(PRESS RELEASE) GREEN BAY, WI — Cherry Optical Lab is celebrating five years of reducing its manufacturing waste by turning its plastic waste into power.
During lens manufacturing, small plastic shavings, known as “swarf,” are produced as lenses are shaped and refined. Rather than throwing it away, Cherry collects and compresses it into dense, dry pucks. For years, COL sent these pucks off to be repurposed into plastic products, such as outdoor decking and benches. Now, these pucks are sent off to be repurposed into pellets used in power plants. These pellets offer a cleaner, more efficient burn than traditional fossil fuels like coal, and ultimately, they provide a smarter way to use a material that would otherwise end up in a landfill.
“As a family-owned business, we care about the footprint we leave on our community of Green Bay, Wisconsin,” says Adam Cherry, President of Cherry Optical Lab. “And, as an avid fisherman and enjoyer of nature, I’m personally invested in seeing a better use for what was previously seen as waste.”
Every six weeks, Cherry fills a 30-yard container to the brim with dense, dry pucks of swarf. Once it’s full, it’s loaded onto a truck and sent to Convergen Energy, a renewable energy company headquartered in Green Bay, where it’s then mixed with wood and cardboard waste and made into pellets. Together, Cherry and Convergen Energy prevent thousands of pounds of plastic shavings from entering landfills.
“Ultimately, our goal is to make the world’s Happiest Humans,” says Cherry. “And to us, that means protecting the environment they live in.” This initiative is just one of several that Cherry Optical Lab has implemented to reduce its waste.
About Cherry Optical Lab
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Cherry is an Independent optical Lab obsessed with making two things:
- The world’s best lenses
- The world’s Happiest Humans*
*Our team members, our customers, and their customers
We boldly believe that our job is to serve Eye Care Professionals and deliver excellence for patients, regardless of the prescription. That’s why we offer accelerated turnaround times for high-quality, high-standard lenses made by craftspeople who hold the same certifications as opticians.
