FAQs

Environmental

1. Does Wavezero Comply With Environmental Standards?
   Yes.

2. How Environmentally Friendly Is The Form/Met Manufacturing Process?
   The Form/Met manufacturing process is very "friendly" to the environment. Vacuum metalization is intrinsically green in that no volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are generated during the process. The aluminum is deposited on both the polymer thermoform and the inside surface of the vacuum chamber and associated internal structures and mechanisms used to hold the parts for metalization. The aluminum deposited on the internal "tools" must be periodically cleaned. This is accomplished using chemicals that dissolve the aluminum into a water medium. That resulting solution is diluted to meet local standards for the discharge of waste into the public sewage system. Periodically, the tanks are cleaned and the solid waste placed in drums for recycling and disposal with approved agencies. Aluminum is not toxic so environmental waste is easily reprocessed. The environmental friendliness of Form/Met may be contrasted to conductive painting, which is notorious for the generation of VOCs. These emissions are tightly controlled requiring stringent methods for scrubbing all emissions. Many localities have dramatically regulated and restricted painting operations forcing service companies to quit or move their operations to overseas locations where concern for the environment is lower. Tools and masks used in the painting operation must also be cleaned and, since the paints are typically compounds of silver, copper, and nickel, the stripping operations involve multiple chemicals and processes. Since the base metals present a greater threat to the environment, they must be handled with greater care. Electoplating and electroless plating operations involve a large number of etching, cleaning, and deposition steps. The number and types of chemicals and their disposal is very large compared to vacuum metalization. Equipment and tanks must be periodically cleaned and residues disposed of properly. WaveZero maintains that it has the most environmentally friendly process available today.

3. How Easy Is It To Recycle Form/Met Or Otherwise Provide For Its Recovery And Disposal?
   The amount of aluminum deposited on a Form/Met shield is approximately 1/200th of the weight of the total product. Thus, very little aluminum is actually deposited. Aluminum is non-toxic so one could simply throw the shield away and not violate any existing environmental regulations. As we move into an era of greater environmental regulation, Form/Met can be recovered and recycled by simply regrinding and returning to WaveZero. WaveZero can use the ground product as a substrate in its next Form/Met product. If required, the aluminum can be easily stripped off the polymer by the same process used for cleaning tools. By contrast, products made with a conductive paint sprayed on face the problem of stripping multiple and distinct metals. To be an effective conductive surface for EMI shielding, silver and copper are often used in the paint mixture making the final product laden with materials that must be carefully reprocessed. For electroplating operations that involve multiple materials, the final product suffers from the presence of two or more different metals that must be separated from the polymer film. WaveZero maintains that it has the most recyclable EMI polymer based shield product available today.

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