“Almost 100% of signage ends up in landfill, resulting in hundreds of thousands of tonnes of waste each year,” says grand format company Mesh Direct, which has launched a bold new eco initiative to “challenge the signage industry as a whole…and lead the way to drive change.” The company also introduced a new range of sustainable signage options and committed to being carbon neutral by 2020.
 |
| (photo: Mesh Direct) |
 |
| Andrew Doenicke, Mesh Direct |
“Of course the environment is important to all of us,” says Mesh director Andrew Doenicke. “It’s something the team at Mesh Direct want to put at the forefront of what we do. We’ve already started chipping away on our Project Green these past few months and we’re looking forward to more exciting things to come.”
Mesh Direct is one of Australia’s leaders in grand format printing and out-of-home advertising, supplying printed signage nationwide.
The new Think Green, Do Green campaign sets out several short and long term initiatives for the company, including becoming carbon neutral by 2020 and launching a new recycling collection scheme by 2022.
Mesh Direct has just added a new range of sustainable signage options to its current range including EcoBoard and EcoVinyl. EcoBoard is a biodegradable, organic and chemical-free alternative to traditional corflute and plastic products. EcoVinyl is a billboard skin material which is 100% recyclable.
“Social responsibility is a priority in most industries these days,” says a company press release. “However, the signage industry is considerably behind. Not only are Mesh Direct looking at themselves, but they’re also looking into the industry as a whole. They’re asking new questions and challenging the way things are done.
“The signage industry is one of many contributing damaging impacts on the environment. Currently, almost 100% of signage ends up in landfill, resulting in hundreds of thousands of tonnes of waste each year. It’s hard to say exactly how big the industry’s carbon footprint is, but with the printing, manufacturing and transportation involved, it’s undoubtedly not to be ignored.”
The company says it’s aiming to become carbon neutral by 2020:
This is the action or process of compensating for carbon dioxide emissions by making equivalent reductions of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. We would do this by:
Taking offsetting steps ourselves (such as tree-plantation and initiatives to reduce our carbon emissions),
Offering offsets to customers on each order,
Additionally, we would like to reward Government agencies and our top clients with an offset donation for every referral.
The Sydney-based company has been working with the Vinyl Council of Australia on a business case for producing tiles for building materials made from old vinyl banners. Repurposing vinyl would help to dramatically reduce waste.
“We have been asking questions and creating challenging conversations with organisations to help us find out more about it, including working closely with the Vinyl Council who are helping us on a number of new initiatives,” says Doenicke.
The company is also exploring repurposing vinyl and mesh on a commercial level, looking at making its own product from recycled material with technology from the Philippines.
Find out more about Think Green, Do Green here.
