GP Batteries Earns Gold UL Zero Waste to Landfill Validation for its Battery Manufacturing Facility in Tebrau, Malaysia
The mantra "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" is more than a way of life or business; for GP Batteries, it's a promise. In 2020, we delivered on that promise and became the first in the battery industry to receive UL's Zero Waste to Landfill Silver Validation (ZWTL) for our two battery manufacturing plants in ASEAN, and a NiMH battery manufacturing plant in Greater China. This validation recognizes companies that manage waste through verifiable and resource-efficient processes from energy production via incineration to reuse, recycling and composting.
Recently, GP Batteries marked another milestone in its commitment to improving waste diversion performance by earning UL's Gold ZWTL Validation for a manufacturing facility located in Tebrau, Malaysia, the first plant in the country to earn gold level validation.
At GP, we're committed to developing more durable and reusable sources of power supported by manufacturing processes focused on waste minimization and resource efficiency. We're also constantly looking for new ways to increase the use of recycled materials in our battery products, with many of our rechargeable battery products comprising at least 10% recycled contents.
Alternatives to Single-Use Batteries
Unfortunately, there is no perfect, 100% environmentally friendly power solution. However, by reducing, reusing, and recycling, you can significantly lower your carbon footprint as much as possible, generate less waste and save more money in the long-run. This includes swapping single-use batteries for rechargeable batteries where possible. For more people using rechargeables instead of single-use batteries, there's never been a better time to switch to rechargeables.
“GP Batteries’ achievement of Gold ZWTL Validation for its newest plant in Malaysia, combined with its continued improvement of waste diversion performance in its other three plants, demonstrates its ongoing commitment to improving sustainability performance,”
- said Doug Lockard, UL’s Vice President and General Manager for Retail and Consumer Products.
As the first plant in Malaysia to earn the Gold ZWTL Validation, GP Batteries’ Tebrau plant has met the requirement of waste diversion levels of 95–99% by implementing best practices and process improvements that have helped increase waste diversion.
GP Batteries’ project teams on location in Malaysia continue to be dedicated to the zero waste to landfill initiative and carry out the project in unique ways based on their particular locations, challenges, and waste streams with an emphasis on waste classification and sorting.
In addition to extensive staff training to ensure waste is correctly diverted for recycling or reuse, innovative practices have also been put in place, including reusing metal or plastic bins as trash cans to fully utilize the recycled resources.
“We are proud that our efforts have enabled us to achieve greater waste diversion rates thus further advancing our sustainability performance. We will continue to work with UL on various initiatives to further enhance our waste tracking and management, and continuously improve our sustainability performance.”
- said Victor Chong, President of GP Batteries
Devised to measure and validate companies’ commitment to diverting waste, UL’s Zero Waste to Landfill Validation offers a credible third-party verification, which allows companies and organizations to prove their environmental leadership in the market. GP Batteries has worked with UL to continue to advance its zero waste to landfill efforts with the vision that more facilities will achieve validation in the years to come.
To learn more about Zero Waste To Landfill Validation, visit UL.com.