Tag: recycling packaging
Why the bottled water brand is using less recycled plastic
Gerolsteiner apple spritzer in non-returnable PET bottles “Unfortunately, at the beginning of the year we had to reduce the recycling percentage to 30 percent,” explains company boss Roel Annega. (Photo:…
“Germany is the brake on ecology”
Mainz Reinhard Schneider lives up to his reputation. The owner of the frog cleaning agent manufacturer Werner & Mertz is known for vociferously criticizing his own industry. “Companies try to…
How renewable resources are replacing petroleum
Dusseldorf Anyone who drives past huge chemical plants on the Autobahn between Cologne and Bonn would have no idea: old chip fat is being processed here, possibly from your last…
A recycling cycle full of holes – Europe is sinking into yoghurt pots, milk cartons and shampoo bottles
plastic waste Europe has a massive plastic problem. The continent is sinking into yoghurt pots, milk cartons and shampoo bottles. (Photo: dpa) Berlin Small bits of plastic are stuck to…
Lidl is resisting the introduction of a multiple-use obligation
Dusseldorf The Schwarz Group sees itself as a pioneer in the sustainable use of plastic. The bottles for the drinks of all their own brands for the subsidiaries Lidl and…
Why manufacturers find it so difficult
Dusseldorf Consumers see the beginning of the plastic revolution with every purchase. On many shampoo tubes or detergent bottles, manufacturers advertise that they use more recycled plastic in their packaging.…
Europe’s largest start-up center launches circular economy initiative
Founders in UnternehmerTUM The Munich start-up center UnternehmerTUM has been supporting young people in founding start-ups for 20 years. Photo: UnternehmerTUM Munich In view of fragile supply chains, a shortage…
Turning waste into profit – A new global trend is emerging
Cologne The World Bank calculated in 2018 that people leave behind two billion tons of garbage worldwide every year. And by 2050 the mountain is likely to grow to 3.4…
New packaging obligation 2023: Restaurateurs struggle with reusable tableware
Dusseldorf Disposable packaging for food and drinks creates huge mountains of waste. According to the Federal Environment Ministry, around 320,000 disposable cups for hot drinks are used every hour in…
Climate protection is becoming a matter of survival for retailers
Dusseldorf Many bakers complain that they are threatened with bankruptcy due to rising energy costs. This is not an issue for Roland Schüren: His bakery in Haan in the Rhineland…
“Urban mining” can become the engine for the global circular economy
Wrecked cars in a junkyard Valuable raw materials can be found in car wrecks, ruined buildings and old electronic devices. (Photo: IMAGO/Peter Widmann) It is an invaluable treasure that slumbers…
Why a car manufacturer is planning a junkyard
Cologne A car manufacturer with an attached junkyard? At Stellantis, this is not absurd, but forward-looking – and is called circular economy. By 2030, the new “Circular Economy” business unit…
How Western industries can make themselves less dependent on raw material imports
Volkswagen – batteries for electric cars VW wants to build six gigafactories in Europe by around 2030, which should be sufficient for a total production of around five million electric…
Henkel refill stations meet skeptical consumers
Refill station of the Henkel brand “Love Nature” The concept hardly goes down well with customers. (Photo: Nora Laurie Lammers / dm) Dusseldorf Henkel wanted to be a pioneer in…
Online exchange for garbage takes action against plastic
Cirplus co-founder Christian Schiller Up to four million tons of plastic end up in the sea every year. Christian Schiller wants to digitize the circular economy. Dusseldorf Christian Schiller saw…
Amazon, Ebay and Co. face fines
Yellow bags with packaging waste Legislators make online marketplace operators responsible. (Photo: dpa) Dusseldorf Waste separation and a one-way deposit were once intended to stop the misery, but the mountains…
Will the circular economy save us from the raw materials crisis?
Dusseldorf Anyone who has tried to buy a car, electronic device or furniture in the past few months will have been surprised at the extremely long delivery times for many…
Consumer goods companies are at risk of missing their plastic targets
Dusseldorf The goals are ambitious: consumer goods giants such as Henkel, Beiersdorf and Unilever are planning to drastically reduce the amount of new plastic in their packaging for deodorants, creams…
Japan is fighting plastic waste with innovations
Asia Technonomics In the weekly column we take turns writing about innovation and economic trends in Asia. (Photo: Klawe Rzeczy) Tokyo When Japan develops robots to solve a problem, the…
Nestlé takes mineral water Vittel from the German market
Dusseldorf Mineral water from Vittel will soon disappear from the market in Germany and Austria. Nestlé will completely stop doing business with the brand in both countries before the summer,…