VisiPak Clear Tube and Caps Provide a Fundamental Time and Money Saving Value
After 20 years as an innovative leader in calibration gases and associated instrumentation, a supplier developed a solution that eliminates the need to dispose of empty gas cylinders. Disposal of empty cylinders is highly regulated, as you might imagine. Depending on the contents, substantial costs are involved to properly dispose of a cylinder with a hazardous waste disposal company. Federal, state and local regulations are involved, especially for nonrefillable cylinders. In addition, when these are empty it is necessary to put a hole in the cylinder rendering it useless, adding time and cost. Transportation and return fees are also a factor.
The supplier developed a new Recyclable Cylinder program. With newly designed cylinders and a unique shipping program, their customers save time, money and the environment. In developing the program, making the process as easy as possible for their client was a main objective. As a customer of VikiPak for many years, they were fully aware of the clear plastic tubes that are the very essence of the VisiPak product line. A combination of diameters, wall thicknesses and lengths available from VisiPak creates more than 80 stock sizes to choose from, but custom sizes are not a problem. All these options made it easy to test and select the best fitting containers for the new program.
The new cylinders are packaged with an outside layer of shrink wrap that is easily removed and discarded. This reveals the cylinder inside the clear plastic tube, closed on each end by flexible plastic caps. Removing the cap is easy and instructions advise the tube and caps should be retained for future use. The cylinder is removed from the tube and another layer of wrapping around the cylinder itself contains information about the contents, safety and regulatory data and complete instructions for returning the cylinder when it is empty.
Once the gas in the cylinder has been depleted it is ready to be returned to the source. The instructions on the second layer of wrapping inform the user how to put the new recycling program into action. Simply tear away this outer shrink wrapping by pulling the perforated strip. This reveals a FedEx preprinted return label attached to the cylinder itself, along with another label affixed that identifies the cylinder as empty. Place the empty cylinder into the clear tube and secure the cap on the tube. Both labels remain clearly visible through the VisiPak tube. The last step is to place the tube with other FedEx items for pickup. It’s that easy.
“Working with our customer on this industrial package was intriguing because the tube served multiple purposes and, it was genuinely gratifying to be able to assist my customer in a way that spread so many benefits for them and the environment as well,” said Ryan O’Keefe, Regional Account Manager for VisiPak.
This supplier serves environmental and industrial hygiene applications. For nearly seven years Visipak has worked with them providing clear, durable tubing and closures. By developing the new program using the clear tubes for shipping, the carbon footprint has been reduced, Hazmat shipping costs eliminated, disposal fees terminated and, there is no charge for returning the cylinders. What a gas!
