From July 1, businesses selling beverages or meals in disposable cups or containers must provide customers with alternative, more environmentally friendly packaging to help reduce plastic waste, such as introducing their own reusable returnable packaging system. Interzero and Tedmark have jointly created a ready-made solution in this area. The market development of their idea may soon benefit from EU support.
The obligation to provide customers with alternative packaging stems from the implementation of the EU Single-Use Plastics Directive (SUP) No. 2019/904 into Polish law and is another step, following the introduction of fees for disposable cups and food containers and the ban on the sale of certain plastic packaging, straws, and stirrers, to reduce plastic waste,” reminds Jaśmina Solecka, President of the Natureef Association, which brings together nearly 60 leading companies, institutions, and scientific units from the packaging, food production, logistics, and recycling sectors. The organization continuously monitors changes in packaging regulations and helps Polish companies prepare for them by organizing expert meetings, publishing materials, and hosting webinars.
Tedmark, a company associated with Natureef, which has been supplying packaging for the HoReCa sector for 35 years and is the market leader in servicing gas stations in Poland with an 80% market share, is also constantly responding to regulatory changes. Its response to the new requirements is the Made4Loop service, created in collaboration with Interzero. This ready-made system can be used by restaurants, cafes, gas stations, and stores offering takeaway coffee, as well as companies running employee canteens. The solution was developed with the help of international know-how and over 30 years of experience in the waste management and environmental protection sector that Interzero possesses.
Made4Loop is a deposit system for reusable returnable packaging that we introduce to our clients. As part of the comprehensive solution, we provide them with reusable cups and containers on one hand, and on the other, we take over the management of the entire reusable dish system,” explains Agnieszka Deryng, Sales Director at Tedmark.
Made4Loop is divided into four stages, each of which can be a separate service. This allows the solution to be tailored to the needs of the company each time.
The first stage is the analysis of the company’s needs and potential, considering risks and competition. The second stage involves delivering a starter package consisting of packaging, washing equipment, and online solutions for monitoring the entire process, training company employees, and supporting the preparation of educational materials for consumers. The cups, containers, and lids are individually marked with the client’s logo using various techniques.
Companies that do not want to manage the deposit system themselves choose the next stage, which includes the entire logistics, including delivering packaging to sales points, collection, transport to the distribution center, and washing.
The final stage is the settlement of deposits for cups or containers in the form of cash or vouchers, if the Made4Loop client wants to collect a deposit. This process is managed using a CRM system and a consumer application. The Made4Loop client can order cup collection services, view the packaging inventory, while the consumer has access to an application that allows locating sales points where the cup can be returned, accumulating funds for its return, and spending them in a cashback model with various providers. Strong emphasis in communication with consumers is placed on the environmental aspect. The application can calculate the reduction in environmental impact thanks to the use of reusable cups and even allocate part of the funds for tree planting.
Our calculations show that Made4Loop will significantly reduce the consumption of raw materials and the carbon footprint associated with packaging production. Assuming a reusable cup weighing 60 g is used a thousand times, it replaces a thousand 15-gram disposable cups, whose total weight is 15 kg. The reusable cups we use are made, among other things, from used vegetable oils, ensuring they are environmentally friendly and sustainable, or from recyclable polypropylene. In comparison, 99% of used disposable cups are not recycled but end up in landfills or incinerators,” says Agnieszka Deryng, adding that implementing Made4Loop allows companies to reduce waste management costs while seamlessly fulfilling legal obligations arising from the SUP Act and extended producer responsibility.
The returnable packaging management system by Interzero and Tedmark, as a practical response to upcoming legislative changes in the European Union, is among the initiatives submitted to the European Value4Pack project, created by organizations from the packaging, production, and recycling industries from 11 European regions. The project coordinator in Poland is the Natureef Association.
On November 26, during a webinar organized as part of Value4Pack, 30 business projects from across Europe will be presented, allowing companies and local governments to adapt to the requirements of the upcoming PPWR regulation. Participation in the free webinar can be registered at Value4Pack Webinar https://value4pack.b2match.io/page-2711. It will be an excellent opportunity to exchange experiences with creators of innovative projects in the packaging and food processing fields.
