At Quabbin, Inc. it IS easy being green

Quabbin, Inc. has been committed to reducing its carbon footprint since long before that was in vogue.  We make intelligent decisions about the raw materials we need, and reuse and recycle whatever we can.  This isn't just smart for the environment, it's smart business.

Power Generation

• In 2010, Quabbin, Inc.'s 1,100 panel, 220kW photovoltaic system went on line which provides 40% of our electricity
• The system has generated 437,710 kWh of electricity to date
           Total energy generated equals a savings of 314 tons of CO2 
           Total CO2 offset equals the amount that 7,878 trees would absorb
           Total energy generated equals 35,454 gallons of gas saved or 1 year of 8 hrs/day use
            of 2,498 60-watt bulbs
        

Quabbin, Inc. has an acre of photovoltaic panels on the roof of its warehouse. 
To see live electricity production data, click on this photo.
 

Shipping and Receiving

• Scrap paper and junk mail are shredded, then used as packing material to ship product rather than using styrofoam peanuts
• Received cardboard boxes which are damaged and cannot be reused for shipping also are shredded and used as packaging material
• Cardboard boxes received at Quabbin Inc. are returned to the Shipping Department and reused to ship product

CNC Machining, Water Jetting and Metal Stamping Operations

• All scrap metal generated in our CNC and metal stamping operations are sorted and recycled
• Recycling of scrap metal alone saves landfills more than 2, 40-foot tractor trailer loads of  material each year
• The 40,000 lbs. of scrap metal are re-melted and can be reused, rather than being lost in the waste stream and mining additional new metal

Die Cutting

• Centers and webbing of raw material are segregated and reused, saving 20-30% in raw materials

Powder Coating Operations

• Heat from our powder coating ovens’exhaust is captured and redistributed throughout the plant
• Our powder coating operations are VOC-free, saving X pounds of VOC’s from being released into the atmosphere each year

General Facility Practices

• Broken wooden pallets are repaired and put back into use
• All lighting in the plant has been changed to the most energy efficient fixtures and bulbs available
• Quabbin, Inc. uses electric pallet jacks for the majority of its product moving, saving about $3,000 per year in propane
• In the winter months, we utilize waste heat from our air compressors to heat our facility, thus reducing our propane usage
• Large, whole-shop fans are used to reduce our cooling needs during the summer.  We have been able to maintain a comfortable work environment without using air conditioning, saving electricity

 

Posted: Sun, Mar 11, 2012 02:01 PM
Updated Sun, Mar 11, 2012 12:00 AM