Protecting Our Water

• Pionite's closed loop cooling system for presses and batch reactors reduces the amount of water taken from the nearby Little Androscoggin River, and virtually eliminates thermal discharge back into the river.
• A process improvement allows us to collect and incinerate polyester distillate, thereby eliminating it from the wastewater stream.
• An oil/water separator removes the oils impurities from our presses' waste streams, resulting in a cleaner wastewater discharge to the treatment facility.
• To continuously improve the quality of wastewater discharge to the treatment facility, Pioneer Plastics operates an in-house State-certified laboratory to provide timely and accurate wastewater analysis.

Ensuring Cleaner, Healthier Air

• Water-based amino resins are used in the paper treatment process to reduce fugitive emissions to the atmosphere. The HAP content of our phenolic resins has also been reduced to minimize HAP emissions.
• Permanent total enclosures on our solvent paper coaters capture volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) from the paper treating process, eliminating fugitive emissions and protecting our employees.
• Emissions captured from our solvent treaters and batch reactors are burned in a Thermal Oxidizer. These emissions contain VOCs and HAPs which are destroyed at an efficiency of greater than 98% which exceeds regulatory requirements. The heat generated from this system is also used to create steam needed for manufacturing operations and to heat the facilitiesÖ reducing fossil fuel usage by over 900,000 gallons per year.
• Water-based screen print inks are used, thereby eliminating solvent emissions from the screen print process.

Waste Reduction

• We are continuously improving our salvage activities to reduce the volume of waste produced. Recycling programs are established at Pionite facilities. The materials recycled vary by facility and include such things as scrap metals and wood, cardboard and office papers, pallets and other packaging materials. A portion of the waste resin is also reused.
• Pionite uses steel plates to impart texture to the majority of our laminates, eliminating the use and disposal of approximately 2 million pounds of release paper per yearÖ which helps conserve forests as well as reduce our solid waste stream.
• A non-HAP solvent used to clean certain manufacturing equipment, is collected and reused in the resin production process and replaces a chlorinated solvent used previously.
• A water-based reactor cleaning solution is collected, conditioned and reused.
• In a twelve-month period, over 5,000 pounds of waste crankcase oil and hydraulic oil is collected and sent off-site for recycling.
• Bulk handling systems for raw materials eliminate packaging waste, and prevent the release of particulate emissions that might otherwise occur when materials are transferred in the production process.
• Over 1,400 empty steel 55-gallon drums - amounting to over 30 tons of steel - are typically sent out to be reconditioned, reused or recycled, on an annual basis.
• Spent fluorescent light tubes and HID bulbs are sent off-site, where the mercury, glass and metal end caps are segregated, recycled and reused.
• Over 500 tons of cardboard and paper products are typically recycled annually.
• Our laminate display boards are made of 98% recycled metal, 40% post-consumer paper, and 100% water-based paint and inks.

Pionite understands that when a company is dedicated to doing things right, we also have a responsibility to do the right things. We've opened our doors to regulators, our neighboring communities and our customers, because we want to let you know that we're as proud of our environmental initiatives as we are of the quality of our products.