Mr W & I visited the Emma Bridgewater factory.

We were very impressed by the commitment to recycling that goes on here. The plaster of Paris moulds are ground down & recycled into plaster boarding, the spare slip & pared-off pieces of unfired clay & biscuit-fired pottery are recycled into fresh slip, and the glaze that’s applied to biscuitware is coloured so that any parts that aren’t covered in glaze are immediately noticeable which reduces the risk of ‘seconds’ (i.e. less than perfect pieces). Even the pieces of foam that are used for sponge printing are off-cuts from a nearby upholstery manufacturers.
This is not a mechanised process: about 350 staff are employed here.