#chromatogeny

[earaercircular]

Recycling: the transformation of the plastic waste sector is becoming clearer

Perlenflasche

The French eco-organization Citeo is finalising the organisation of the sorting and recycling of a part of the plastic waste for a long time without specific treatment. Contested, this new approach is accompanied by a crucial call for tenders for recycling. Result expected by the end of the summer.

Thirty years after the creation of the collection, sorting and recycling sector for household packaging, the time has come to a new stage. Only 65% ​​of plastic waste is now covered by this sector, and the eco-organization Citeo[1]  is finalizing a new organization in order to amplify the sorting and recycling of certain types of plastic packaging long considered "without solution".

This concerns pots - mainly yoghurt - and polystyrene (PS) trays, coloured, non-transparent (particularly milk bottles) or clear polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles and trays, as well as plastic films with based on polyethylene (PE) or polypropylene (PP). Overall, this packaging represents 15% of non-recycled plastic waste, specifies the general manager of Citeo, Jean Hornain. “The overall objective for us is, on the long run, 100%: 100% of packaging with a reuse or recycling solution,” he recalls.

From cardboard-free yoghurt pots to mono-material cups

Apart from buying in bulk, the most glaring example of packaging reduction is perhaps that of yoghurt pots: manufacturers are in fact increasingly encouraged to remove the cardboard that surrounds their product. To contribute to better practices, Citeo has made the "LESS"[2] tool available to its 30,000 contributing companies, allowing them to develop different "pilots" for their future products. "Applied to a tube of toothpaste, the tool provided no less than 17 pilots: with or without a 'unitary' cap[3], with different shapes, etc.", illustrates Valentin Fournel. So many opportunities to visually distinguish themselves from their competitors.

"The ideal remains to have a mono-material packaging", specifies the director of "Eco-design services" of Citeo. To understand, just take a look at the paper cup, distributed in our coffee machines. The interior of these cups is in fact lined with a waterproofing plastic layer, preventing the liquid from soaking the cardboard up to the surface. However, this layer represents approximately 10% of the cup - which prevents it from being recycled with other cardboard packaging. "We worked on a process of 'chromatogeny'[4], that makes it possible to provide cellulose[5] with a barrier to water. Thus, we arrive at a cup made up of 97% cardboard", welcomes the manager.

Recycled, sustainable, bio-sourced materials

Manufacturers are also working on the origin of the materials making up the packaging of their products. "The example that comes to my mind is the 'grey bottle of milk', slips Valentin Fournel. When you see it on the shelves, you can be surprised at its colour, while all the others bottles are immaculately white. The industrialist's trick is to explain his approach directly on the label: 'This bottle is grey because it is made from recycled material.'"An example of eco-design that also works from a marketing point of view.

In addition to materials from recycling, designers can also turn to "bio-sourced" plastics (of organic origin, mainly vegetal, not to be confused with biodegradable plastics - not as beneficial for the environment as they may look like), such as bio-PE or bio-PET, for which it will nevertheless be necessary to "develop the recycling channels before being able to exploit their full potential". For more environmentally friendly supplies, they can also choose FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) [6] or PEFC (Forest Certification Recognition Program)[7] labelled paper and cardboard.

Re-use, the holy grail of recycling?

All these approaches, however interesting they may be, should not obscure the "holy grail" of recycling. "Re-using packaging is in a way 100% recycling, since we will use it to sell a product again", underlines Valentin Fournel. "The objective is to move to 10% reuse by 2027", adds Sophie Nguyen, "Reuse and bulk" manager at CITEO. An objective which, according to her, requires "to carry out several revolutions", in particular the development of objects suitable for reuse - on the model of the "Perlenflasche" (pearl glass bottle), that German consumers bring back to their "store drinks" so that it is washed and then re-filled with water to return to the shelves.

"It's the same principle as self-service bicycles, illustrates Sophie Nguyen. Previously, there were a lot of companies that offered them, and little sharing. Today, for example, you have Vélib''[8]: all stations are identical and bikes are interchangeable, you can transfer them between stations to regulate availability. Similarly it goes if you have a standardized water bottle you can bring it back anywhere." The surface left to the label also leaves the possibility for manufacturers, here again, to stand out from the competition.

But several important questions arise to develop this approach. In particular, should a deposit amount be set, and which one? "In Germany, it ranges from 15 to 30 euro cents on average per bottle. But you also have to decide whether the amount will be unique or different depending on the type of object", projects Sophie Nguyen. Another issue: that of "washing factories". "We have between 4 and 5 operational bottle washing plants in France, and new ones are starting to be built, lists the manager. To reach the 10% target, it will take more than twenty." Not to mention the bowls and trays, the cleaning of which requires different "washing tunnels"...[9]

Responsibility of the industrialist... and of the citizen

“Reuse requires setting up an industrial sector. For that, two things are needed: funding, and the need. Because if there is no bottle to wash, what is the point of building a washing plant? ", underlines the "Reuse and bulk" manager, for whom "mobilizing the consumer is one of the central elements". “Our goal is for companies to include eco-design, recyclability and reuse in their strategy. But as citizens, we also have a responsibility,” concludes Jean Hornain, CEO of Citeo.

Source

Christophe Palierse, Recyclage : la transformation de la filière des déchets plastiques se précise, in : Les Echos, 28-07-2022 ; https://www.lesechos.fr/industrie-services/energie-environnement/recyclage-la-transformation-de-la-filiere-des-dechets-plastiques-se-precise-1779186

Nastasia Michaels : Recyclage : qu'est-ce que l'éco-conception ? in : Geo, 22-04-2022, https://www.geo.fr/environnement/recyclage-quest-ce-que-leco-conception-209431

[1]Citeo is a organisation with a mission created by companies in the mass consumption and distribution sector to reduce the environmental impact of their packaging and paper, by offering them reduction, reuse, sorting and recycling solutions. To respond to the ecological emergency and accelerate the transition to the circular economy, Citeo has set itself 5 commitments: reduce the environmental impact of its customers' products by anchoring the circular economy and eco-design in their practices and strategies; create the conditions for building the solutions of today and tomorrow that combine environmental and economic performance; giving consumers the keys to reducing the environmental impact of their consumption; co-construct and promote the company's solutions and positions, from the local to the international scale; cultivate the commitment of its employees in the service of its mission. Since the creation of Citeo, consumer goods and distribution companies have invested more than 11 billion euros to develop eco-design, to install and finance selective collection and to create recycling channels, with their partners local authorities, sectors and operators. Today, 72% of household packaging and 62% of paper are recycled thanks to the sorting gesture of the French, which has become the first eco-citizen gesture. https://www.citeo.com/nous-connaitre

[2] “Less is more” for the planet! Indeed, for equivalent material, reducing packaging is always synonymous with reducing environmental impact. How to go about it ? Citeo offers LESS, a new methodological guide accompanied by resources and good practices accessible to its customers.https://www.citeo.com/le-mag/less-un-guide-methodologique-pour-reduire-les-emballages

[3] inseparable from the tube to prevent it from detaching, although it is too small to be recycled on its own

[4] The innovative chromatogeny technology developed by the CTP and the CNRS and making it possible to make paper / cardboard hydrophobic using a green chemistry process is booming, with excellent prospects for industrialization in Europe in the coming years. years. The barrier performances obtained meet numerous specifications and the material manufactured is recyclable and biodegradable. However, in order to use chromatogeny in the manufacture of paper and cardboard intended to come into contact with food, an agreement from the authorities is necessary. Indeed, the process is innovative and the products created during the functionalization of the material are not currently on the positive authorization lists.https://www.webctp.com/fr/industrialisation-de-la-chromatogenie

[5] a natural component of cardboard, editor's note

[6] The Forest Stewardship Council A. C. (FSC) is an international non-profit, multistakeholder organization established in 1993 that promotes responsible management of the world's forests via timber certification. It is an example of a market-based certification program used as a transnational environmental policy.

[7] The PEFC Council (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes) is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organization. It was founded in 1999 to promote sustainably managed forests through independent third-party certification. https://www.pefc.org/

[8] Vélib' was a large-scale public bicycle sharing system in Paris, France. Launched on 15 July 2007, the system encompassed around 14,500 bicycles and 1,400 bicycle stations, located across Paris and in some surrounding municipalities, with an average daily ridership of 85,811 in 2011.The name Vélib' is a portmanteau of the French words vélo ("bicycle") and liberté ("freedom"). Vélib' was operated originally as a concession by the French advertising corporation JCDecaux.

[9] Read also https://earaercircular.tumblr.com/post/690198518821978112/bring-back-the-comeback-of-reusable-glass