Since the early 1970s, WED, or World Environment Day has been celebrated globally, bringing into focus issues that touch the lives of everyone who inhabits this planet. With this year’s theme being “ecosystem restoration”, we took a closer look at our own MIS ecosystem to learn about the efforts being made to ensure that the mark we leave on our surroundings while producing our implants and dental components, is as least invasive and harmful as possible.
From early on in MIS history, the company took great care to “think Green” and believed in the importance of preserving the environment. This not only meant adhering to the local laws for waste disposal and recycling which existed at the time, but also looking ahead and finding ways to improve production processes in terms of energy preservation, waste management and recyclable materials used by employees.
WHAT IT REALLY MEANS TO PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT
Moving forward through the decades, today’s MIS has come a long way towards achieving these shared goals of being an environmentally conscientious, responsible company. These efforts include everything from correctly disposing of production byproducts and waste, to what happens to the dishwater in the dining room.
In the world of implant production, a large amount of oil is used in the various CNC machinery when grinding and milling titanium rods into dental implants, with a great deal of metal waste left over as well. These shards and scraps of titanium, steel and aluminum need to be separated from the oil they are immersed in. They are then cleaned, separated and sent off to be recycled, while the oil goes through its own process of purification and recycling.
PROPER DISPOSAL OF DANGEROUS CHEMICALS
Without question, one of the more intricate waste handling operations involves the chemical labs. Beyond the multiple liters of chemicals per year which are rejected and disposed of in an environmentally safe manner, once implants and components go through these chemicals and are washed, the water used for washing has an entirely separate disposal and recycling process of its own.
This rinsing water is first neutralized in-house to reverse excessively acidic pH properties, after which waste particles are separated out and cleaned so that the water may be disposed of safely. The disposed of chemicals are first sent to an intermediate treatment center, from where they are shipped off to a final site for disposal.
At the end of this process, there is still the question of bottles and containers used to house the chemicals in their original form. These are separated by material and neutralized, and are sent off for proper disposal as well.
WHAT ELSE DO WE DO?
There are countless other procedures in place for ensuring the safety and environmental security within the company. Here are some of the more prominent ones:
All of these efforts amount to the company’s vision for a safer and cleaner environment, and move us forward, always improving these systems as we go.
THE FACE BEHIND OUR COMMITMENT TO THE ENVIRONMENT
One of these forward thinkers, who has been with the company since its early days, is Anaia Abed El Gani, the MIS Safety and Environment Officer. She believes that the issue of preserving our environment is extremely important, and says “Everything we get rid of incorrectly will eventually come back to us and may cause harm. We can all look out into the world and see the damage already done. If we all do our part, we’ll lessen the damage and live better lives.”
Along with the support of Michael Berkenstadt, COO of MIS, who has initiated changes to maximize efficiency, as well as allocated resources for the benefit of the environmental challenges we face, Anaia and her team have moved forward and created real change, which affects the company, its employees and the environment.
As we look back at this challenging year for humanity as well as for the environment in some ways, we take comfort in knowing that in our own small part of the world, we are doing everything we can to preserve our environment and find new ways of improving it in the future.