Bigelow Tea

Primary Packaging Supplier

Our Supplier's New "Green Facility" Expansion  

• Incorporated LEED certification guidelines to ensure the new building is environmentally responsible and a healthy place to work (Targeting 2012 for certification, 95% there)
• Installed Insulated Concrete Form (ICF) walls, resulting in increased energy efficiency of 83% compared to traditional walls.
• Installed geothermal heating and cooling units: water from underground pipes enters the building running through a heat exchanger and, depending on the requirements and time of year, the building is heated or cooled.  (See Glossary of Terms for definition of Heat Exchanger).  The cost to heat or cool the entire building expansion requires minimal cost and energy; the 40,000 square foot facility is heated or cooled using only 1/14^th the energy that would be required using oil (or equivalent to heating one 2,857 square foot home using oil).
• Radiant floor heating throughout entire expansion uses 25 - 30% less energy compared to the heating system used in the old building. Radiant floor heating is more efficient than baseboard heating and usually more efficient than forced-air heating because no energy is lost through air ducts (US Department of Energy)
• New ventilation system utilizes the same heat exchanger to further reduce heating and cooling requirements.Installed ENERGY STAR rated windows that employ advanced technologies, such as protective coatings and improved frames, to help keep heat in during winter and out during summer.

Our Supplier's Waste/Energy Reduction

• For the past 10 years, water used in the production process is captured, purified (using reverse osmosis), and reused in our plant so that zero waste water (including facility cleaning chemicals and solutions) is discharged into the ground.
• Recycle or reuse 98% of our waste stream. Looking to get to 100% by introducing programs like composting by year end 2012. Paper, resin, ink and aluminum foil is converted to energy pellets and used in lieu of coal for electric generating power plants.  The 2% that we don't reuse or recycle is made up of food product waste from our cafeteria. 
• All new equipment must contain energy efficient systems.

• Drying Systems - designed to be more efficient. Has replaced all old equipment that supports Bigelow Tea packaging. The printed materials are dried at only 200 degrees versus 400 degrees required with the old gas ovens, using fans to circulate high velocity air reducing the energy required to dry by 50% and saving 1,000,000 BTUs per year.
• All motors used now are ENERGY STAR rated.

Our Supplier is Using Environmentally and Worker Friendly Inks

• Printer inks: 100% of our inks used in offset Electron Beam (EB) or Gravure printing processes are water based, making them one of only five printers in the US who use this method of printing. These inks are safe and healthier for operators as they generate only 2% Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), are non-toxic and contain no solvents, whereas solvent-based inks can contain up to 70% VOCs.
• Using inks without solvents eliminates the need for complex ovens to burn off solvents and energy intensive scrubbers traditionally used to remove solvents, enabling a smaller carbon footprint and safer environment for employees.

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