One of Fastenal Company’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals is to reduce consumption and environmental impacts throughout its operations and to provide solutions for its customers to achieve the same.
Fastenal has entered into a scrap supply arrangement with Trex Company, Inc., a manufacturer of wood-alternative composite decking, railing, and other outdoor building products manufactured from recycled materials, to achieve this goal. Trex composite decking is made up of 95% recycled and repurposed resources, including polyethylene (PE) film and industrial wood debris.
Fastenal is collecting discarded PE film in its distribution facilities, branches, and customer-specific Onsite locations as part of the partnership and shipping it to Trex to be used in the construction of composite decking products. Fastenal and its suppliers utilize PE film (also known as “pallet wrap” in the distribution sector) to secure boxes and other packing to pallets for transportation.
“Pallet wrap is essential to our daily operations, but once the product is unwrapped, we have no use for it,” explained Dave Olson, Fastenal’s Director of EHS & Sustainability. “Collaborating with Trex to convert all of that potential waste into sustainable outdoor building products benefits both organizations.”
Fastenal has invested more than $300,000 in technology and infrastructure at its distribution centers in the United States to efficiently bale and combine discarded PE film for recycling by Trex. Fastenal intends to divert an estimated 600,000 pounds of plastic from landfills in the first year of the initiative through waste collected within its distribution locations (where a high volume of pallet wrap is received as part of inbound shipments from suppliers). Furthermore, over 2,500 Fastenal branches and Onsite locations in the United States can participate by back-hauling old material to the nearest distribution facility for baling, consolidation, and transportation to Trex utilizing Fastenal’s usual truck routes.
Trex repurposes over one billion pounds of reclaimed materials in the production of its products each year, including about 400 million pounds of plastic film, making it one of North America’s top recyclers of PE film. Trex partners with commercial enterprises and community organizations across the country through its NexTrex Recycling Program to collect and transport recycled plastic material to its manufacturing plants in Winchester, Virginia and Fernley, Nevada.
“By participating in the NexTrex Recycling Program, Fastenal has demonstrated its commitment to creating a more sustainable business model,” said Dave Heglas, Trex’s senior director of supply chain excellence. “The contributions of environmentally conscious partners, such as Fastenal, are not only essential to our manufacturing process, but also critical to addressing our country’s growing plastic waste problem.”
