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Virco Continues to Make Recycling a Top Priority
Every year, as Virco Mfg. Corporation produces millions of school, office and church furniture items, the company eliminates tons of metal, plastic, cardboard and other waste materials from the waste stream.
The company's legacy as a committed resource conserver recently earned its Conway, Arkansas facility a place in the WasteWise Hall of Fame.
"Participating in the WasteWise program has been great for Virco," said Don Curran, the Recycling, Resource Recovery and Grounds Manager of Virco's Conway, Arkansas facility. "The program's detailed reporting forms and special award categories - like the Climate Change Partner of the Year - helped us take our recycling efforts to a higher level."
Virco uses up to 20 percent recycled material in its steel and up to 40 percent recycled material in its foam upholstery. Nearly all of the company's wood and hard plastic products are made with recycled material.
A wide range of environmentally friendly manufacturing processes enable Virco to reduce waste, to contain hazardous materials, and to recover recyclables. The company's sustainable business practices have led to more than 175 production innovations, contributing to the recovery and recycling of waste materials in nearly all production areas.
In 2003, Virco purchased over $20 million worth of recycled materials in the production of its furniture. Specific recycling totals for 2003 included approximately 2.1 million pounds of cardboard and paper; 430,000 pounds of plastics; 9.9 million pounds of wood byproducts; and 3 million pounds of steel.
The company has also provided technical know-how to a number of organizations that wished to start their own recycling programs. For example, Virco's "Cash for Cardboard" program benefits 26 local schools in seven Arkansas districts. Through this program, Virco builds recycling bins for the schools to collect their cardboard. After Virco picks up their cardboard for recycling, the proceeds are returned to the schools - more than $60,000 since 1993.
"Organizations of all types can benefit from joining WasteWise," commented Curran. "For those that don't have a recycling program in place, WasteWise can help you set goals and find a direction. For those that are already recycling, WasteWise provides an incentive to keep improving, and a means for gauging your success. As a continuation of our work with WasteWise, we at Virco look forward to helping others start or improve their own recycling efforts."
