Flexographic and Gravure.
A combined AFTA / EPA Victoria steering committee was initiated in 1989. Mike Lyons & Associates have been involved with this group from the outset and are now preparing an overview of available strategies. We also offer services to assist with preparation of Works Approvals for new machinery and Environmental / Waste Management Plans.
In Victoria most printers in the converting field are covered by a Code of Practice - this applies to any licensed operation ie. any site emitting more than 100 kilos per day of solvents. This code is under review by EPA at present but will probably be based on an upper VOC emission limit of 500 tonnes per year by 2006 followed by a further reduction to 250 tonnes per year by 2008.
In all other states of Australia no specific codes have been developed but in conjunction with the Scorpion Consulting Group, Mike Lyons & Associates worked alongside AFTA and Environment Australia to produce an Environment Management Plan specifically for the flexographic and gravure printing industry. The intention of this plan is to encourage industries to initiate their own plans for effective management of solvent emission and other waste streams without the expense and outside intervention required by such systems as ISO 14001.
The focus of our plan is to reduce waste emissions by managerial means, ie. alternative ink technologies, improved register control, chambered doctor blades and other modes of evaporation control. A tip sheet is attached to the main body of the plan which summarises the techniques which have been successfully used by other operators. In some cases, application of these methods have resulted in savings of tens of thousands of dollars annually. A spreadsheet is included with the plan which enables you to predict from the ink purchase inventory and the floor plan the probable impact of existing and proposed operations.
This spreadsheet will allow you to enter ink and solvent purchases, solvent wastes sent off site, utilities such as gas, electricity, LPG etc. and production details. From these inputs it will calculate your annual VOC emissions, individual press emissions, performance ratios, greenhouse gases and NPI reporting status. It is available in two versions - Victorian and Australia wide.
Download (ZIP format)