Environment

CEWE COLOR has always practiced active environmental protection

For CEWE COLOR environmental protection is more than the prevention of waste that pollutes the ground, water and air, or the reduction of wastewater. Instead CEWE COLOR understands environmental protection as a continuous process which integrates environment-friendly and health-protecting production channels from the concept to the implementation in all procedures.

Safety at work and environmental protection represent significant core competencies for CEWE COLOR, and we are expanding them to the best of our knowledge also beyond the legal requirements. In dealing with chemicals as used in digital printing, book binding and photographic processing, safety at work and environmental protection are directly linked with one another. Safety at work is guaranteed when using chemicals like toners, inks, solvents, glues, photo chemicals in the production process, in order to protect the workers. At the same time environmental hazards are being avoided.

Responsible handling of resources – waiver of critical substances and materials

In printing the CEWE PHOTOBOOK mainly liquid toners are applied, thus the development of fine dust is excluded. When using ink-jet printing to produce selected digitally printed products such as pictures on canvass and photo gifts, water-based inks are applied. This procedure prevents the emission of volatile hydrocarbons. In the area of photographic processing CEWE COLOR completely waives final baths containing formalin. In the CN film processing only biodegradable bleaching baths are employed.

Recycling – effective processes guarantee optimum use of resources

Here are some examples which illustrate the successes of production-integrated environmental protection:

CEWE COLOR recycles to 90 % the photo chemicals that are used for the development of photographic paper and (much less so) for black-and-white and coloured film. The physical limits of the recycling process depend on the developing bath.

Silver is a very welcomed by-product at CEWE COLOR; silver is won electrolytically during the development of film and photographic paper. According to REACH, the most recent legislation on chemicals, CEWE COLOR has preregistered as producer of the product silver. The regaining of silver is very effective and amounted to 12.87 tons in the past business year.

The waste water quantity per square metre of developed photographic paper was reduced by more than 50 % during the past eight years. This process which saves natural resources enables CEWE COLOR the consistent use of low-friction machine technology, the maximising of counter-current cascade effect, the concentration of processes on less locations, and the discontinuation of the final rinse in favour of the stabilising bath and its disposal in almost all film processing facilities.

All relevant waste water values are constantly monitored by CEWE COLOR’s own central laboratory for analysis in the Oldenburg plant. In addition, all samples from the developing baths taken from all European CEWE plants are analysed in this laboratory. Apart from the matching of this analytic process control to the sensitometric process control, recipes for all recycling processes are calculated.

Consequent recycling reduces the volume of waste. Particularly in the area of waste management channels for the utilisation of refuse are selected. The largest volume of waste stems from the printing area and consists of highquality paper. By strict separation from the cardboard cartons it can be very well recycled and sold. The overflows of the developing baths are recycled as nitrogen reducing agent in the cement industry. However, also the photographic paper residue as well as further high-caloric waste fractions are employed in the cement industry as substitute fuel.

For many years now CEWE COLOR has been recycling the bodies of the so-called single use cameras, and thus generates additional income.