Waste disposal presents many industrial companies with complex challenges. According to a recent study, 80% of the companies surveyed want efficient solutions, and 66% want to outsource the necessary work processes entirely. The environmental service provider Interzero offers innovative disposal concepts and high-tech solutions that not only enable the complete recycling of all types of recyclable materials, but also save costs.

Vienna, April 15, 2024 – Around 70 million tons of waste are generated in Austria every year – a large part of which is packaging for industry. But this is not just waste, but valuable raw materials that can – and even must – be recycled. Current laws such as the new Austrian Packaging Ordinance, which has been in force since January 1, 2023, and the planned EU Packaging Ordinance set the pace here: In order to increase recycling rates in Austria and achieve a climate-neutral circular economy by 2050, waste must be recycled for as long as possible. But only if waste is disposed of correctly can it be used to produce valuable materials for recycling. Companies are therefore legally obliged to dispose of it properly. In practice, this means that waste materials must be sorted and compacted at the same place where they are generated in order to be able to be recycled. However, this presents numerous challenges for many industrial companies: packaging is usually still shredded by hand, collection points are overflowing and frequent collection transports cause high CO2 emissions and disposal costs.

Profitable waste recycling: 80% of managers want more efficient processes

In order to make waste management efficient, Interzero, as an innovation driver for the circular economy, develops tailor-made complete solutions – from recycling concepts to handling disposal and profitable waste recycling. As a recent study ¹ shows, the demand for such solutions is high: around 80% of the managers surveyed in Europe would like to focus on more efficient processes, measures to reduce waste and circular solutions. Around 40% would like to use external consulting services to develop such solutions. Two thirds (66%) would also like to be able to outsource work processes entirely.

“Through innovative disposal solutions, companies can convert waste into valuable materials and at the same time save costs, time and CO2 emissions. They can also generate additional income from their waste streams. Proper disposal is the be-all and end-all. As a full-service provider, we support you in all process steps and thus enable efficient and profitable waste management “, explains Martin Ulke, Managing Director of Interzero Circular Solutions Europe.

Up to 90% less volume: High-tech solutions save transport and disposal costs

In order to recycle waste as a valuable material, it must first be sorted and shredded. Interzero has been using the high-performance high-tech machines from the two world-leading suppliers ORWAK and Avermann for many years and is one of the few official trading partners to sell them in Austria. With these waste compaction and baling systems, large quantities of packaging and waste materials – such as cardboard, film, PET bottles, cans or even residual waste – can be sorted directly at the source at the push of a button and pressed into bales with little noise. This means that waste quantities can be reduced to up to 10% of their original volume, saving transport and disposal costs and minimizing environmental impact. After pressing, the material can be picked up directly by Interzero, which buys this material, recycles it and makes it available to industry for reuse.

“The use of waste compaction systems not only saves a lot of space, but also a lot of time. Waste compaction is now carried out without any manual effort and with a significantly reduced risk of injury. Interzero’s waste compaction solutions therefore make a decisive contribution to greater efficiency and effectiveness. They enable sustainable management, improve occupational safety and help comply with environmental guidelines. This reduces disposal costs and improves the ecological footprint. “, says Martin Ulke.

Successful implementation in industry: SWARCO and Sto as model companies

Many industrial companies are faced with the challenge of having to dispose of large quantities of waste efficiently and in a space-saving manner. Due to the high volume of waste, skips quickly become overfilled – frequent collection trips and high disposal costs are the result. This is why many leading industrial companies have been relying on efficient waste compaction solutions from Interzero for years. For example, SWARCO Road Marking Systems – a division of the Austrian traffic technology group SWARCO – and the company STO at the Villach site. Large quantities of plastic packaging such as transport bags (big bags) and films – some of which were previously pressed by employees with the help of a forklift – can now be easily collected and compacted in the shortest possible time using waste presses. This saves costs, time and CO2 emissions. “What used to be a strenuous task for our employees can now be handled efficiently with a container press. This enables us to reduce our waste volumes, which means fewer collection transports and therefore fewer CO2 emissions and disposal costs. Interzero also supports us in meeting all legal obligations regarding waste disposal “, explains Daniel Rumbold, Head of Logistics at Sto Austria. SWARCO Road Marking Systems is already demonstrating at several locations in Austria how waste compaction can not only save costs and CO2, but also generate revenue. By using several baling presses, cardboard, foil and big bags are pressed into bales of different types at the push of a button. The bales are then picked up by a recycling company, which processes the pressed materials and remunerates them accordingly as recyclable materials. ”

The collaboration with Interzero has changed the awareness of our employees – many have now realized that with the help of modern solutions, waste can be converted into valuable materials. Through efficient waste compaction, we can not only save costs and CO2, but also generate income from our waste streams. Given the many advantages, we would like to expand the use of the presses to other locations “, explains Martina Dobner, CSR Specialist at SWARCO Road Marking Systems. ¹ The study was conducted in July 2023 on behalf of Interzero by Target Research in Austria, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and Poland. 235 C-level executives in medium and large companies from industry, trade and the food and beverage industry were surveyed. You can find more information about our machines on our website: Machine Trading Platform – Interzero Austria Product Platform