Coveris launches label waste recovery system

Recognizing a gap in the recycling chain, Coveris said it has spent over two years developing a high-speed recovery system which will manage customer and set-up waste more sustainably. Coveris anticipates that this will now enable it to repurpose more than 1,000 tonnes of additional waste per week for regeneration or recycling.

Recoveris has been designed to address the disposal of redundant customer label waste collected mainly as a result of seasonal forecasting challenges and general spoilage within the supply chain, including set-up waste. As composite laminate constructs, these finished labels have previously been unable to be processed for regeneration or recycling as they consist of both mixed backing paper and label material waste.

The launch of Recoveris coincides with the 10-year anniversary of the Coveris environmental services facility in Lincolnshire, UK. Coveris’ recycling facility was initially established in 2007 by legacy business Paragon Labels in Spalding. Having won last year’s Energy & Environment Award at the Cranfield School of Management Best Factory Awards, Coveris has received international recognition for its recycling commitment, sharing the accolade with previous winners such as Bosch Thermotechnology, Valliant Group and Entek International.

Today, the facility, which has since relocated to larger premises in Boston, recovers around 10,000 tonnes of customer and production waste a year, the equivalent in weight to around 5,500 cars in the UK. Operating a zero landfill waste initiative throughout its paper division, Coveris’ environmental facility recycles its own production and redundant manufacturing waste as well as other paper and plastic used throughout the supply chain, including tertiary packaging.

In 2014, Coveris formed an environmental recycling partnership with UPM Raflatac, supplying recovered waste back to the material manufacturer for repurposing. Driven by the RafCycle model, UPM Raflatac has over the years invested in the development of its own pioneering technology that recycles label material waste into composite decorative materials, enabling the regeneration of new products for new uses, as well as fully recycling residual backing paper waste back into new content for reuse. Since receiving the RafCycle Award for services to sustainability in 2015, Coveris has continued to seek new ways to work with the material manufacturer to better manage waste streams throughout its business.

Tim Lennon, Coveris environmental services manager said: ‘The launch of Recoveris marks a new step in our ability to recycle more product waste more sustainably than before and demonstrates our ongoing commitment to the environment. We plan to continue investing in our recycling facility in 2018 to develop new processes and solutions for dealing with waste, whilst also working more closely with customers to look at ways in which we can collaborate to improve recycling across the entire supply-chain and in new product areas.’