Sustainability

Can a plastics business be sustainable at all? This is a question we are frequently asked. Our commitment shows: You can handle plastic just as purposefully as any other material.
Here are five highlights of our actions– and one goal we’ve been pursuing for decades:

1. One material – and the best of them all
   We only use polypropylene – or PP. It can be easily reused and restyled for many industries. In other words, there’s no product mixture that needs to be separated at great expense. And it doesn’t contain any plasticisers either. We use an IML process, a type of engraving, to label and decorate our products. Afterwards, they are still 100% polypropylene.
2. Light, lighter, even lighter
   We’re constantly improving our products, also in terms of their weight. For example, our standard 185×110 container has lost almost 20% of its weight over the past 20 years. This helps to save material, transport costs and fuel.
3. Zero production waste
   We don’t waste anything: In fact, we have a certificate for zero granulate waste. This means: Our staff use the raw material as sparingly as they possibly can. The granules end up exclusively in the production process – never in waste bins or waste water.
4. Design for use & recycling
   Something our founder already practised whilst taking several aspects into account:
   • Our containers can be emptied fully and are therefore easy to clean for reuse or recycling. Nothing can stick or bond to the plastic, as: There are no corners, slots, tight spots or grooves.
   • Consumers like to keep hold of our containers. Because they are resealable and look good. Quite often they don’t end up in the bin after the original contents have been used up, but are given a new lease of life as storage containers.
   • Our products are detectable as PP in all recycling departments and can be immediately assigned to a specific recycling system.
5. Recyclable, but …
   Our products can be recycled straight from recycling bins, but then only as non-food packaging material or anything else that does not come into contact with food. Current legal provisions are the reason for this. They don’t allow 1:1 recycling for primary food packaging. Chemical recycling would be permitted and possible, but results in other problems. Actually:
   Strictly speaking, we’re talking about downcycling here. Therefor …

Our big goal:
Is to produce a separate PP circuit to ensure: Our material can be reprocessed 1:1 with reasonable effort, not downcycling, but rather cradle to cradle. To guarantee this type of cycle though, everyone needs to pull in the same direction: Consumers, lawmakers, recycling industry and manufacturers. The same as happened with the PET cycle in Germany.
We, the manufacturers, are ready and waiting.