Plastic bottles, metal packaging and drink cartons get a second life

Renewi is supporting an important initiative in PMD business recycling.  Comparable to household waste, about 30% of residual commercial waste consists of PMD. Think of plastic food packaging, metal cans, etc. and drinking cartons (PMD). Unlike household waste, PMD has not yet been collected separately for companies in the Netherlands. Until now, the easily recyclable PMD is therefore usually mixed with the residual waste that is incinerated. We as Renewi will coordinate collection and logistics from the Netherlands. The entire sorting and processing into the secondary raw materials takes place under one roof at Hubert Eing in Germany. That saves a link in transport.

Pmd-picnictafel_blockquote-Roeland-Dubel.jpg

Comparable to household waste, about 30% of residual commercial waste consists of PMD

How does it work?

By recycling, there is less unnecessary incineration, and new end products are made that are usable and returned to society; such as garden furniture, cans, and cardboard boxes. PMD Business waste can be recycled for 80 to even 90%. This is an unprecedented high recycling percentage that is possible because the processor processes the high and low-grade plastic into regranulate and agglomerate respectively. Most processors only process the high-quality material and incinerate the low-value. After processing, in addition to regranulate and agglomerate, metal and cardboard remains, which are used as raw materials to make new products. By this new collection method business will work more sustainable and having less residual waste. That is the goal of many companies and organizations. Residual waste is incinerated, which is not a sustainable solution. By collecting and processing PMD separately, we ensure that less residual waste remains. It is also an answer to the increasingly amount of question for why commercial PMD could not be collected and processed separately. Everyone is already used to this at home. For a long time PMD was a difficult flow to process in the Netherlands, and for that reason it often ended up with residual waste. And that is difficult to explain. Lastly by collecting and processing PMD separately, we are responding to the government-wide program ‘The Netherlands Circular in 2050’ and the program ‘Prevent and recycle PMD packaging waste from companies’.

Business waste can be recycled for 80 to even 90%