Rethink Plastic

Within Rethink, the focus is on reducing the use of raw materials and reducing the CO₂ footprint. EuroMouldings uses this as a way to move from a chain economy to a circular economy. We do this using these 5 handles:

Reduce is counteracting waste of materials and energy. To this end, EuroMouldings is constantly investing in new machines that require less energy. We aim to save at least 2% energy per year, every year. Moreover, with our advanced machinery we prevent granules from entering the environment.

EuroMouldings holds the Zero Pellet Loss certificate from Operation Clean Sweap®. OCS is a global program that provides guidelines and various tools to keep plastic pellets and litter out of the environment.

Sometimes measures are easier than thought and awareness and toolbox meetings play an important role in reducing waste.

Energy saving

No granules in the environment

Waste reduction

We are conscious of material recycling. Plastic that is handed in as 'waste' is reused in the production of packaging. At EuroMouldings, we also focus on reconditioning our packaging.

Our clients request empty bottles and jerry cans back from end-users. These containers are cleaned and returned to their original condition so that they are suitable for reuse. This is done in the Netherlands at our sister company Cleaning Twente, which markets these reconditioned products.

Material reuse and reconditioning are important steps towards being fully circular by 2050.

Grinding at the machine

Reconditioning

At EuroMouldings, we recycle in many ways. Our goal: to increasingly use recycled materials - such as post-consumer and post-industrial HDPE - for the production of our bottles and jerry cans.

We also collect all residual waste generated during manufacturing and when machines are started up and switched off in-house. This already involves ten full trucks of material a year alone. We also use a shredder to reduce debris to crushed material. Using an extruder with a special filter, dirt is removed and the material is processed into new granules, which flow back into the production process.

Furthermore, our machinery is being upgraded to make recycling increasingly possible. We now choose Co-Extrusion machines as standard. These machines enable us to maximise the use of recycled material in the production of packaging.

All these steps contribute to our goal of 50 per cent circularity by 2030 and 100 per cent by 2050.

Recycling waste chunks

Co-Extrusion machines

When developing new products, sustainability is a key requirement. Consider the use of polymers based on renewable resources, such as sugar cane, sugar beet or corn.

To this end, for example, reproducible production tests have already been carried out with biobased (I'm Green) HDPE types from Braskem, based entirely on sugarcane. This allows us to produce small volume bottles as well as 20-litre jerry cans. In the future, we want to look at materials created from chemical recycling.

I’m Green biobased

The fastest and most effective way to recycle our products is to use as much of the same material as possible. Redesign therefore involves continuously evaluating our current designs: how can we redesign our current packaging to be more sustainable in the total life cycle?

This can be done, for example, by looking at a weight reduction, or applying sleeves and labels, making the packaging easier to recycle. We are also looking at optimising the packaging of bottles on a pallet. There, reducing the number of necessary transport movements is the goal.

Sturdier product

Labels / Sleeves

Erwin is happy to help you

Do you have questions? We are happy to help you!