Kurz launches Recosys 2.0 take-back and recycling program

Leonhard Kurz has launched Recosys 2.0 becoming the world's first company in the field of thin-film technology to introduce a take-back and recycling system for PET transfer materials from the graphics industry. The result is the post-industrial compound Recopound with up to 40 percent CO2 saved compared to thermal recycling.

The further development not only allows the recycling of a large number of transfer carriers in the graphics industry, but also increases the range of possible applications for the recycled material.

For the first time, production waste can now be processed into recycled PET (rPET), which offers an even wider range of possible applications and represents the next logical step towards a circular economy.

Recosys 2.0 and rPET can also be used to reduce CO2 emissions.

‘Sustainability is a top priority for us,’ said Rolf Schmidtke, Recosys 2.0 project manager at Leonhard Kurz. ‘It runs like a common thread through all our projects, processes and workflows with the aim of achieving a fully-fledged circular economy in the graphic arts industry.’

Kurz relies on its long-standing partner Gebrüder Weiss for the return transportation of the surplus carrier materials. The logistics provider already delivers unprocessed transfer products to customers in Europe and is now also responsible for collecting the used transfer carriers for recycling.

To ensure that the transport is climate-neutral, Kurz uses the ‘zero emissions’ service offered by the logistics service provider and thus completely offsets all emissions generated.

To this end, Gebrüder Weiss calculates and documents the CO2 emissions released for each shipment transported. In the next step, offsetting takes place via certificates, which are used to offset the same amount of emissions in various climate protection projects.

In the case of Kurz and Recosys 2.0, this is the combined project ‘Germany plus the Alps’, which combines CO2-binding through the planting of natural forests with many social projects in the Oberallgäu region.

‘We are very happy to have Gebrüder Weiss as a strong partner who is just as committed to a sustainable future as we are - and who already offers appropriate solutions,’ added Schmidtke. ‘All customers who participate in Recosys 2.0 receive a recycling certificate that is confirmed by the independent environmental assessment organization Intechnica Cert - a clear competitive advantage that also benefits our environment to a large extent.’ 

Further information on Recosys 2.0 and on the topics of sustainability and lifecycle thinking can be found on the Kurz website.