Der Grüne Punkt - Duales System Deutschland GmbH

RAL Quality Mark for Recycled Plastics

At the K 2019, the Der Grüne Punkt informs about the Quality Mark „Rezyklate aus haushaltsnahen Wertstoffsammlungen“ (Recyclates from household collections of recyclable materials) GZ 720. It is intended to ensure complete proof of the origin of secondary raw materials from household collection in the respective stages of the process chain and to label products whose quality is assured with the quality label. With the %-Recycled Plastics Quality Mark, members of the "REZYKLATE AUS HAUSHALTSNAHEN WERTSTOFFSAMMLUNGEN e.V." quality association can document that plastics from the Yellow Bag / Yellow Bin (or similar systems) are recycled to a high standard and used in new packaging / products. The exact percentage is shown here. The RAL Quality Mark is based on precisely described and publicly accessible quality and test specifications, which are adapted and revised at regular intervals. The Der Grüne Punkt will be exhibiting in Hall 7-1, Stand A07.

New product: Systalen shopping basket in grey

At its stand at K 2019 in Hall 7-1, Stand A07, the Der Grüne Punkt will be presenting innovative and marketable products made from its recycled plastic Systalen with the raw material source Yellow Bag and Yellow Bin. Among the new products presented at the fair is the shopping basket in grey from a well-known manufacturer. It has been designed for use at the point of sale, where it becomes the best ambassador for consumers for a functioning recycling economy for plastics. The basket consists of 100% grey Systalen PRIMUS PP, looks noble and colour brilliant, although it contains no additives such as colour. The basket underlines the diverse, attractive application possibilities of grey Systalen recyclate and thus the trend towards the use of additive-free recycling plastics. And last but not least, the acceptance of grey applications in the plastics processing industry is of great importance for the development of a market for recycled products.

Systalen plastic recyclates from the Der Grüne Punkt are suitable for a wide variety of plastic products. From simple standard applications such as pipes or logistics products to premium products such as sales packaging, for which the highly innovative Systalen PRIMUS product line is used. Thus a plastic packaging returns from the shelf in the retail trade over the recycling again to the shelf. The valuable raw material remains in the economic cycle. Our graphic illustrates this using the example of the cleaning agent bottles from our partner company Werner & Mertz (Frosch). For more information, visit the stand of the Der Grüne Punkt at K 2019 in Hall 7-1, Stand A07.

The outdoor seating furniture produced by the leading manufacturer SanCom International from Systalen PP, the premium recyclate from the Der Grüne Punkt, meets the highest design demands. Der Grüne Punkt has thus equipped the conference room at its stand at K 2019. This is a very interesting new area of application with high quality requirements for Systalen. Outdoor furniture is exposed to the weather, must withstand mechanical stress and still look good even after long use. More information at K 2019, at Der Grüne Punkt in Hall 7-1, Stand A07.

Get the "Tour Guide to the Systalen Product World at K 2019". In order to make the value chain comprehensible, Der Grüne Punkt provides information on Systalen, in particular on the top applications in rinse-off cosmetics with the shower gel bottle from Werner & Mertz and the tube innovation developed in cooperation with the companies Kao and Linhardt. In addition, the Der Grüne Punkt is networking with partners from the mechanical engineering, compounding and manufacturing sectors and will be enabling tours to the various stations of the chain at the K trade fair. At its stand, Der Grüne Punkt will be showing thermoformed cup packaging made of PCR recyclate. The project partners Battenfeld-Cincinnati (Hall 16, Stand B19) and ILLIG Maschinenbau (Hall 3, A52) can provide information about the production steps and the technology used. Battenfeld-Cincinnati produces the thermoforming film as a semi-finished product. ILLIG uses the thermoforming process to produce the cups on its own production system. Pöppelmann will continue with this event, where you can learn all about the recyclable TEKU ® plant pots made of Systalen PRIMUS PP recycled plastic (Hall 5, Stand B 38). Anyone wishing to experience an application live will find it in Hall 15, Stand C 58 at ENGEL Austria. Here, transport boxes with a Systalen core are produced using the new ENGEL skinmelt process. The tour guide will be available at the Der Grüne Punkt exhibition stand in Hall 7-1, Stand A07.

Recycling economy for plastics still in its infancy / Bold ideas and measures needed to help recyclates achieve breakthrough

At the start of the K plastics trade fair, the Green Dot, together with NGOs, associations and entrepreneurs, held an event to shed light on the potential of high-quality plastics recycling and take stock of the progress made. Michael Wiener, CEO, DSD - Duales System Holding GmbH & Co. KG, made it clear that the results achieved so far left much to be desired. Because there were no regulatory hurdles and no economic incentives, the industry adhered to a large extent to primary plastics. High-quality plastic recyclates were still a niche product in the waiting loop.

"Messe K has existed since 1952. In his opening speech at the Green Dot stand, Wiener criticised that "since then we have not really come any closer to our goal of a recycling economy for plastics. "Innovations - such as cosmetic packaging made from our high-quality recyclate Systalen PRIMUS HDPE - prove that a recycling economy for plastics has long been possible. What is lacking is the will to use recycled materials and the necessary regulatory support from Berlin".

Christian Baudis, digital entrepreneur and co-founder of Orange Ocean e.V., gave the numerous visitors to the event insights into marine pollution. If used plastics were valued and used as a raw material on land, this would be a first important approach. Every new application on the market, including the use of recycled plastics in food packaging, improves the situation. Kai Falk, Managing Director for Communication and Sustainability of the German Trade Association (Handelsverband Deutschland), pointed out the possibilities retailers have for increasing the use of recycled plastics in packaging.

Kai Hildebrandt, Der Grüne Punkt, showed what is already possible in practice today as applications for plastic recyclates and systalene. Without close networking of the packaging and recycling industries, as well as processors and brand owners, it would be difficult to achieve a sustainable recycling economy.

In a concluding panel discussion with participants along the value chain from bottlers, manufacturers, machine builders and universities, in which Daniel Nebe, KAO, Johannes Schick, LINHARDT, Matthias Lesch, Pöppelmann, Günther Klammer, ENGEL, Prof. Eugen Herzau, HTWK Leipzig took part, the Green Dot discussed ideas and measures with entrepreneurs and scientists to boost the market for high-quality recyclates and thus the recycling economy.

"We have done our homework. The Green Dot is ready for a recycling economy for plastics," emphasised CEO Wiener. "Now trade and industry are called upon to switch to recycled materials, and politicians are called upon to create the necessary framework with a commitment quota for recycled plastics.

Der Grüne Punkt, Kao and Linhardt will be unveiling a packaging innovation at the K 2019 trade fair / Tube made of Systalen PRIMUS HDPE using raw material from the Yellow Sack

Der Grüne Punkt has in conjunction with the Japanese consumer goods producer Kao and the packaging manufacturer LINHARDT developed a tube that Kao has already approved for specific cosmetics-related applications (what are called rinse-off products, e.g. shampoo). The tube body is made 96 percent of Systalen HDPE, and is easy to recycle. Thus success has been achieved in producing a tube package for cosmetic products using plastic waste from the Yellow Sack and the Yellow Bin.

“With its well-known brands like Guhl, John Frieda and Goldwell, Kao not only gives consumers a promise of quality, but also aims to offer associated packaging solution that with relevant cogency meet the needs of our consumers and of the natural environment. This tube constitutes a new generation of tube packages, consciously created in an innovation-driven partnership, and with a significantly improved ecological footprint,” to quote Daniel Nebe, Global Package Development Leader, Hair Care R+D.

The material involved is supplied by Der Grüne Punkt: Systalen in the PRIMUS quality HDPE. Its salient features: it is odor-minimized, and technically well suited for high-quality applications. “We have succeeded, thanks to intensive collaboration between Der Grüne Punkt, Kao and Linhardt, in synergizing the raw material, the processing technology, and the application of the plastic in the tube project,” says a gratified Dr. Markus Helftewes, General Manager at Der Grüne Punkt.

Systalen is handled at LINHARDT in a tube-body extrusion, on a line featuring technology developed specifically for the Systalen raw material. The material has proved its worth. To quote Johannes Schick, Managing Director of LINHARDT GmbH & Co.KG: “We produce over one billion packages a year, and possess the technical expertise for processing PCR material. With this partnership-driven innovation, a solution has been created that places the entire resource cycle on a new level, taking all due account of short transportation distances. “

The networked involvement of Der Grüner Punkt, Kao and Linhardt possesses a significant political dimension. “We need a resolute commitment to a circular economy for plastics,” Michael Wiener, CEO of Grüner-Punkt-Holding, “We need companies that create markets for recyclates. Consumers are receptive as never before, our recyclates are mature and versatile. We put packages back on the shelves. This is essential if we are to achieve an authentic circular economy and meet both the social and political requirements involved.”

Kao is working full out to put the Systalen tube on the market as swiftly as possible. This will enable consumers to close cycles, since after use the tubes belong in the yellow recyclables collection, and thus constitute the raw material for new applications made from Systalen.

On the eve of the opening of the world's leading trade fair for plastics, K 2019, the kunststoffland NRW association invited relevant decision-makers to a top-class reception. In view of the critical discussions on plastics, this should send a signal and underline the industry's commitment to solving the current challenges with great seriousness.

Around 300 guests from the entire plastics value chain as well as from politics and civil society gathered in the atmospheric ambience of the Stadtwerke Düsseldorf turbine hall.

Michael Wiener took part for Der Grüne Punkt, Federal Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier was live from Berlin. In response to questions by Michael Wiener on the future of plastics recycling, Minister Altmaier invited the plastics and recycling industries to a joint round table at his Ministry of Economics.

Spot landing: At the K 2019 trade fair, Der Grüne Punkt will present the new Systalen brochure entitled "One Source. One Brand. An Infinity of Applications". For producing our Systalen recyclate, we use homogenous plastics from the Yellow Sack and the Yellow Bin – always in conformity with clear product specifications and with a view to the end-product involved. The brochure illustrates why Systalen is a genuine, environmentally friendly alternative to new plastic production and can replace new plastics in injection moulding, extrusion, blow moulding and thermoforming. Numerous companies and municipalities rely on high-quality, innovative and, above all, cost-effective solutions with Systalen Regranulat for the use of materials or end products in building construction, civil engineering and landscaping, transport technology, logistics and packaging technology. The brochure provides information about the product variety and application possibilities in the areas of Systalen Standard and PRIMUS. In addition, it presents the testing processes using state-of-the-art laboratory technology, which the Systalen granulates have to pass through before they are ready for series production. And there is also a look at the production facilities. Ask about Systalen at the stand of the Der Grüne Punkt: Hall 7-1, Stand A07.   

Quick analysis on the recyclability of packaging – check it out at the Der Grüne Punkt booth in Hall 7-1, Stand A07

Higher recycling rates, better recyclability for packaging is a requirement of a sustainable recycling economy. Der Grüne Punkt is now offering an IT tool that quickly and easily classifies the recyclability of packaging for users: The RecylingCOMPASS, scientifically based, yet understandable and practical.

Plastic packaging in particular is currently the subject of public criticism – Der Grüne Punkt helps to optimize the recyclability of such packaging in particular, with active advice on design for recycling and innovative tools such as the RecyclingCOMPASS.

Find out more at our stand – here you can take the practical test directly with one of our experts:

16 to 18 October and 21 to 22 October
respectively from 10.30 to 12.00 and from 14.00 to 16.00 o'clock

In the RecyclingCOMPASS, which is also available in English, the underlying scientific findings of the renowned cyclos-HTP Institute are constantly updated. The RecyclingCOMPASS is also compatible with the minimum standard recyclability of the German Central Packaging Register. “We see ourselves as a comprehensive service provider for our customers and see that in future products can only be recycled if they are designed accordingly. The development of the RecyclingCOMPASS was only consistent, and also does justice to the expectations of retailers as drivers for the evaluation of recyclability,” says Jörg Deppmeyer, Managing Director of Der Grüne Punkt, pleased with the good response from customers.

Systalen PRIMUS HDPE recycled plastic is used in the Frosch Senses (Werner & Mertz) shower gel bottles, which have been on the German market since May 2019. This is the first time that a cosmetic product has a plastic packaging whose raw material was obtained from plastic waste from the Yellow Sack and Yellow Bin. The Green Dot will be presenting this innovation at its stand at K 2019 in Hall 7-1, Stand A07, where it will provide information on its high-performance Systalen granulate. For this application, the plastic from the Yellow Bag source must be practically free of impurities and contaminants. The aim of the Der Grüne Punkt is for plastic packaging to return to the shelf via recycling.

Der Grüne Punkt invites to a press conference

How can plastic packaging be designed in an environmentally friendly way and how can plastic be used sustainably? One point is the recycling of used plastics of the highest possible quality.

Der Grüne Punkt and its partners, the Japanese consumer goods manufacturer Kao and the packaging manufacturer LINHARDT, are presenting a world first: For the first time, a tube body for hair care products has been produced from post-consumer recycled plastic, i.e. from used and processed plastic packaging from the Yellow Bag and the Yellow Bin. The tube body consists of Systalen PRIMUS HDPE.

We will present this world novelty to you at a press conference.

Thursday, 17 October 2019, 10.15 a.m.

in Hall 7-1, Stand A 07, Der Grüne Punkt, at the K 2019.

You can expect

• Daniel Nebe, Global Package Development Leader, Hair Care R+D, Kao
• Johannes Schick, Managing Director / CEO of the LINHARDT Group
• Michael Wiener, CEO Der Grüne Punkt
• Dr. Markus Helftewes, Managing Director Renewing Der Grüne Punkt