04 June 2008

Valpak Recycling gains certification for three prestigious and internationally recognised standards

Valpak has been achieved three significant and internationally recognised standards for the recycling, waste management and export part of the group - Valpak Recycling.

The three awards are:

• ISO9001:2000 - the international standard for Quality Management Systems
• ISO14001:2004 - the international standard for Environmental Management Systems
• Health & Safety OSHAS 18001 - the international standard for Health & Safety Management Systems

Valpak Recycling was incorporated as a separate operational waste management/ recycling business in March 2003. Prior to this Valpak Recycling worked within the Valpak parent group, running recycling projects mainly focused on the collection and recycling of glass and running under the name of recycle-more-glass.

Since its incorporation Valpak Recycling has experienced substantial growth and now handles 400,000t of packaging materials per annum. In order to maintain control over the quality and supply of materials, Valpak invested in a dedicated sorting facility in the North West of England in 2004. This facility is now recognised as a market leader in this area and has set the standards for safety and quality management.

"Due to the rapid growth in the business, combined with a desire to ensure that we maintain quality assurance, safety and environmental standards for all of our recycling operations," said Steve Gough, Valpak CEO, "the company decided to attempt to gain the three internationally recognised standards for those important business management responsibilities."

He added, "Our existing systems and processes for controlling Valpak operations were of such a high standard that we were able to achieve ISO status in a relatively short period.. We have always taken customer service and quality very seriously and operate to the highest standards both environmentally and in respect to Health and Safety. "

Valpak will add these three standards to the AQSIQ (Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine) licence they received from the Chinese Government in 2005.

The process of ensuring all the standards are maintained is well under way and Valpak feel confident that they can ensure any material handled by Valpak Recycling will be handled responsibly and that we have stringent policies and audit processes in place. This means the business partners they use must meet their high environmental and social standards and holds the appropriate licences to operate in the sector.

Valpak believes that these are significant milestones to achieve as a business in the sector which has quality, safety and environmental protection high on its agenda at present.

"There is such a focus on the areas of quality, safety and environment in the waste management sector, at present, if you then consider the wider audience of UK business and consumers then the steps taken to attain these standards have been a deliberate decision by Valpak to meet customer and consumer demands," commented Duncan Simpson, Director of Marketing. "This has been a way of ensuring a level of guarantee and trust into our services that others still require to achieve."