Optimising packaging for sustainability
We offer Bio-Zentrale Naturprodukte GmbH a range of services to help them design packaging for environmentally-friendly recycling.
In its quest to optimise its packaging, Bio-Zentrale Naturprodukte GmbH has made use of the ‘Made for Recycling Interseroh+’ portfolio of services offered by Interseroh+. The new German Packaging Act has also been another factor here, since the new Act requires a greater focus on reusability and recyclability when designing packaging.
Made for Recycling: packaging optimisation
In late 2018, Interseroh+ for the first time analysed the level of recyclability offered by the current Bio-Zentrale packaging. Each piece of packaging is evaluated in three separate steps using a standard developed with the bifa environmental institute and audited by the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging.
1. Collection: Is the consumer able to dispose of the packaging correctly?
2. Sorting: Can the packaging be properly sorted and its material(s) correctly identified?
3. Recycling: Can materials be recycled according to the latest technical standards and reprocessed into new products?
The packaging design is then assigned a specific score from 0 to 20 points. The more points the packaging achieves, the more easily and better it can be recycled.
Designing packaging to conserve resources
Bio-Zentrale has been using the initial results to further improve the recyclability of its packaging. Mauss: “When we start to develop a new product, we already look at ways in which we can improve the mechanical recycling of the used packaging.” The company’s efforts have already been rewarded: in February 2019, Bio-Zentrale was the first recipient of ‘Made for Recycling Interseroh+’ quality seal. The quality seal is awarded to packaging that offers very good recyclability. Specifically, this means that the packaging can be identified and disposed of easily by the consumer, sorted by machine and then mechanically recycled.
Our experts for
Packaging optimisation
Julian Thielen
Head of "Made for Recycling Interseroh+"
Katharina Müller
Packaging Recyclability Consultant
