Stylex: Our waste separation partner
Munich, 18th May 2021 – Packaging distributers are now able to label their packaging with sorting instructions. The symbols show consumers how to correctly sort and dispose of the packaging. A total of nine participating dual systems* are making the new packaging logo available free of charge, with a view to increasing the collection volumes in yellow bins and bags over the long term, and improving the quality of the recyclable materials collected. There is a lot of work to be done; an average of 30 per cent of wrongly disposed waste ends up in yellow bins or bags, making it more difficult or even impossible to recycle valuable raw materials.
Around 200,000 companies are currently registered with Germany’s Central Agency Packaging Register (ZSVR). As packaging distributers, this and their involvement in a dual system means they bear product responsibility under the German Packaging Act (Verpackungsgesetz). Equally great is the companies’ demand for services to inform consumers on how to correctly dispose of packaging. The new sorting instructions sees the participating dual systems provide ZSVR-registered companies with the first ever free, cross-manufacturer solution for this.
Showing responsibility: STYLEX and Hochland using the new packaging logo
Companies adding the sorting instructions to their packaging are not only educating their customers on how to correctly sort waste, but are also showing consumers that they are taking product responsibility for their packaging. STYLEX has already opted to use the new packaging logo. “We are aware of the importance of correct waste-sorting and the associated product responsibility”, says Sönke Carstensen, CEO of STYLEX Schreibwaren GmbH . “For us, this also includes helping customers correctly sort and dispose of our packaging.” The stationery manufacturer will start printing the sorting instructions on its packaging from autumn 2021.
Hochland Deutschland GmbH will also start using the new packaging logo on “Grünländer”-brand products in September 2021. “We look forward to being the first brand in the food industry to begin using the new sorting instructions in September 2021. We consider the logo an important tool for showing consumers how to correctly dispose of our packaging. It is particularly important for us to do our bit as a brand to further increase recycling quotas in Germany and keep reusable materials in the cycle”, says Markus Birzer, Head of Brand Grünländer.
A distinctive and educational packaging logo
Simple symbols show consumers at a glance how to dispose of packaging depending on its material – either in the yellow bin, the yellow bag, the wastepaper bin or bottle bank. The logo also clearly shows what to do when more than one material is combined, and the standardised basic layout makes it both highly distinctive and educational for consumers. At the same time, it can be appropriately tailored to manufacturer requirements. One option, for example, is to add text elements or QR codes. The latter link to further information such as videos and consumer tips, which are similarly provided by the dual systems .
About the Trennhinweis e. V.
Trennhinweis e. V. is a joint initiative of dual systems in Germany that are responsible for organising the collection, sorting and recycling of used sales packaging nationwide. By offering the separation labels to manufacturers and retailers, the association aims to educate consumers on the subject of waste separation and thus ensure that more packaging is recycled correctly and returned to the materials cycle. This reduces the consumption of resources and CO2 emissions, thus helping to protect the environment.