SCHWARZ
Capacity expansion at MEG Übach-Palenberg recycling plant / rPET bottles for Lidl and Kaufland
 With the exception of closures and labels: 100% recycled PET |
A few days ago, German retail giant Schwarz Group held a symbolic groundbreaking ceremony to mark the start of its expansion work at MEG Übach-Palenberg (Übach-Palenberg, Germany; www.meg-gruppe.de), its plastics and recycling plant in North Rhine-Westphalia. Coupled with the installation of a new extrusion line, this will increase annual capacity at the plant by 12,000 t of PET regranulate, hence by more than 50%. Additional storage areas and silos are being set up at the plant together with unloading and sorting capacities. More than 30 new jobs will be created.
The MEG Übach-Palenberg plant forms part of Schwarz Production, whose companies have more than 4,000 employees producing beverages and foodstuffs for Lidl and Kaufland – the retail chains run by Schwarz Group. The beverage production units operating under the MEG umbrella include not only five filling plants but also three plastics/recycling sites.
More than 100 employees currently recycle around 1 bn PET bottles in Übach-Palenberg every year, producing some 22,000 t regranulate, which is then used to manufacture preforms at the same site. Since June 2021, the disposable PET deposit bottles produced by Schwarz Production for the group’s own Lidl and Kaufland brands in Germany have comprised 100% rPET, with the exception of the cap and label. As part of its REset Plastic strategy, Schwarz Group had announced that it would incorporate at least 25% recyclate in all the own-brand packaging for its retail chains by 2025 (see Plasteurope.com of 01.12.2021).
Lidl also currently sells household goods made of recycled plastic supplied by PreZero (Neckarsulm, Germany; www.prezero.com). In addition to storage boxes, laundry baskets, and coat hangers, garden products have also been included in the range for the first time. The PreZero waste and recycling company, which belongs to Schwarz Group, recycles household plastics waste in order to manufacture the products from reclaimed material. PreZero currently has a recycling capacity of some 95,000 t/y in Europe and employs more than 200.
The MEG Übach-Palenberg plant forms part of Schwarz Production, whose companies have more than 4,000 employees producing beverages and foodstuffs for Lidl and Kaufland – the retail chains run by Schwarz Group. The beverage production units operating under the MEG umbrella include not only five filling plants but also three plastics/recycling sites.
More than 100 employees currently recycle around 1 bn PET bottles in Übach-Palenberg every year, producing some 22,000 t regranulate, which is then used to manufacture preforms at the same site. Since June 2021, the disposable PET deposit bottles produced by Schwarz Production for the group’s own Lidl and Kaufland brands in Germany have comprised 100% rPET, with the exception of the cap and label. As part of its REset Plastic strategy, Schwarz Group had announced that it would incorporate at least 25% recyclate in all the own-brand packaging for its retail chains by 2025 (see Plasteurope.com of 01.12.2021).
Lidl also currently sells household goods made of recycled plastic supplied by PreZero (Neckarsulm, Germany; www.prezero.com). In addition to storage boxes, laundry baskets, and coat hangers, garden products have also been included in the range for the first time. The PreZero waste and recycling company, which belongs to Schwarz Group, recycles household plastics waste in order to manufacture the products from reclaimed material. PreZero currently has a recycling capacity of some 95,000 t/y in Europe and employs more than 200.
19.04.2022 Plasteurope.com [250071-0]
Published on 19.04.2022
German version of this article...