It has progressively put in place a number of measures to improve air quality, reduce waste and minimise water usage. It specialises in outdoor advertising, display promotions and point of sale merchandise. UV ink is considerably more expensive than solvent-based ink, but is quicker drying, produces a consistently high quality product, and avoids use of solvents, resulting in much better working conditions. Paper, cardboard and water are recycled. Conventional screen cleaning solvents have been replaced with odourless, high flashpoint solvents, resulting in improved working conditions.
Silver is recovered from the photographic fixer solution and sold.
A solvent recovery system recycles solvents a number of times. The payback period is expected to be about two years for the developer recycling technology, and one year for the silver recovery system. By introducing the UV ink printing system the company has considerably improved internal air quality and working conditions. The recycling of water saves the company several thousand dollars a year. Seeing beyond the regulations Norske Skog see complying with environmental regulations as the first step in taking advantage of further opportunities to improve environmental standards and business performance.