Plastics News - Show Daily - October 24, 2022 - 5

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PreZero born out of willingness to make an environmental difference
By Jim Johnson
Plastics News Staff
PreZero Stiftung & Co. KG
has grown into a massive environmental
services company,
including signifi cant plastic recycling
operations, through a
feeling of obligation and a realization
of opportunity.
As part of the Schwarz Group
of companies, which includes
large retailers Lidl and Kaufl and,
PreZero is working to close the
materials loop from waste creation
by consumers to recycling
to the production of goods and
packaging for customers to consume
and use again.
And this is all by design.
When Schwarz Group is described
as a large company, it really
is an exceptionally large company,
with more than 13,300 stores
and 550,000 employees in 32
countries. Based in Neckarsulm,
Germany, the fi rm's operations include
food and beverage production,
including bottling lines.
Through a series of acquisitions
in recent years, the company
now operates three plastics
recycling plants in Europe and
one in the United States, in Jurupa
Valley, Calif.
Because of the company's
massive retail footprint, Schwarz
Group wants to take action to
counteract the large amount of
packaging purchased and used
by customers. And that is being
done through PreZero.
" We looked for a solution how
to be more responsible for not
getting rid of the waste but how
to handle the waste as a good
response to handle the environmental
issues. That was the reason, "
Lukas Mikolajczyk, head of
corporate communications for
PreZero, said at K 2022.
" Inventing a new brand [PreZero]
was for us to take a chance at
the time, and the time was very
good to expand, not only for our
customers but also to show society
there is a company which
really thinks how to solve one
problem. ... How can we get rid
of the waste, " he said.
PreZero has grown to include
environmental services operations
in 11 countries and 485 locations,
including the U.S. plastics
operations. Employment
stands at 30,000, and the company
operates 12,000 trucks that
collect waste and recyclables in
Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden,
Poland, Spain, Portugal,
Luxembourg, Belgium, Italy and
Austria.
PreZero as a brand is only
about fi ve years old, as the
company had just 100 employees
and revenue of €18 million
in 2018. The company expects
sales of nearly €4 billion in 2022.
In 2021, the company was able
to collect and recycle 82,000
tons of plastics as part of its
own larger waste and recycling
service offerings to 25 million
people in Europe, the company
said. The company operates 30
sorting plants in Europe, known
as material recovery facilities
in the United States, which help
separate plastics from other recyclables
and waste to be diverted
to the company's plastics recycling
locations. That includes
seven sorting plants for lightweight
packaging.
We want to get better
and better at what we are
doing, and therefore, whenever
you see a chance to recycle
a new waste stream or when
we have enough recyclables
collected and sorted and see
the potential for us to recycle,
we want to do this. "
Lukas Mikolajczyk
PreZero Stiftung & Co. KG
PreZero's growth has vaulted
the company into the one of the
10 largest plastic recyclers in Europe,
and the company calls itPREZERO
STIFTUNG
&
CO. KG
Hall 8B,
Booth A57
polyethylene,
self a " leader
in
tics. "
The
output
from
P r e Z ero's
plastic recycling
facilities include polypropylene,
low and high density
mineral-fi
lled
polypropylene, and mediumand
high-impact polystyrene, all
designed for injection molding
and extrusion.
Plastics
recycling
facility
Haimburg, Austria, which has fi ve
the
recycling of
post-consumer
plaswashing
lines and six extruders
and an annual capacity to produce
55,000 metric tons per year.
Another site is in Fonte, Italy,
with 14,500 square meters of
space, three washing lines and
three extruders capable of reprocessing
40,000 tonnes per year.
The third European site is in
Grünstadt, Germany, with 32,000
square meters of space and
30,000 tonnes of annual capacity.
The California location curoperin
ations
in Europe include a
75,000-square-meter
rently has one washing line
and one extrusion line for LDPE
fi lm in 7,500 square meters of
space with a capacity to manage
40,000 tonnes annually, the
company said. The company
also is in the midst of closing
See PreZero, Page 31
THERE IS
ONLY A PLAN
There can only be one greatest plan! And we have it! For a secure and
successful future. Sustainability, efficiency and cutting-edge technology,
perfectly combined. No compromises. You can rely on our Plan A - A for
ARBURG. Wir sind da.
www.arburg.com
19 - 26/10/2022
Hall 13, stand A13
Düsseldorf
Germany
http://www.arburg.com
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