Recycling company Umincorp became the recipient of two awards in two categories at the Stichting Afvalfonds Verpakkingen Awards in the Netherlands on Thursday 9 June. The company earned the top honour for the best innovation in packaging waste recycling as well as an award for the most innovative application of recyclate in packaging, which it shared with together with supermarket Albert Heijn and packaging manufacturer Hordijk. In addition, Umincorp was also the winner of the audience award.
Umincorp has a unique way of recycling plastic: based on density, different types of plastic can be accurately sorted and recycled. The process produces lower CO2 emission rates compared to other commonly used technologies. The company’s radically different approach, the impressive results and tangible demonstration of the feasibility of a circular solution for plastics household waste impressed both the jury and the public, who recognised the company with the best innovation in packaging waste recycling.
The second award was presented for the collaboration between Umincorp, Hordijk and Albert Heijn, which has seen the establishment of tray-to-tray recycling of the PET fruit trays in the supermarket. Umincorp supplies the recyclate to packaging manufacturer Hordijk, who produces new trays based on this material.
The company was delighted, viewing the awards as a vindication of the value of its technology. As Jaap Vandehoek, CEO at Umincorp said: “Winning these awards shows that people believe in our approach, both the jury and the public. In a short time we have developed into a leading market player, whereby the selection by the expert jury shows that our industry peers also see the potential of the radical innovations with which we recycle all plastic household waste from the four largest cities in the Netherlands into high-quality raw materials. We are demonstrating that our technology and philosophy is usable and scalable, and we are pleased to receive this broad recognition.”
The Stichting Afvalfonds Verpakking Awards were judged by a jury of experts chaired by professor of Innovation Sciences Marko Hekkert, and consisting of representatives from various sectors, including Annemarieke de Haan, CEO Unilever Benelux and Boris van der Ham, chairman of the Waste Management Association.