Environmental Compliance

Metal Plating Services: Environmental Protection & Preservation

Arlington Plating has a strong commitment to the environment and environmental compliance. This commitment to compliance is ensured through a multidiscipline approach of recycling, reuse, and monitoring.


Since Arlington Plating is a metal finishing company, it uses a variety of metal bearing chemical solutions in its electroplating processes. Some of these metals include nickel, copper and chromium. Any residual metal bearing solution containing these metals are rinsed thoroughly with water from the product that is electroplated. This water is treated onsite by Arlington Plating.

The metals in the water are separated from the water by chemical processes that include oxidation/reduction and precipitation. This metal bearing water slurry is conducted to a filter press, which employs a physical technique called dewatering. The dewatering leaves behind a metallic bearing solid “cake” of material while allowing the treated water to safely discharge to the local POTW.

To monitor compliance of this water discharge, Arlington Plating continuously samples its effluent. The sampled effluent is analyzed by atomic absorption spectroscopy in Arlington Plating’s laboratory for regulated metals.

The residual metallic bearing solid “cake” is collected for metals recycling. Arlington Plating ships this material to a specialized recycling facility. At this recycling facility, the metals are extracted from the solid cake. After extraction, nickel, copper and chromium are now ready to be safely reused.

The reuse of metal also takes place at Arlington Plating. Arlington Plating employs a state of the art automated nickel recovery system. Nickel bearing solution that is unusable in electroplating operations is pumped into the nickel recovery system through a series of nickel “scavenging” resin columns. Nickel free water is discharged from the automated unit leaving behind nickel saturated resin. This resin is then acid washed to produce a usable nickel product. After acid washing, the resin is regenerated by an alkaline solution for further nickel collection and recovery. The recovered nickel is then introduced to Arlington Plating’s nickel bearing electroplating solutions.

It is through monitoring, recycling, and recovery that Arlington Plating ensures its continued commitment to the environment and environmental compliance.