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Tag: plastics

  • Ikea’s Ingka Group Invests In Re-mall, Aiming To Amplify Global Plastic Recycling Efforts

    Ikea’s Ingka Group Invests In Re-mall, Aiming To Amplify Global Plastic Recycling Efforts

    Ingka Group, the largest retail operator for Ikea, has invested in recycling expert Re-mall, reinforcing its commitment to reducing waste and enhancing the supply of recycled materials. The specifics of this investment have not been publicized.

    A New Alliance for Sustainable Solutions

    Re-mall, a recycling specialist with headquarters in Shanghai, specializes in the production of high-quality post-consumer recycled polypropylene. The company stands out as one of the few global providers that can produce transparent pellets from post-consumer food packaging waste on a large scale.

    These recycled materials are utilized in a wide variety of products, such as storage containers, tableware, toys, cosmetic packaging, and woven fabrics. Re-mall supplies these materials to a multitude of renowned corporations.

    Lukas Visser, the head of circular investments at Ingka Group, spoke on the collaboration with Re-mall: “Re-mall’s well-established supplier network and their partnerships with top Chinese food delivery service providers are already creating significant impact on the local recycling market on a large scale. By investing in Re-mall, our aim is to magnify this effect to help tackle the worldwide issue of plastic waste and aid in the transition to a circular economy.”

    Impact of the Investment

    Re-mall runs a production facility in the Jiangxi province. The strategic location of this facility allows access to plastic waste sources from major cities like Guangzhou and Shanghai, located in the Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta economic zones.

    The company has stated that Ingka Group’s investment will bolster its recycling capabilities and aid in the development of new products.

    Zhu Kuan, the CEO of Re-mall, expressed his enthusiasm about the new collaboration: “We are delighted to have Ingka Investments as a strategic partner in our mission to expedite the circular economy in the plastics sector. This partnership is a significant step forward in our journey to scale sustainable solutions on a global level. Together, our goal is to transform plastic waste into valuable resources, contributing to a cleaner planet and a more responsible future.”

    Ingka Group runs Ikea retail stores in 31 markets, which equates to approximately 90% of Ikea’s worldwide retail sales.

    Questions & Answers

    What does Re-mall specialize in?
    Re-mall specializes in the production of high-quality post-consumer recycled polypropylene. They are also one of the few global providers that can produce transparent pellets from post-consumer food packaging waste on a large scale.

    What impact will Ingka Group’s investment have on Re-mall?
    The investment by Ingka Group will enhance Re-mall’s recycling capabilities and assist in the development of new products.

    What is the mission of Re-mall and Ingka Group’s partnership?
    The partnership between Re-mall and Ingka Group aims to accelerate the circular economy in the plastics sector, transforming plastic waste into valuable resources, and contributing to a cleaner and more responsible future.

  • Aldi Australia backs Global Plastics Treaty

    Aldi Australia backs Global Plastics Treaty

    ALDI Australia has joined over 80 global businesses in endorsing the call for a global plastics treaty to end plastic pollution.

    The Business Coalition for a Global Plastics Treaty, which also includes financial institutions, and non-governmental organizations, is pushing for the development of a legal UN treaty to end plastic pollution, calling for “an ambitious and effective global agreement to accelerate progress towards a circular economy in which plastic never becomes waste or pollution.”

    Aldi joins Ikea, Walmart, and the below companies in the coalition.

    ALDI Australia says this cements its commitment to sustainable business operations.

    “As one of Australia’s largest grocery retailers, we understand the important role we play in reducing our use of plastic and introducing more sustainable packaging within our own supply chains at a local and business level,” said ALDI Australia’s Director Corporate Responsibility, Daniel Baker.

    “The plastics crisis doesn’t stop at our shores or even our oceans. This is a global challenge that needs a cohesive response and having a United Nations treaty with businesses worldwide is essential to help solve this global crisis together.”

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  • Australian startup ends single-use plastics in cleaning products

    Australian startup ends single-use plastics in cleaning products

    A new Victoria-based company Tea Trees Eco Ware has launched a cleaning products range that uses dissolving tablets and long-life bottles, bringing an end to single-use plastic bottles.

    Founders Saskia Angel and Stu Atkins were inspired after seeing beaches in Asia covered in waste plastic while traveling and last year conceived a solution.

    “With a large family and a lot of plastic waste being generated, we knew our habits had to change,” says Angel. “We set about reviewing our own waste footprint and found there was a completely unnecessary amount of single-use plastic being generated.”

    “The cleaning aisle of a supermarket is riddled with single-use plastic cleaning products, which are rarely refilled or recycled,” adds Atkins. “Most homes (ours included) have many bottles of cleaning products cluttering cupboards which ultimately get thrown away and end up in landfill or worse.”

    Tea Trees Eco Ware’s solution is to create 8gm concentrated tablets which consumers can drop into a reused 500ml plastic container to create ready-to-use cleaning solutions. The initial range includes Heavy Lifter Kitchen Cleaner, The General Multipurpose (a heavy-duty degreaser and cleaner), Glimmer Glass Cleaner, The Bomb Bathroom cleaner and Fomo – a foaming hand soap dispenser and dissolving tablet. The company also produces 100-per-cent plant-based bamboo and cotton cleaning cloths which it says can be rewashed hundreds of times.

    The tablets cost $3.75 each, delivered to the consumer’s door.  During test marketing, consumers reported the products were effective and confirmed a reduction in their volume of household waste.

    Angel says she is amazed at how Australian consumers appear comfortable paying cleaning companies for full bottles of solutions which comprise 95-per-cent water.

    “There is little to no opportunity to reuse the plastic bottles and at around half a kilo each bottle, the shipping generates millions of tonnes of C02 each year. Not only this, but many products are not environmentally friendly, are harsh on our senses, and don’t clean very well,” she says.

    “Too often the eco-friendly options are more expensive,” adds Atkins. “Our focus is to not only be completely focussed on improving environmental outcomes but to be more cost-effective.”

    Tea Trees Eco Ware – whose philosophy is ‘One Bottle, One Tablet, Dissolve, Clean, Repeat’ – wants to “shake up” the major players by launching a business that actively impacts the amount of plastic waste being saved from landfill.

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  • China takes first step to banning single-use utensils, plastic bags

    China takes first step to banning single-use utensils, plastic bags

    China’s National Development and Reform Commission has revealed plans to cut the production and use of single-use plastic in China in the next five years.

    By the end of this year, supermarkets, shopping malls and food delivery services will not be allowed to use non-degradable plastic bags. Disposable plastic used in e-commerce, express deliveries and takeaway food will be limited in 2022.

    The country will also completely ban the import of plastic waste, said a spokesperson from the commission.

    According to Bloomberg, by 2022, some delivery services in major cities including Beijing and Shanghai will be forbidden from using non-degradable packaging, with the ban extended to the whole country by 2025.

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  • Single-Use Plastic Ban, Food Waste and Local Produce Top Priorities in Centara’s 2019 Sustainability Plan

    Single-Use Plastic Ban, Food Waste and Local Produce Top Priorities in Centara’s 2019 Sustainability Plan

    Centara Hotels & Resorts, Thailand’s leading hotel operator, is focusing on three key sustainability initiatives as part of the company’s recently announced 2019 Sustainability Plan: eliminating single-use plastic products; reducing its food waste footprint; and expanding its support of local farming and produce-growing communities.

    1. No Single-Use Plastic Products by end-2019

    The elimination of single-use plastic items is part of the “Centara Earth Care” programme aimed at encouraging hotel guests and tourists to be proactive about energy saving, waste reduction and sustainable environmental tourism. The sustainability plan covers five types of single-use plastic items, including drinking straws, laundry bags, take-away food containers, fitness centre and poolside plastic bottles, and plastic guest room amenities. They are being replaced with items made from materials designed to minimise environmental impact.

    “Centara strives to operate ethically and sustainably in a balanced manner across the entire portfolio whilst providing an exceptional level of Thai hospitality,” said Thirayuth Chirathivat, Chief Executive Officer. “We are committed to selecting environmentally friendly produce which, in turn, enables us to further incorporate sustainable strategies and development into our products and services, creating shared value at an environmental, social and economic level wherever we operate. We are also committed to ensuring a respectful, safe and healthy environment to the larger society and our future generations.”

    Centara began phasing in its elimination of single-use plastic products in 2018 across all 39 of its operating properties. Under the plan, alternative products which are reusable and made from environmentally friendlier materials, including plant-based, compostable and bio-degradable plastics, will be fully phased in by year-end.

    • Phase I, targeting the elimination of plastic straws, began in August 2018. The single-use plastic straws being eliminated take up to 200 years to decompose; the new bio-straws replacing them decompose within six months. Once the change is fully enacted throughout all Centara properties, the reduction in plastic straw consumption will total nearly 2.2 million straws per year.
    • Phase II, eliminating the use of plastic laundry bags, began in December 2018.  Moving forward, these practices will also become Centara’s standards for all existing and new properties.
    1. Food Waste Reduction

    Centara’s new and continuing food-related sustainability initiatives include:

    • further reducing food waste and minimising each property’s carbon footprint with expanded purchasing of fresh local foods from herb, fruit and vegetable growers
    • making same-day donations of surplus food to charities located near each property
    • providing local farms with pre-separated organic waste for composting
    • transforming waste at select properties into biogas fuel, a blend of mostly methane and carbon dioxide gases which can be used in place of fossil fuels.

    In 2018, Centara supported the Bangkok-based foundation Scholars of Sustenance (SOS Thailand) by making same-day donations of more than 28,000 kilogrammes (kg) of quality surplus food. The donations provided over 86,000 servings to those in need, while the reduction in Centara’s food waste saved over 54,000 kg of GHG equivalent emissions.

    Both Centra by Centara Maris Resort Jomtien and Centara Grand Beach Resort Phuket have biogas machines on-site capable of converting 30-100 kg of organic waste each day into an equivalent number of litres of organic compost and biogas comparable to nearly five kg/day of LPG fuel. Since July 2018, the Cowtec Composting & Biogas Production Machine installed at Centra by Centara Maris Resort Jomtien has been processing organic waste from the property’s kitchens, staff canteens and landscaping works. By the end of 2018, the machine had composted more than 5,700 kg of organic waste and produced 262 kg of biogas equivalent LPG.

    1. Strengthen Local Communities

    Centara’s 2019 Sustainability Plan further expands the company’s support for local communities’ small farms and producers who grow food for Centara hotels and resorts in their area.

    The company attributes much of its carbon footprint reduction to making approximately 70% of total produce purchases from local sources. Beyond the economic benefits to the community, expanding farm-to-table dining enables each property to provide the freshest available food items to guests.

    The company’s ongoing engagement with EarthCheck, the world’s leading scientific benchmarking, certification and advisory group for travel and tourism, continues to yield consequential improvements in key sustainability metrics. To date, 15 Centara hotels and resorts have achieved EarthCheck certification and another four properties are enrolled in  EarthCheck’s Evaluate Plus programme, leading to significant reductions in carbon footprints and greenhouse gas emissions across a number of Centara’s certified properties.

    Most recently, the company’s leadership in environmental sustainability was recognised by the Stock Exchange of Thailand, which awarded Centara Hotels & Resorts (CENTEL) its “Thailand Sustainability Investment (THSI)” designation, an annual recognition for listed companies that operate with responsibility for Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) aspects.

    Further recognition for properties includes the “Green Hotel 2018 Award” from the Department of Environmental Quality Promotion at Thailand’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, awarded to Centara Grand Beach Resort & Villas Hua Hin and Centra by Centara Maris Resort Jomtien.

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