Eco-design or eco-saving? How can packaging design help entrepreneurs? Made4Circle service
Eco-design or eco-saving? How can packaging design help entrepreneurs?
The European Union is approaching the introduction of increasingly strict regulations on packaging placed on the market. Its goal is to transform the linear economy into a circular economy, aimed at reducing the amount of waste produced.
To help companies adapt to upcoming legal changes that will favour recyclable packaging, Interzero has introduced an eco-design support programme called Made4Circle .
What is M4C?
It is a modular solution for companies of all sizes interested in developing sustainable and recyclable packaging. Based on the knowledge of packaging recycling experts, we offer support in creating packaging with minimal impact on the environment, which also meets legal requirements and meets the needs of consumers of a given product. The Made4Circle service consists of 4 main stages that take into account all manufacturers' business needs: preliminary analysis, detailed analysis, solution design and impact assessment.
We encourage you to read the press release about our service HERE
More about Made4Circle on our website HERE
Publication of the law transposing the SUP Directive
Publication of the law transposing the SUP Directive
A week ago, May 9, 2023 an act implementing the provisions of the SUP (Single Use Plastics) directive was published, which means that the regulations will come into force soon.
The regulations focus mainly on imposing restrictions and requirements related to the marketing and use of single-use products made of plastics, and on the selective collection of waste resulting from these products, and introduce the following obligations:
- Marking some products with symbols, used e.g. on cups containing plastics.
- Imposing new types of fees for specific plastic products, such as an end-user fee per package, a fee for collection, cleaning and transport, and a fee for public education campaigns.
- For beverage cups and food containers, provide reusable or non-plastic alternative packaging from July 1, 2024.
- Use recycled plastic in bottles.
- Achieving minimum levels of waste collection of beverage packaging in the form of single-use plastic bottles with a capacity of up to 3 litres,
- Reporting all activities by the BDO system.
The full text of the act is available HERE
Do you already know everything about the product fee and extended producer responsibility?
Do you already know everything about the product fee and extended producer responsibility?
The product fee is a type of ecological fee that must be paid by entrepreneurs who place products, packaging, oils, tires, electrical and electronic equipment, batteries and accumulators on the market. The purpose of this fee is to ensure proper handling of packaging waste in accordance with the Waste Act and to encourage entrepreneurs to reduce the amount of packaging produced.
If you want to learn more about this obligation, we encourage you to watch the training "Does the product fee apply to your company?" at Interzero Academy!
During the training you will learn:
- What is the product fee,
- What is Extended Producer Responsibility,
- You will learn the requirements for entrepreneurs related to ROP.
Watch the training HERE
Do you know what environmental obligations apply to you?
Do you know what environmental obligations apply to you?
Running any business activity is always associated with obligations on the part of the entrepreneur. In fact, they concern various areas of life, including environmental protection.
If you want to organize your knowledge on this subject, take part in the training entitled "Environmental protection: what are the obligations of entrepreneurs". at Interzero Academy!
During the course you will learn what the duties are:
- in terms of the need to hold administrative decisions,
- in the field of measurements,
- reporting,
- entry in the registers.
We invite you to watch the training at Interzero Academy today! Link HERE
Millions of fines for waste? Is it possible?
Millions of fines for waste? Is it possible?
Unfortunately yes. This is a way to tighten sanctions for not keeping records of waste or commissioning its transport to persons operating in the so-called shadow economy.
He April 7, Przemyslaw Kuna , Managing Director at Interzero, took part in the episode of the Adventures of Entrepreneurship podcast on waste management in the company.
Topics covered during the interview:
- What is ROP (Extended Producer Responsibility),
- What is BDO (Waste Database),
- What is the level of awareness among Polish entrepreneurs,
- What are the consequences of non-compliance with ROP rules,
- What do official controls look like and how to protect yourself against penalties,
- What is waste management and what is it for,
And what can be expected in the future in terms of waste and environmental protection.
We encourage you to watch the whole interview on the Adventures of Entrepreneurs channel HERE
Entrepreneur! Do you already know everything about waste management?
Entrepreneur! Do you already know everything about waste management?
Waste management is one of the obligations of entrepreneurs, which cannot be avoided. When performing these activities, errors due to ignorance often occur. Frequently changing legal regulations do not make it any easier.
If you need advice on how to perform your waste management obligation correctly, watch our training on "Waste management - practical advice for entrepreneurs" at Interzero Academy!
Course scope:
- Introduction to waste management
- Administrative decisions
- Registration obligations
- Waste records
- Reporting
We invite you to watch today! Link HERE
Innovative raw material management developed by Interzero
Innovative raw material management developed by Interzero
Sustainable development and closing the loop can be an opportunity for companies. ESG regulations are worth looking at not only in terms of potential costs for the company, but also measurable benefits, including profits and savings of natural resources.
Knowing this, we started cooperation with Fagum-Stomil and thanks to our joint commitment, we managed to develop a way to use the leftovers of the PVB film used in the production of car windows for the production of rubber boots. Due to its composition, the film is very difficult to process, as it sticks together. After long tests, conducted since 2021 by Interzero and Łukpol , it was possible to develop a method for processing PVB scrap and its reuse for the production of shoe granules. In this way, the material previously perceived as a difficult raw material is recycled and reused.
The developed method gives measurable benefits for the environment - it reduces the amount of natural resources needed for production, reduces pollution and exploitation of the environment, and leads to mitigation of the climate crisis.
As an industry leader, we pursue the mission of supporting the circular economy by searching for innovative, integrated environmental solutions focused on the future. We hope that our many years of experience and acquired know-how will allow us to implement even more projects focused on environmental benefits in the near future.
We encourage you to view the photos of the product.
We need to start working on bail
We need to start working on bail
What will be the effects of delays in legislative work on the deposit-refund system? What about the excessive burning of packaging and what will the future of chemical recycling look like? These topics were raised in the latest debate "Packaging in the circular economy: from ideals to practice". for The Republic .
The meeting was attended by Renata Juszkiewicz, Anna Larsson, Robert Chciuk, Konrad Nowakowski, Jacek Wodzisławski, Andrzej Gantner, Łukasz Sosnowski and on behalf of Interzero Pawel Lesiak , Vice-President of the Management Board. The debate was moderated by Aleksandra Ptak-Iglewska.
As part of the meeting, the future of the European packaging market, the effectiveness of recycling in Poland and the topic of reusable packaging were discussed.
The participants, discussing the deposit-refund system, pointed out that, taking into account the PPWR criteria, including dairy product packaging is not entirely a good idea.
"I agree with the proposal not to include dairy product packaging in the system. However, this would be tantamount to failure to meet the collection obligation resulting from the ordinance. There is no good solution here. The EU regulations directly result in the obligation to include dairy product packaging in the system. A compromise solution would be to postpone the entry into force of the deposit obligation for this assortment. This would allow us to gather the first experience of the system's operation in other ranges of materials and prepare for it better." - said Pawel Lesiak.
The obligation to introduce the system to smaller stores also became the subject of disputes. Experts have noticed that small retail chains want to join the system, seeing financial benefits and the possibility of attracting customers.
"As Interzero, we run such a system in small stores in Germany. In our western neighbour, these smaller entities, despite the statutory exemption, willingly join it. It is business justified, because if the customer cannot return the bottles in a given store, they simply he will start shopping elsewhere. In Poland, we should think in a similar way, regardless of the discussion about regulations. I am in talks with retail chains, including small shops, and I hear that they are very interested in the system and want to join it, "said Paweł Lesiak.
Link to the entire debate HERE
How can business benefit from waste?
How can business benefit from waste?
Anna Grom, President of the Management Board of Interzero, talked about innovative ecological solutions, an unstable legal situation and the implementation of the circular economy concept in the latest podcast for Forbes Women Polska.
Environmental protection should not be an abstract value, but a necessary condition for our continued existence. It is worth constantly analysing what is happening in our country and in the world in terms of sustainable development. A trend that can be noticed in terms of waste management is the fact that the young generation increasingly often stops paying attention to the brand and starts to notice the impact of a given company on the natural environment. Big players are also aware of the cost of raw materials used for production and strive to acquire raw materials for their own.
As an integrator of sustainable environmental solutions, Interzero analyses the needs of customers and together with them looks for solutions that can bring measurable financial and ecological results. We are already taking actions that allow us to close the circulation of raw materials - we advise companies on how to optimise processes, e.g. through sustainable packaging design, and we also implement circular economy concepts in existing and new business models.
We encourage you to listen to the entire podcast HERE
It's time to increase the efficiency of waste management
It's time to increase the efficiency of waste management.
Waste and its proper management is currently one of the greatest challenges faced by society. From the entrepreneur's point of view, the greatest need is the stability of the regulatory environment.
In the latest interview for Teraz Środowisko, Monika Grom, Vice-President of the Interzero group in Poland, points out that business must first of all reduce the risk arising from the economic situation. The next step is to increase efficiency and invest in new technologies.
"We work with both waste producing companies and recycling plants. We know the needs and possibilities of both parties. Thanks to this, we often act as an integrator that helps close the circulation of raw materials, which brings measurable environmental, financial and image benefits. In addition, we carry out holistic and spot analyses in various areas of environmental protection. We both examine the compliance of entrepreneurs' activities in terms of applicable regulations and advise what they can do differently to free up funds." - comments Monika Grom.
"Currently, thanks to inter-team cooperation, we achieve a synergy effect, which we will strengthen, among others, by investing in digitisation. We also have achievements in this field. In addition to the aforementioned Interzero Waste Platform, we have created the Interzero Academy e-learning platform, a system for remotely concluding contracts or a virtual customer service office, i.e. My Interzero. It is high time that waste management fully exploited the potential of digitisation and thus increased its efficiency." - adds Monika Grom
You can read the full interview at the link HERE