Einfach Mehrweg – Sykell

Scenario

In the year 2021, humanity generated 139 million tons of disposable plastic waste, a full 6 million more than two years earlier: the source material is – in most cases – virgin plastic, that is, made from fossil fuels. It is also estimated that direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions related to the life cycle of disposable plastics in 2021 reached 450 million tons of CO2 equivalent, with most of them generated during the first part of the production process, in the petrochemical and hydrocarbon sectors.

The immoderate production of virgin plastics can be traced to the steady and growing market demand for flexible packaging made of polypropylene and linear low-density polyethylene: sachets, films, plastic wrappers and the like now account for 57 percent of total waste. This constitutes a major climate and pollution problem because not only are these products more complex to sort, dispose of, and recycle than rigid packaging, but also because they are often dispersed into the environment: according to data provided by the Minderoo Foundation 14 million tons of plastic end up in the oceans each year.

It is hypothesized that mechanical recycling of spent plastic products would reduce the CO2 footprint by 30-40%.This virtuous practice is therefore a great opportunity for the future to reduce the environmental impact of this material, although, unfortunately, it is still a “marginal” activity. Between 2019 and 2021, the recycling capacity of polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, and polyethylene terephthalate increased 23 to 25 million tons; of this amount, however, only 2 tons are considered to be truly circular as single-use plastics were recovered and recycled to produce new ones. It should also be mentioned that, in recent times, the amount of single-use plastics has grown at a rate 15 times higher than that made from recycled raw materials, predicting that by 2027 the production of virgin polymers will be increased by as much as 60 million tons.

Given the reported evidence, therefore, it is clear that there is a need for a reversal of the trend-now more than ever-but, above all, an urgent need for regulatory intervention, aimed at promoting the recycling of plastic packaging and products, otherwise destined to significantly aggravate the scourge of environmental pollution.

Description

Einfach Mehrweg is a German service established in 2021 in Berlin with the main goal of reducing and eliminating the 350 million tons of single-use plastic produced each year, as stated by founder Davide Mazzanti.

The system, developed by Sykell GmbH in cooperation with REWE Group and Interzero, is a circular business model in that it is designed to offer a sustainable, circular alternative to disposable packaging in the food sector. Indeed, Einfach Mehrweg is involved in the production, distribution and washing of durable and recyclable plastic packaging .

The service works through a six-step cycle that promotes the efficient and circular reuse of containers. The first step involves, following the purchase of a food or beverage, the delivery of the product to the customer, who is asked to pay a deposit. The consumer then uses the product with recyclable packaging and, at the end of use, returns the wrapper via one of the countless vending machines in German supermarkets. The fourth step then involves the return and professional washing of the container in order to ensure hygiene and safety; at the same time, the deposit is refunded to the customer. Finally, the container is returned to stores or restaurants to be reused, thus completing the cycle.

Thus, Einfach Merhweg is a service that works to de-emphasize the use of single-use plastic in order to reduce the impact from the use of this material at the exacerbation of the climate crisis. As a result of this company’s work since 2023, the use and waste of 2,110,668 disposable plastic containers has been avoided and the waste of plastic and water has been drastically decreased (by 91 percent and 74 percent, respectively). At the same time, there has also been a reduction in CO2 emissions: evidence of this is the fact that only after 4 uses does 500 ml recycled packaging emit less carbon dioxide than its corresponding single-use. Finally, the products developed by Einfach Merhweg are also proving to be decisive when it comes to the scourge of food waste: again during 2023, in fact, thanks to the company’s 5,800 outlets distributed throughout Germany, 44,800 kilograms of food was prevented from being wasted.

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