Reveal's Green Revolution: Our New Sustainability Initiative

At Reveal, we’ve introduced a new sustainability initiative to manage how we dispose of our aerosol paint cans to reduce our company's carbon footprint.  

The initiative began with a simple, yet profound idea presented at the Reveal winter conference. The team were encouraged to contemplate and present their desired legacy at Reveal. Graduate Utility Surveyor, Ben Amick, took the opportunity to express a commitment to action positive environmental outcomes for the company.  

As part of our utility mapping field services, Reveal’s field services team performs utility ‘markout’, using specially formulated spray paint to indicate on the ground the location of utilities below. 

Utility markout spray cans loaded into the back of a traditional GPR unit

The markout symbols, which you can see on most pavements and streets as you walk around, use different colors to indicate the utility type, as well as numbers or figures to indicate the depth and quality-level of the detection. 

As part of his role at Reveal, Ben was aware of the high volumes of aerosol paint cans the field team would use up throughout utility markouts, and the lack of a recycling scheme to deal with the waste. To tackle the issue head-on, Ben first needed to understand the extent of consumption across the company. The numbers were staggering—Reveal burns through approximately 2700 cans per year. This meant that both Auckland and Wellington teams exceeded the commercial volume threshold, preventing them from using local landfills for disposal. 

Undeterred by this challenge, Ben reached out to several companies to find a suitable solution. However, discovered that there were no facilities in Wellington capable of processing this type of waste. Therefore, the paint cans would need to be shipped to a solvent reclaim-recycle facility in Auckland, @EnviroNZ. 

While shipping the cans to Auckland would incur some carbon emissions in transportation, these would be offset. By responsibly disposing of the aerosol cans through EnviroNZ, it eliminates the potential harm caused by chemical residue from the cans leaching into the water table when disposed of in landfills.  

At EnviroNZ the spray paint cans are broken down into separate components, the plastic spray mechanisms are removed and sent for standard plastic recycling. Afterwards, the cans are pierced to depressurize them, and any residual solvents and solids are carefully extracted. These chemicals are then purified and recycled, closing the loop on a previously environmentally harmful disposal practice. Finally, the clean, empty steel cans are recycled as scrap steel. 

The first batch of paint cans, packed up and on their way to Enviro New Zealand for processing

This sustainability initiative not only addresses Reveal's immediate environmental impact but also sets a precedent for the infrastructure industry. By taking responsibility for our waste and actively seeking sustainable solutions, Reveal demonstrates our commitment to create a positive legacy for the future.  

Check out EnviroNZ for your company’s waste solutions. 

 #sustainablebusiness #sustainabilitymatters #infastructurenz #lookdeeper #teamculture