GW & the environment (emphasis on the use of plastics)

[roberto94]

Hey there guys. It's time for an important discussion.

As we enter into an age of increased awareness of the propagation of many environmental issues regarding our activities on earth, it is important that we tackle & mitigate these issues if we are to maintain a planet that is optimum for not only ourselves, but also our resources (flora & fauna, geology etc.) and other ecologically important species from all trophic levels & environments.

As a marine science student who is aware of many key issues such as greenhouse gas emissions, introduction of microplastics into the marine environment, I am interested in the lengths that large corporations undertake to minimalise the effects of these things (and more). In regard to games workshop, the most prominent issue I can think of would be the production of plastics and other materials that they use to produce their miniatures (as well as glues and other products).

A (very small) bit of research has indicated that GW's Citadel has removed the potentially toxic element lead out of their white metal miniatures, and as far as I can remember, their plastic bags are created from recycled materials. But I also have to wonder how much plastic is wasted from disposing the plastic sprues (after all the components are removed) that could be used for other things.

While I recognise that recycling the leftover plastic & packaging from GW products is the responsibility of the customer buying those products (which I would encourage all of you to do, if you don't already), the company could take greater measures to minimalise the amount of excess plastic & packaging materials, potentially reducing the cost to the consumer as well as conserving many of their own resources.

With the wider activities of producing plastics (I.e. extraction & processing of crude oil), I suspect that GW is too small a company, with many of their own internal issues to feasibly concern about that. But one of the best driving forces involved with reform of all corporate activities is pressure from consuming individuals.

Now, apologies if this thread is poorly worded but I hope you get the general gist of what I mean here. Hopefully at least a few of you share similar concerns to me.

I would like to hear any of your opinions or concerns on this matter on any issues discussed here or any additional ones.

PS. Please don't call me a tree-hugger or anything else (as I'm half expecting some people to scoff at this thread), or you will feel the wrath of a million vengeful carnifexes! I want this discussion to be balanced both ways, which hopefully I have managed to lead as an example.

[jimmyp]

yeah i would say the plastics they use for models probley are free from toxic chemicals...i did hear a person say resin from say forgeworld can be harmful if in dust form.
After coming back to the hobby i do think GW do try to not waste plastic on sprues, but i have a large box of extra bits after a year of building tyranids that is a waste of plastic for sure...

[tarrasque]

Apr 22, 2015 11:33:50 GMT jimmyp said:

yeah i would say the plastics they use for models probley are free from toxic chemicals...i did hear a person say resin from say forgeworld can be harmful if in dust form..

This rumor is not actually true. I mean it IS harmful because it's a micro particle, not because it's resin. Sawdust is just as bad.

[Jabberwocky]

There is definitely a lot of waste plastic on sprues that I'm surprised GW doesn't collect at store level to recycle.

Mine just goes in my recycling bin at home.

[jimmyp]

Apr 22, 2015 11:50:39 GMT tarrasque said:

Apr 22, 2015 11:33:50 GMT jimmyp said:

yeah i would say the plastics they use for models probley are free from toxic chemicals...i did hear a person say resin from say forgeworld can be harmful if in dust form..

This rumor is not actually true. I mean it IS harmful because it's a micro particle, not because it's resin. Sawdust is just as bad.

Yeah I would agree any dust is bad.

[WestRider]

Yeah, resin dust is bad because of the size of the particles, not its chemical composition. That always bugs me when I see people calling it toxic. Lots of things are potentially dangerous without being toxic. Including several within this hobby, like knives and magnets.

Unfortunately my local garbage company doesn't accept this kind of plastic for recycling. Wargames Factory used to accept sprues for recycling, but when gas prices went up, postage got too expensive to send it in, and then they discontinued the program.

GW actually reformulated their white metal back in the 90s some time to get rid of anything toxic. Most of the industry did around then as I recall. Now metals seem to be getting phased out entirely, as prices on things like tin rise, and plastics technology becomes better and cheaper.

Hopefully plastic recycling will start becoming broader soon as well, but I think the main hurdle there is that too many people are incapable of following the instructions one what is and is not recyclable, and how to separate them. Hardly a week goes by I don't see someone's garbage in a recycling bin instead of in the dumpster right next to it

[roughjnick]

I seem to remember in-store recycling being raised before as a possible solution. I'm no expert on the plastic they use but it would seem likely that GW would be able to re-use old spare plastic in some way. I'd like to see them set it up with some sort of incentive to encourage people but I'm probably being un-realistic there.

I have noticed that there is less wastage on newer sprues although whether this is due to enviromental concerns or just GW trying to save on production costs I'm not sure. This has also been offset by the increase in dual kits with many additional spare parts. In terms of packaging GW are fairly good as it's simply a cardboard box with cellophane to keep the box sealed.

[spacelord]

I like to save all my model sprues. The plastic ones get turned into pipes / conduits / railings on scenery and miniature bases.

My mdf terrain sprues get turned into more scenery.

I think it would be great if companies offered a bring your own packaging option. Instead of get a nice box and a plastic bag to take your new models home in. They just sold the sprues you wanted and you bring your own tupper ware and tote bag or whatever to pack it up and take it home.
Imagine how much less garbage there would be if fast food giants didnt offer disposable packaging. If you want it to go, better bring your own container.

[roberto94]

Happy earth day.

What an unintended and hilarious coincidence.

Thanks for your replies so far

[ruleof3s]

I wasn't even sure if Games Workshop plastics were recyclable. I mean I'm pretty new to the hobby and have a big trash bag full of discarded plastic. I've been contemplating on putting it in the recycle bin but no where on the plastic does it have the little recycle symbol. The thing is where I live the garbage company gets miffed if you put trash in the recycle bin and will charge you extra if you do. Also some plastics aren't recyclable which is why I've been a little confused on the subject.

[jester92]

I worked for LEGO for a bit and a similar issue comes up there. Not so much with sprues but when kids out grow them the parents are left with all the bricks. They don't recycle the plastic for two reasons, one being that it is much cheaper to make new ones than to set up a recycling process and two, the quality of the recycled plastic is less than the new stuff. I would imagine that GW is in a similar position. Using the recycled plastic from the sprues could potentially have an impact on the quality of the models and could also damage the molds as well and the manager at my local GW says that each of those plates for the molds costs around 300K US. Though instead of recycling the sprues back into the models, perhaps into making bases and the plastic packaging. Again though, it is probably much cheaper just to keep making new stuff.

[blackrainbow]

Large box of sprue and bits saved for modeling terrain for me. As far as GW is concerned, without seeing any actual internal memos (that would be the day)of environmental choices I am left to believe that any reduction in box and sprue content is fiscally motivated, which can work, so Yeah-GW on that part. As for putting wallet-pressure on them to start recycling programs, that won't happen. GW has a pretty much zero historic record of listening to us when it comes to any type of input. This is where we would have to put pressure on our representatives to bump the government regulations part of it. They would react to that of course.

The scary part, is that it is all these "smaller" aspects of the environment that seem to slip through. "Oh, it's just a small sprue bit" without looking at the scope of impact. Tragedy of the Commons in it's finest form.

+1 for the post.

[smeagol5648]

Apr 22, 2015 11:05:00 GMT roberto94 said:

Hey there guys. It's time for an important discussion.

As we enter into an age of increased awareness of the propagation of many environmental issues regarding our activities on earth, it is important that we tackle & mitigate these issues if we are to maintain a planet that is optimum for not only ourselves, but also our resources (flora & fauna, geology etc.) and other ecologically important species from all trophic levels & environments.

As a marine science student who is aware of many key issues such as greenhouse gas emissions, introduction of microplastics into the marine environment, I am interested in the lengths that large corporations undertake to minimalise the effects of these things (and more). In regard to games workshop, the most prominent issue I can think of would be the production of plastics and other materials that they use to produce their miniatures (as well as glues and other products).

A (very small) bit of research has indicated that GW's Citadel has removed the potentially toxic element lead out of their white metal miniatures, and as far as I can remember, their plastic bags are created from recycled materials. But I also have to wonder how much plastic is wasted from disposing the plastic sprues (after all the components are removed) that could be used for other things.

While I recognise that recycling the leftover plastic & packaging from GW products is the responsibility of the customer buying those products (which I would encourage all of you to do, if you don't already), the company could take greater measures to minimalise the amount of excess plastic & packaging materials, potentially reducing the cost to the consumer as well as conserving many of their own resources.

With the wider activities of producing plastics (I.e. extraction & processing of crude oil), I suspect that GW is too small a company, with many of their own internal issues to feasibly concern about that. But one of the best driving forces involved with reform of all corporate activities is pressure from consuming individuals.

Now, apologies if this thread is poorly worded but I hope you get the general gist of what I mean here. Hopefully at least a few of you share similar concerns to me.

I would like to hear any of your opinions or concerns on this matter on any issues discussed here or any additional ones.

PS. Please don't call me a tree-hugger or anything else (as I'm half expecting some people to scoff at this thread), or you will feel the wrath of a million vengeful carnifexes! I want this discussion to be balanced both ways, which hopefully I have managed to lead as an example.

[yoritomo]

Holy necro Batman! This thread is over six years old!

*locked*