used in RICOH’s suite of Multi-Function Printers (MFP) and Production Printers (PP).

Manufacturing over 3,000,000 parts per month, RPL takes pride in its utilisation strategy of post-consumer recycled (PCR) Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) material in Injection Stretch Blow Moulding (ISBM), the responsible use of process waste and the sourcing of virgin materials in line with RICOH’s Green Public Procurement (GPP) standard.

However, as part of the wider suite of activities (also including Injection Moulding and Extrusion Blow Moulding), the business area is seeking to improve its overall material reuse ratio, supporting the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – specifically, SDG12: Responsible Consumption and Production.

According to Senior Engineer (Moulding), Philip Greatrex: “We buy hundreds of tonnes of plastic raw material every year as part of our operations, but we have devised a sustainable improvement roadmap – aiming for 50% of that material to be recycled by the end of FY25, more than 70% in FY30 and 100% in FY50, in line with RICOH’s global net zero target.

“At present, we manufacture all MFP toner bottles from 100% PCR PET, but we are now working on the cap assembly and aspire for all moulded components to be 100% recycled.”

In a bid to accelerate this timeline, RPL has recently undergone trials using recycled ABS material, replacing its less sustainable virgin counterpart.

Furthermore, the current virgin ABS is sourced from South-East Asia, whereas RPL predominantly operates within the EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) region, and the new recycled ABS material is UK-sourced, resulting in huge CO2 reductions from shipping, in addition to improved lead times and a more agile operation.

With ongoing trials, RPL is conducting comprehensive testing to ensure that its applicable moulded products all meet RICOH’s high quality standards.

Philip Greatrex added: “The quality of recycled materials can vary from batch to batch, so we have worked closely with our procurement team to partner with industry-leading suppliers, whereby we have reliable material and full traceability in its lifecycle.”

“I’d like to thank the team for their efforts designing and executing a robust process optimisation and parts evaluation plan to ensure the success of the project.”

Moulding Engineer, Awais Shaikh commented: “In the financial year 2023 (FY23), RPL’s Moulding facility recorded a total of 845 tonnes of material usage. Based off this usage – assuming same operations in FY24, we have calculated that, collectively, the business area now utilises 367 tonnes of recycled material.

“This means we are operating at 43% recycled material.

“Should the trial be successful in formally replacing the ABS material, we will be working at approximately 50% in FY24 – potentially even realising this milestone in the 2024 calendar year.”

Click here to find out more about RPL’s Moulding area.