“Each year, we generate around 340 to 500 tonnes of cardboard waste,” states Marcel Niederberger, Head of Sustainability at V-ZUG. A lot, in other words. This prompted us to start working with the family-run company Model a decade ago with the goal of turning this cardboard waste into new packaging. Our eight baling presses, paired with a strong logistics concept, help us to avoid empty trips while saving on storage space, as new deliveries are always combined with cardboard waste collection. Our partnership with Model is particularly efficient and beneficial to all due to Model’s facilities being in close proximity to us. Paper and cardboard containing up to 70% recycled materials are produced there.
A partnership with a strong environmental performance
For V-ZUG, the partnership represents a sustainable solution to our packaging issue and ensures cardboard waste is reused. We also receive a monthly credit note on new packaging. Meanwhile, Model benefits from the raw materials. “This is an exemplary partnership for us. We are now looking to pursue further circular-economy-related projects involving other materials,” states Niederberger. We also found an innovative solution for polystyrene. Instead of sending it to the incinerators, our polystyrene now goes to Swisspor. In the previous reporting year, this amounted to around ten tonnes of waste. The company processes the polystyrene to create building envelopes and insulation products. “Our waste is another company’s raw material. Upcycling it enables us to close the loop,” states Manuela Schneider-Hirth, environmental performance representative at V-ZUG. The benefit of the partnership is evident in our environmental footprint – we can save around 28 tonnes of CO2 or 28.9 E6 ecopoints per year.
