Schütz, Selters, Germany, has introduced Green Layer versions of its IBCs and plastic drums. Here the eco-balance of both types of packaging has been taken to a new level. In the multi-layer extrusion process, the IBC inner bottles and drum bodies are produced with 40 per cent high-quality plastic recyclate. This material is generated by Schütz through its worldwide collection and reconditioning programme. Another key feature is that the IBCs of the Green Layer series also have UN approval.

The entire life cycle of the packaging is geared towards ensuring maximum environmental friendliness. During reconditioning as part of the Schütz Ticket Service, the inner bottles of collected IBCs are removed from the steel grid and treated in a complex recycling process during which they are ground, cleaned and finally regranulated. Special degassing extruders ensure a low-odour, homogeneous quality. The company uses the HDPE recyclate obtained in a closed cycle: 100 per cent flows back into the internal production of plastic packaging components, including corner protectors and plastic pallets.

The IBC container in the innovative Green Layer design contains 40 per cent recycled material alone. This corresponds to an additional CO2 saving of at least eight kilograms per IBC. The recycled HDPE is extruded only into the middle layer of the container. The inner and outer layers are made of virgin HDPE material. This way, Schütz ensures that both the filling product and the environment only come into direct contact with virgin material, making a significant contribution to protecting the quality of the filling product. Equipped with a full-plastic pallet, the total content of recycled plastic in this particular IBC model is as high as 73 per cent.

With the European Green Deal and the Action Plan for the Circular Economy, the European Union has defined the goals and framework conditions for resource-saving economic growth. The future legal requirements for the use of recyclate in packaging are already met by the new Green Layer products. In order to ensure a constant supply of IBCs and drums with recycled plastic material, Schütz emphasises how important it is for customers and returners of used industrial packaging to actively cooperate. A corresponding supply security can only be guaranteed, if there is a sufficient supply of recyclate from the Schütz Ticket Service, the global system for the reconditioning and recycling of industrial packaging by the company. The market launch of the Green Layer products therefore requires close coordination with customers and is initially limited to Europe, where pilot projects have been successfully launched. www.schuetz.net
 

The inner layer of the Schütz Green Layer series IBC plastic bottle contains 40 per cent recycled material

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