Paccor, a packaging expert headquartered in Düsseldorf, is once again demonstrating that its commitment to sustainability is more than talk. The company has now announced that it has created a closed-loop system for the plastic containers used in quick-service restaurant chains.
This latest initiative follows Paccor’s ‘Circular Events’ project, in which the beverage and food PET plastic containers used during gatherings such as music concerts, shows, and sporting events are collected and transported to specialised recycling partners. There, they are recycled into rPET resin and used by Paccor at its manufacturing sites to produce new cups made of 100% recycled material. The company established a similar system with one of its partners in the airline industry. The PET cups used during a flight are collected, recycled and the material - rPET - reused to create new cups.
At the beginning of the year, three companies - Cojean, a French quick-service restaurant chain; Paccor; and French waste management company Tri.O & Greenwishes - teamed up to to implement the first closed loop for plastic cups and trays at Cojean’s restaurants. Six months later, the first recycling stream has now been taken into operation. A second one will soon follow, to process the estimated 40 to 60 tons of PET collected at Cojean’s restaurants into new material for the production of new products for the restaurant chain.
Cojean, said CEO Stéphane Jitiaux, has been recognised by the French Minister for the Environment as a company that delivers on its promises. “We do not seek to be the best in the world but better for the world.”
In tandem with Tri.O & Greenwishes, a solution has been developed for all wastes, from plastic to food. And with Paccor joining the team, we can now have a real circular system for plastics, it is an important step forward, added. Matthieu de Chanaleilles, President of
Tri.O & Greenwishes.
“The Cojean project is fully in line with our CARE strategy, through which we aim at partnering along the value chain to create sustainable value for all our stakeholders and deliver change at scale,” said Nicolas Lorenz CCO of PACCOR.
Paccor’s CARE (Circularity, Alliances, Resources, and Employees) strategy is the company’s roadmap for sustainable growth. Among the aims is to develop circular solutions that deliver economic value to all parties in the value chain, and specifically to provide 100% recyclable solutions by 2023. The company has invested hundreds of millions of euros in R&D to change technology and production lines to focus on the recycling packaging process, switching from disposable products to reusable packaging and increasing production of plastic packaging using post-consumer materials while maintaining the same quality.
The company has developed 100% rPET products that are manufactured locally for a minimal environmental footprint. It is now taking the next step of developing effective routes, through projects and collaboration, to collect its products from consumption sites in order to reuse them in production.
“Beyond the benefits on wastes, this project will also save 70 tons CO2 eq per year on raw materials,” said Lorenz, of Paccor. “We are proud of being part of this success.”