Tamlite axes 51 tonnes of plastic

TAMLITE Lighting has eradicated more than 51 tonnes of plastic from its operations over the last four years, the equivalent to over a million plastic bags.

The Midlands-based luminaire manufacturer has also reduced consumption of new plastics by a 80 per cent – down from 14.5 tonnes in 2020 to 2.7 tonnes.

The move to eliminate plastics from its operations is part of the firm’s circular economy strategy.

It says it has sought to move away from the traditional linear resource consumption model, towards designing out waste, maximising value, improving maintenance, and returning materials into the cycle at the end of their lives.

Tamlite’s luminaire design team has taken steps to ensure that the amount of plastic used in its products has also been reduced and through design it’s working to future-proof luminaires and expand their longevity.

The company points to the its ‘Solar’ luminaire, where the design team were able to re-engineer the existing design of the product, meaning no additional cost and resource of starting a whole new design.

The company has also removed plastic packaging from a number of products, including the high-volume batten and flat panel lighting ranges.

Additionally, Tamlite has switched to card- and paper-based packaging – materials that are already made of recycled materials – and paper-based tape instead of vinyl so that all the packaging components are recyclable.

Tamlite Lighting head of wellbeing Debbie-Sue Farrell told the Circular Lighting Report: ‘As a responsible manufacturer, we take pride in leading by example when it comes to tackling climate change and protecting natural resources.

‘Across our operations and processes we have embraced a circular economy approach where possible to reduce our impact on the environment.

‘Reducing our reliance on plastic, as well as other non-recyclable materials, is an important part of our strategy going forward’.