2022 08 30
This trend was due to the change in consumption habits during the pandemic when the boom in e-commerce required separate packaging for each product. The company predicts that this year alone, up to a fifth more of these materials will be collected than in previous years. Preliminary data show that the quantity of other collected raw materials - white paper, glass, and metal packaging - are growing more moderately.
Almantas Tamošiūnas, CEO of the waste collection and processing company Grigeo Recycling, says that these trends in the market show not only the changing habits of the population but also the improving waste collection infrastructure and more sustainable choices made by businesses.
Mr. Tamošiūnas notes that the amount of waste paper collected is growing faster than other materials.
Grigeo Recycling, which collected 39 thousand tonnes of cardboard and other paper packaging waste, expects to increase this amount to 44 thousand by the end of the year.
According to Mr. Tamošiūnas, the growing amount of collected paper and cardboard was caused by the decreasing use of plastic in packaging production.
As specified by Mr. Tamošiūnas, more glass and metal also will be collected this year. Compared to last year's results, an increase in the glass should be at least 21 tonnes and the metal collection at least 12 tonnes.
In 2020, up to 43 tons of foam were collected for recycling. The company expects to capture at least 68 tons of foam collection by the end of 2022.
Mr. Tamošiūnas emphasizes, that the business usually invests the financial benefit obtained from the materials submitted for processing in fulfilling the set environmental goals or managing regulatory risks. However, parallels also create solid sustainable value.
"Due to modern technologies, recycled foam for a new consumption cycle costs several times cheaper than the production of the new raw material. According to the latest data from scientists, we can recycle cardboard up to 25 times. Therefore, in the circular economy, materials flow around with a much lower environmental impact. We see that the business awareness in this area correlates with the growing quantities of materials," observes Mr. Tamošiūnas.
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