1.5 million euros in donations collected so far / Eight airports in Germany participating

Great interim result after five years of “Donate your deposit”: at eight participating German airports, six million containers have so far been collected, and exchanged for 1.5 million euros in deposits. All of this money has been channelled into social projects. “This is a huge success not only for the people who benefit from this money, but also for the natural environment,” says a gratified Michael Wiener, CEO of Der Grüne Punkt. “Since it also means that six million bottles and cans have been recycled that would otherwise have probably ended up as waste.”

As almost everybody knows: at the security checks in airports, it’s the end of the road for beverage bottles. Most of them end up as waste. At eight German airports, though, passengers accordingly find for their empty beverage bottles large, transparent collection containers from “Donate your deposit”.

Most of the people who empty, clean and handle the containers are former long-time unemployed. They also sort the bottles into returnables and non-returnables, and pack them in special sacks. Der Grüne Punkt looks after everything else: i.e. collecting the sacks, organising the deposits, and recycling bottles and cans. Currently, 24 jobs can thus be created for deposit officers.

More about the project under www.spendedeinpfand.de

About the Der Grüne Punkt Group: 
The companies of Der Grüne Punkt are service providers for extended producer responsibility, leading suppliers of secondary raw materials for plastics, and premium producers of plastic recyclates, and as such positioned as the premier solution providers for the needs of the closed-cycle economy. Der Grüne Punkt – Duales System Deutschland GmbH (DSD) is the market leader of the dual systems in Germany, and stands for intelligent take-back systems, plus the development and marketing of innovative recyclates and services. Systec Plastics, at its facilities in Eisfeld and Hörstel, produces premium-quality recyclates under the Systalen brand name for the international market. The companies are grouped together in DSD – Duales System Holding GmbH & Co. KG.

European roadmap towards a Circular Economy

The European Union has recently shown an undeniable commitment in transitioning towards a Circular Economy. This was shown in its recently-adopted Circular Economy Package, and the announcement of the European Plastic’s Strategy. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, the EU Commission was awarded the 2019 Circular Economy prize, adding to its diligence on the topic and providing it with international recognition from the highest experts. This, in turn, demonstrates a penchant towards European legislation which meets citizens’ demands; a fact most highlighted by the recent manifestations calling for climate protection across the Member States.

Following the European election, the next commission will, without any doubt, build on the circular economy momentum to go forward to fully close the loop and push further the transition towards Circular Economy. Circularity implies to rethink deeply the production and consumption of goods. EU policymakers will have to engage closely with a broad range of stakeholders representing the entire value chain. It’s the only way to implement the new legislation efficiently.

Citeo, the French company in charge of the Extended Producer Responsibility for household packing and graphic papers, is delighted to be supporting the EU Commission in shifting the paradigm. By closely collaborating with all stakeholders, Citeo bridges brand owners with, packaging producers, recyclers, retailers, local authorities, etc. . Thanks to the mechanisms we have set up, 70% of household packaging and more than 55% of graphic papers are recycled in France. With this position, Citeo can be a real game changer for a circular growth.

Citeo's role in the transition

In revising the Waste Framework Directive, the EU Commission took opportunity for a level-playing field for the Member States'waste management systems. This was channeled via ambitious yet achievable binding recycling targets. This is an opportunity for Citeo to enable greater recycling for household packaging through an efficient Extended Producer Responsability (EPR) schme. Through this mechanism, which stems from the polluter-pays principle, companies that place certain types of products on the market bear the majority of the costs associated with their end-of-life.

Nevertheless, these efforts will only result in a genuinely sustainable future if all stakeholders collaborate always more. With it's particular position, in the heart of the ecosystem, Citeo can play a key role of catalyst, developing appropriate solutions to achieve the new ambitious recycling targets and beyond.

This demands in particular that innovative recycling technologies and eco-design both be fostered and promoted. In this perspective, Citeo recently launched an international forum on new plastic solution with Éco-Entreprises Québec on innovative recycling technologies at both side of Atlantic Sea which illustrated the global industrial dynamics around these new technologies.

The transition need to be complemented with adequate monitoring, in order to inform and improve the recycling performances, and citizen information. All this, in a common effort to push boundaries towards a more sustainable world both on the French and European level.

Towards a Circular plastics' approach

In striving for a Plastics’ Stragtegy and, with the recently-adopted Single-Use of Plastics’ Directive, the European Union is pushing both citizens and stakeholders to rethink how they use and manage the material.

Citeo, fully endorse the EU’s vision for a plastics’ Circular Economy – urging for the material to transform from waste to economically-, socially-, and environmentally-beneficial resource. As such, Citeo endeavours for improving the circularity of all type of packaging, while also ensuring its net environmental improvement over the product’s life-cycle.

Improving the competitiveness of plastics recycling also means developing opportunities for recycled plastics. This can be achieved by influencing the demand, for example by stimulating markets for products already incorporating recycled plastic. It would be quite easy to encourage the use of recycled plastics by inserting specific clauses in public procurement. As such, Citeo actively participates in the Circular Plastics’ Alliance initiative which aims to increase the demand for recycled plastic.

Citeo already works hand-in-hand with associations and brand owners for improving recycling rates and decreasing the littering. We are engaged in several awareness-raising campaigns and actively supporting citizens initiatives that fight against marine litter.

Challenges Ahead

Citeo is already anticipating issues that need to be urgently tackle, especially the fight against marine litter.

Regarding the new disposal on litter clean-up as agreed in single use plastic directive, Citeo would suggest to clarify the role and responsibilities of each actor (citizen-consumer, municipalities and EPR organisation), the geographical scope and scale of clean-up activities limited to activities undertaken by public authorities. Citeo would also suggest to incentivise the measure by adapting costs according to littering and setting an evidence-based calculation.

To further develop integration of recycled plastics we call the EU Commission to develop legislation for the regulation of the interface between products, chemical substances and waste. We also believe that the EU Commission should ensure funding’s for investments for the development and the modernisation of recycling infrastructures to help Member States reaching the targets and implementing legislation.

Citeo also tries to be ahead of the new challenges arising from the development of the rapidly growing part of the market of the e-commerce. E-commerce generates a lot of packaging that is handled by the municipal waste management service. But the question of who puts the product on the market remains unclear and many packages do not contribute to their end-of-life through EPR mechanisms. Citeo calls to regulate this « empty space » which leads to an increasing freeriding effect.

In the field of ecommerce, another issue is the dismantling of the carton packaging which makes it harder to recycle. A logo to prevent consumers from dismantling those packaging would be very useful.

Citeo also call the EU Commission to address pending regulation to ensure coherence for EPR fee modulation criteria, to provide a clear definition for “recyclability” & reusability” and to agree on the methodology of the calculation of the recycling point to ensure the comparability of recycling rates between the EU’s Member States.

In an integrated market, circularity of packaging is obviously a European concern. The power of 500 million consumers could be increased tenfold if they have access to the same information. That’s why a debate should be launch on the introduction of a pan-european logo for packaging recycling. Citeo suggests that such logo should symbolise the recyclability of packaging rather the actual collection instructions.

Citeo remains committed to achieve a sustainable future through Circular economy by contribution to maximising the resource efficiency of packaging and graphic papers.

Citeo recommendations for the next European Commission
– Continuing dialogue with stakeholders of the european circular
economy agenda;
– Guaranteeing financial help and european projects to improve the end of life for packaging and graphic papers;
– Supporting innovation for the development of new materials to reach the collection and recycling targets set by the European Union
– Supporting Member States transposing the circular economy package and the single use plastics directive into national law;
– Clarifying of technical pending issues (e.g guidelines on EPR fees eco-modulation, recycling rates calculation methodology, collection and sorting);
– Ensuring the circularity of packaging via efficient product design, new recycling solutions and prevention of littering.

In France the gesture of sorting has become widespread in the population (nearly 90% of French people declare sorting) and the share of systematic sorters is progressing. If these results are encouraging, efforts must be continued to make it a daily gesture.

To improve our performance and reduce the number of unsorted packaging, Citeo encourages the search for innovative collection solutions that would strengthen or complement the existing system.

This is why in the continuity of the Circular Economy Roadmap (FREC), Citeo - in collaboration with the Ministry of Ecological and Solidarity Transition and Ademe - launches a Call for Expressions of Interest dedicated to innovative collecting.

This appeal has a dual purpose:
- Better capture the deposit of packaging and paper in territories with high growth potential.
- Mobilize citizens actively on the sorting gesture by associating it with a solidarity cause and / or by making it more playful and innovative.

Please find out more here.

In Paris on February 4-5, 2019, Éco Entreprises Québec (ÉEQ) and Citeo held a Forum entitled “Plastic solutions: recycling innovations on both sides of the Atlantic”.

Running over two days, the Forum brought together thirteen innovative companies in Paris. Every single one of them is at the cutting edge of new plastic recycling techniques (start-ups and established industry players), and they were joined by big names in retail and supply chain, financiers and investors, industrial partners, and political decision-makers.

In a rapidly developing field, the Plastic Solutions Forum provided both a comprehensive overview of the state of the art, and access to the decision-makers who will make the difference. In addition to the forum itself, the aim was also to promote the development of new industrial recycling projects by facilitating investment decisions through a pertinent selection of potential partners: project developers, main international clients, public and private financial players, and industry names in the plastics sector.

The aim was to accelerate innovation to reach the industrial scale, and make the promise of a circular economy a full reality.

Most observers believe that the sector has recently passed a threshold, and statements of intent are coming in quick succession. Within the next 3-5 years, it is a real possibility that facilities in Europe and North America will be making use of new approaches to plastic recycling based on research into polymers (depolymerisation, dissolution, purifications, repolymerisation, etc.).

Sector players and brand owners are eagerly awaiting this kind of technology. Because of this, the Forum setted out to promote the most significant plastics recycling projects from Quebec, North America, and Europe. Attendees had the opportunity to:

- Attend presentations on the most promising technologies and projects

- Meet the brains behind the technology, one-on-one

- Listen to policymakers and industry players reveal their programmes to promote plastic recycling

As part of its eco-sourcing strategy, the Soprema group is launching its first raw material production unit using recycled PET. With the support of ADEME, the French Environment Protection Agency, and CITEO and in line with the Government's ambitions for the recycling of plastic, Soprema is creating a new recycling sector and achieving a world first in the field of recycling PET trays.

Find out more here.

In line with French and European ambitions in the field of plastic recycling, Citeo, Total, Saint-Gobain and Syndifrais, the national union of manufacturers of fresh dairy products, launch the creation of an industrial polystyrene recycling industry in France, by 2020.
The partners announced it at the World Material Forum held in Nancy from 27 to 29 June 2018, with another voluntary commitment to recycling PET trays.

Find out more here.

The Packaging Waste and Sustainability Forum will be held in Brussels from June 5 to 7. This forum that will focus on topics related to circular economy solutions in action for packaging and packaging waste will receive lectures from five PROsPA members.

CITEO - Alexandra Lange
Gruner Punkt - Helmut Schmitz
Repak - Seamus Clancy
Sociedade Ponto Verde - João Letras
Valpak - Adrian Hawkes

You can find here the event agenda.