01-04-14
Member news
Label release liner recycling: Carbon-neutral vehicle fleet
• Thanks to a special process for recycling paper release liner, HERMA saved nearly 450 metric tons of CO2 in 2013.
• This effectively puts HERMA's entire vehicle fleet on a carbon-neutral footing.
• Self-adhesive material made entirely from recycled material is also used by HERMA itself.
Because it contains silicone, paper release liner was regarded as unsuitable for recycling but, for four years now, it has been establishing itself as a sought-after raw material. Now that a technical solution has been found to the recycling problem, not only can label users reduce their waste disposal costs: there are climate benefits as well. The self-adhesive material specialist HERMA for this reason collects left-over paper release liner and sends it for recycling in a special process. This in turn produces new release liner and label paper whose users include HERMA itself. It produces self-adhesive, for example, which qualifies for the "Blue Angel" environmental mark because both the liner and the label paper itself are made exclusively from recycled material. Compared with recycling, manufacturing the same quantity of products from virgin fibre would have increased CO2 emissions by 446 metric tons. By comparison, the company's fleet of over 70 cars generated only around 375 metric tons of emissions. "This means that, even last year, our vehicle use was effectively carbon-neutral," says HERMA managing director Dr. Thomas Baumgärtner. "This simple example illustrates that even relatively small-scale recycling can make a considerable impact."
A pioneer in its industry
The technically demanding process for recycling silicone coated paper release liner was developed by the Cycle4Green (www.cycle4green.eu) organisation and the Austrian paper specialist Lenzing. Cycle4Green organises the collection of waste release liner, which companies would otherwise have to pay to dispose of, in a large number of European countries. Lenzing, a pioneer of eco-friendly paper manufacture, then undertakes the recycling. HERMA was the first manufacturer of self-adhesive materials to support the Cycle4Green system back in 2010. "In effect, we are reusing our own release liners. That is an important step towards a true circular economy. It would be good to see as many industrial users of labels as possible getting involved as well," Baumgärtner points out.
• This effectively puts HERMA's entire vehicle fleet on a carbon-neutral footing.
• Self-adhesive material made entirely from recycled material is also used by HERMA itself.
Because it contains silicone, paper release liner was regarded as unsuitable for recycling but, for four years now, it has been establishing itself as a sought-after raw material. Now that a technical solution has been found to the recycling problem, not only can label users reduce their waste disposal costs: there are climate benefits as well. The self-adhesive material specialist HERMA for this reason collects left-over paper release liner and sends it for recycling in a special process. This in turn produces new release liner and label paper whose users include HERMA itself. It produces self-adhesive, for example, which qualifies for the "Blue Angel" environmental mark because both the liner and the label paper itself are made exclusively from recycled material. Compared with recycling, manufacturing the same quantity of products from virgin fibre would have increased CO2 emissions by 446 metric tons. By comparison, the company's fleet of over 70 cars generated only around 375 metric tons of emissions. "This means that, even last year, our vehicle use was effectively carbon-neutral," says HERMA managing director Dr. Thomas Baumgärtner. "This simple example illustrates that even relatively small-scale recycling can make a considerable impact."
A pioneer in its industry
The technically demanding process for recycling silicone coated paper release liner was developed by the Cycle4Green (www.cycle4green.eu) organisation and the Austrian paper specialist Lenzing. Cycle4Green organises the collection of waste release liner, which companies would otherwise have to pay to dispose of, in a large number of European countries. Lenzing, a pioneer of eco-friendly paper manufacture, then undertakes the recycling. HERMA was the first manufacturer of self-adhesive materials to support the Cycle4Green system back in 2010. "In effect, we are reusing our own release liners. That is an important step towards a true circular economy. It would be good to see as many industrial users of labels as possible getting involved as well," Baumgärtner points out.