Berlin/Cologne,31.10.2023. For its holistic commitment and its pioneering “zero waste solutions”, Interzero, Europe’s leading service provider for circular economy, receives the German Sustainability Award in the category “Waste Management and Recycling Industry”.
On the road to a sustainable future, Interzero is fully committed to a world without waste. A world worth living in, in which raw materials are consistently recycled, waste is avoided as far as possible and natural resources are conserved, is the goal of the approximately 2,000 employees.

“We are very proud of this award. It encourages us to continue driving the circular transformation with determination and passion,” says Dr. Axel Schweitzer, Chairman and Partner of Interzero. “If you can think it, do it: Together with customers and partners, we want to realize a genuine, sustainable circular economy – and thus counteract the overloading of our planet ever more effectively. A very big thank you to our customers, partners and also our own team.”

Through its analog and digital closed-loop solutions and the ecologically and economically efficient recycling of raw materials, the company achieves clearly measurable environmental effects. For 15 years, scientists from Fraunhofer UMSICHT the concrete impact on climate and resources: according to the study “resources SAVED by recycling,” Interzero saved 8.7 million tons of primary raw materials and around one million tons of greenhouse gas emissions in 2022 alone by recycling around 2.1 million tons of recyclable materials. Without Interzero’s activities – according to calculations by the Global Footprint Network (GFN) – the “Earth Overshoot” limit would have been exceeded 7:16 minutes earlier worldwide and 4:20 hours earlier in Germany in 2023.

Via a sister company in Asia, closed-loop concepts from Germany and Europe are increasingly being used there to drive resource conservation with a lot of energy. Interzero’s social commitment is also clearly aimed at sustainable development. One example is the long-standing cooperation with the ALBA BERLIN basketball club. As a sponsor and environmental partner, Interzero supports the multiple German champion and cup winner in becoming a top team in terms of sustainability as well. With success: In the area of sports business, ALBA BERLIN was also nominated for the final round of the German Sustainability Award this year.

The 16th German Sustainability Award is presented together with the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, the DIHK and the WWF to companies with exemplary commitment to sustainable transformation. The award ceremony will be held in Düsseldorf on November 23, 2023.

● Construction and operation of an innovative fully automated sorting plant with a capacity of up to 260,000 t per year in Walldürn, Germany.
● Processing of mixed plastics into raw materials for OMV chemical recycling.
OMV investment volume amounts to over EUR 170 million

October 31, 2023 – OMV, the integrated energy, fuels and raw materials, chemicals and materials company headquartered in Vienna, today announces the final investment decision for the construction of an innovative sorting plant developed by Interzero* to produce raw materials for chemical recycling. OMV will invest a total of more than EUR 170 million in the construction of this state-of-the-art plant in Walldürn in southern Germany. OMV will hold 89.9 percent of the shares in the joint venture and 10.1 percent of the shares will be held by Interzero, the leading provider of closed-loop solutions in Europe.

The new plant is scheduled to start production in 2026. A total of around 120 new jobs will be created at the new site. The groundbreaking ceremony is already planned for November 20, 2023 with guests from politics.

The sorting plant will be the first of its kind to produce raw materials for OMV’s chemical recycling on a large industrial scale. The ReOil® technology developed and patented by OMV is a chemical recycling innovation that converts mechanically non-recyclable plastic waste into pyrolysis oil – a valuable resource. The input material for the sorting plant is essentially mixed plastics that have not been recyclable up to now, in particular from the separate collection through the yellow bag and the yellow garbage can in Germany.

Dr. Alfred Stern, CEO of OMV: “Technology and innovation are core to progress. We therefore invest and partner to develop and scale innovative technologies on an industrial scale. It is our stated strategic goal to become a leading provider of solutions for sustainable fuels, chemicals and materials, and to play a key role in the circular economy. The joint project with Interzero will provide feedstock for our ReOil® technology, which in turn will transform it into high-quality sustainable raw materials for plastics production. In this way, we are making a significant contribution to the creation of a circular economy for plastics.”

Dr. Axel Schweitzer, Chairman and Partner of Interzero: “With Interzero, we are following the vision of a world without waste. Chemical recycling and mechanical recycling can be used in a complementary way and each helps us to realize this vision. I am convinced that with the help of chemical recycling, the recycling rate in Germany can and will increase significantly in the future. Our unique, fully automated sorting plant, which does not require any manual sorting, is a significant step toward giving a second life to raw materials that were previously incinerated. Closing loops requires strong partners. Together, we want to think long-term and combine our pioneering Interzero expertise, especially in the areas of packaging licensing and sorting, with OMV’s leading expertise in chemical recycling to close this raw material loop as well.”

Interzero operates five sorting facilities for lightweight packaging in Germany and, with over 800,000 t per year, sorts around one third of Germany’s lightweight packaging waste. This means that the company currently has the largest sorting capacity in Europe and is the technology leader.

The cooperation between OMV and Interzero ensures the supply of sustainable and high-quality raw materials for chemical recycling to OMV in order to close the loop for plastics. The innovative, state-of-the-art sorting facility developed by Interzero will have the capacity to process up to 260,000 tons of mixed waste plastics per year, providing the raw materials for the production of virgin polyolefins. This innovative sorting process enables the recovery of a polyolefin-rich fraction from a waste stream that currently ends up in thermal recycling. In terms of the waste hierarchy, the focus is therefore on the used plastics used here, which are not suitable for mechanical recycling. This ensures that chemical recycling does not compete with mechanical recycling. The sorting process used in the new sorting plant has already been tested on an industrial scale, and the product has been successfully processed as a feedstock in OMV’s ReOil® pilot plant.

A new ReOil® plant with a capacity of 16,000 t per year is currently being built at OMV’s Schwechat site. Like the existing pilot plant, the new plant will also have ‘International Sustainability and Carbon’ certification (ISCC PLUS), which ensures traceability throughout the supply chain and ensures that the value chain meets all environmental and social standards. The ReOil® plant will meet the highest industrial safety standards and will be fully integrated into the petrochemical area of the Schwechat refinery, allowing OMV to ensure optimal use of resources and maximum efficiency. The next step is the development of an industrial-scale ReOil® plant with a planned capacity of 200,000 t per year.

+++ Study by Fraunhofer UMSICHT highlights positive environmental effects of recycling
+++ The closed-loop service provider is one of the finalists for the German Sustainability Award

Vienna, October 17, 2023 -Theconsequences of global warming become clearer every week. Politicians, scientists and business leaders discuss suitable measures for climate protection. What can and must be done to achieve the climate targets that have been set? How can we simultaneously make Austria and Europe fit for the future as a place to live and do business? One answer to this is the consistent recycling of recyclable materials. The contributions to climate protection through circular economy are already considerable today.

This is clearly demonstrated by the work of Europe’s leading recycling service provider Interzero: as the “resources SAVED by recycling” study published today shows, a total of 2.1 million metric tons of recyclable materials were recycled in 2022 as a result of collaboration with customers. As a result, around one million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions were avoided. This is equivalent to the annual_{CO2 emissions of} over 100,000 four-person households for heating and electricity. At the same time, around 8.7 million tons of primary resources were saved that did not have to be taken from nature.

“In the current discussion about climate protection measures, the recycling of raw materials often gets short shrift,” says Martin Ulke, managing director of Interzero Circular Solutions Europe “With our study, we want to show that recycling is an equally effective and necessary factor for reducing climate-damaging emissions, securing valuable raw materials and thus counteracting the overexploitation of nature. We need the transformation to a true circular economy in order to preserve the quality of life on our planet. Today, this is the overriding shared task that everyone has.”

Based on the study data, Interzero also reports the environmental performance of its customers each year in an individual certificate. This shows, for example, how many primary resources and greenhouse gases the companies save by working with Interzero.

With the scientific study “resources SAVED by recycling”, Interzero has been providing information about the overall positive environmental effects of recycling since 2008. The basis for the comprehensive life cycle assessment, which is prepared by the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology UMSICHT, is a detailed comparison of primary production and recycling – including all the necessary process steps. The standardized methodology makes it possible to precisely quantify the savings in resources and greenhouse gas emissions.

“Now in its fifteenth year, the study succeeds in quantifying the environmental benefits of recycling and making them tangible. This is particularly important in the future in order to promote climate protection and a sustainable development for both industry players and consumers.

sustainable handling of our raw materials,” says Dr. Markus Hiebel, Head of Department Sustainability and Participation, Fraunhofer UMSICHT.

The Fraunhofer UMSICHT data also provide the basis for the resource conservation campaign “One World. Zero Waste. Let’s #MoveTheDate”, which Interzero launched together with the Global Footprint Network (GFN). Current calculations by GFN show that without the recycling activities of Interzero and its customers, the “Earth Overshoot” limit would have been exceeded 7:16 minutes earlier worldwide in 2023.

Interzero was nominated for the German Sustainability Award 2024 for its consistent commitment and successful implementation of specific projects in the area of waste avoidance and recycling. The company is one of the finalists in the waste management and recycling category

Why is the sustainable recycling process so important?

PET recycling requires the highest standards of purity to ensure that no impurities affect the final product. Careful handling of BigBags is critical to ensure they are clean and free of foreign objects. The Orwak baler enables this precision, helping to keep the quality of the recycled PET material at the highest level.

Our partnership not only enables us to support missionPET in its mission to promote the circular economy, but also drives our own vision: a world without waste. We are convinced that sustainability and innovation can come together to strengthen the environment and the economy alike.

Interzero relies on strong partnerships

Vienna – Recycling instead of resource depletion: Current calculations by the Global Footprint Network (GFN) for Interzero show how strongly the recycling of recyclable materials counteracts the chronic overloading of the earth. Without the recycling activities of Europe’s leading recycling service provider and its customers, the imaginary “Earth Overshoot” limit would be crossed 7:16 minutes earlier worldwide. In purely mathematical terms, humanity will have used up all the natural resources that our planet can provide within one year by August 2, 2023.

“The clock is ticking – we are taking action,” says Sebastiaan Krol, CEO Interzero Circular Solutions. “Together with our customers and partners, we are working for a circular economy that protects the climate, secures raw materials and preserves the natural foundations of life for future generations. The annual calculations of the Global Footprint Network show us where we stand – and spur us on to keep improving our performance for greater sustainability.”

As early as 2022, Interzero, in cooperation with GFN, had focused on the conservation of natural resources and launched the campaign “One World. Zero Waste. Let’s #MoveTheDate” campaign. “This year, the individual material flows were looked at in even more detail, more data was included – and thus an even clearer impact was determined,” explains Steven Tebbe, CEO Global Footprint Network. “The fact is that recycling recyclables not only saves greenhouse gas emissions compared to the primary process, but also conserves the biocapacity of our planet. For example, when waste paper is recycled into new products, no additional forest land needs to be cleared to do so.” Every dollar of added value generated by Interzero’s zero waste solutions reduces the global overshoot by 32.3 square meters, according to current calculations. By comparison, the global average overshoot increases by 2.1 square meters for every dollar of economic output.

“The results show that we are on the right track,” says Dr. Axel Schweitzer, chairman and shareholder of Interzero. “We only have this one earth! In order to preserve the quality of life for future generations, we must rapidly make the transition to a holistic circular economy that protects the climate and conserves resources. Accepting one’s own responsibility and cooperation at all levels of politics, business and society are just as crucial to success. Only through sustainable team play will we succeed in pushing Earth Overshoot Day further and further back.”

With the Let’s #MoveTheDate campaign, Interzero therefore wants to encourage as many companies and private individuals as possible to consistently reduce their ecological footprint – so that the earth once again has the opportunity to regenerate as our natural living environment. “As an innovation driver for the Circular Economy, we develop individual solutions for our customers’ challenges – from disposal concepts to recycling of recyclables – with which we enable a truly functioning circular economy. The fact that we are thus succeeding in actually pushing back the Earth Overshoot is a great confirmation of our work,” says Martin Ulke, managing director of Interzero Circular Solutions Europe.

Packaging is an indispensable part of everyday life, but in the public perception it is usually associated with polluting waste and perceived as a burden on the climate. Plastic packaging in particular has a bad reputation. The call to do away with packaging to protect our environment has long been part of the public debate. Despite increased educational efforts by the packaging industry and retailers, some myths persist. “We agree that all unnecessary packaging should be avoided, but we don’t want to ignore the important benefits of packaging,” says Sandra Pechac, executive director of the Packaging with a Future platform. The interactive pop-up stand is designed to help consumers find their way through the packaging jungle and raise awareness of sustainability in everyday life, as well as providing practical tips on food waste, recycling and the recyclability of packaging. “Each and every one of us bears responsibility for a more sustainable future and can make a contribution,” Sandra Pechac is convinced.

Taking responsibility together

Representing the 25 members of the platform were experts from the companies ENGEL AUSTRIA GmbH, Interzero Circular Solutions Europe GmbH and ePac Innsbruck GmbH, as well as the managing director of MPREIS. At the pop-up stand, the value and benefits of packaging were illustrated in dialogue with consumers, the advantages and disadvantages of different materials were highlighted, and the importance of packaging design and correct disposal for a closed cycle was explained. “The use of the optimum packaging has predominantly positive effects on the ecological balance of a product if it is disposed of correctly,” is the core message.

As little as possible, as much as necessary

“In terms of resource conservation, it is important that a product is well protected, has a long shelf life and reaches consumers in top quality. Packaging of all kinds, from plastic and aluminum to cardboard and glass, has an important function here. Optimized packaging can reduce food waste by up to 75%. The environmental benefit from avoided waste is thus in most cases significantly higher than the environmental cost of the packaging itself,” says David Mölk, CEO of MPREIS, adding, “At MPREIS, we are constantly reviewing where we can avoid unnecessary packaging, save packaging material and improve our packaging. For example, our MPREIS Alpine butchery has converted the meat cups for minced and sliced meat to rPET. The new packaging uses firstly a mono-plastic and secondly a recyclate, so it is positive in two senses. Unfortunately, there is no reasonable alternative to plastic or plastic for meat. However, we were able to switch a total of 6,000 kg of plastic to recycled PET, which has significantly reduced the use of raw materials or resources.”

Plastic can also be smart

As the Packaging with a Future platform, we are convinced that all packaging materials have their raison d’être. It must always be judged on a case-by-case basis which packaging solution is the wisest and most sustainable. “Flexible packaging made of plastic, for example, has some environmental benefits, such as less food waste due to resealable packaging and less CO2 emissions during transport due to its light weight,” explains Norbert Zillner, Sales Executive Austria of packaging manufacturer ePac, which opened a plant in Zams in Tyrol at the end of April. “Our carbon-neutral HP presses ensure that the environmental impact of printing our bags and roll stock is much lower than conventional printing.” EPac produces flexible packaging regionally on demand, preventing overproduction and thus keeping unused plastic packaging out of landfills.

Innovative solutions for the circular economy

We are currently seeing two trends in Europe: digitalization and the circular economy. Both topics make a major contribution to reducing energy consumption in the plastics processing industry and protecting the climate. “Building a circular economy needs new ideas,” knows Christoph Lhota, head of the Packaging Division at ENGEL, one of the leading companies in plastics machinery manufacturing. The example he presents is tangible even for non-specialists. It’s about food packaging and PET, the material everyone knows from beverage bottles. The special feature of this material is that it can be recycled as often as required and, under EU law, is the only plastic to date that can also be reused as a recyclate for the production of food packaging. In recycled form, the material is called rPET. So far, mainly bottles have been produced from rPET. “Together with partner companies, we want to expand the area of application,” says Lhota. A very large market for this is, for example, trays for fresh products such as delicatessen salads. This packaging is produced using thin-wall technology, which means that it requires very little material, very little energy and weighs almost nothing, so that it does not consume energy unnecessarily, even in logistics and retail. ENGEL’s development partner here is the packaging and recycling specialist ALPLA Group, a founding member of the Packaging with a Future platform.

Packaging optimization as the key

Imminent legal changes and the resulting obligations are currently presenting retailers and industry with major challenges: From 2024, Austria will have a legal obligation to offer reusable packaging to food retailers. From 2030, only recyclable packaging is to be allowed to be produced throughout the EU. “In this context, a comprehensive circular economy is not only a possible solution, but an absolute necessity,” Wolfgang Rabl, Head of Sales at Interzero, is convinced. The company offers licensing solutions, disposal concepts for companies and supports packaging development. “What is needed now on the corporate side are innovative, effective and holistic reusable and plastics recycling solutions. Packaging today must be recyclable so that the raw materials can be used for as long as possible and then reintroduced into new, circular value chains. In keeping with the motto: waste is raw material in the wrong place,” he adds.

Entire value chain drive circular economy forward

“Achieving our goals at national and EU level requires the entire value chain. Every player has an important role to play in solving the challenges,” says Sandra Pechac. “Through the conscious use of packaging, we can jointly establish a functioning circular economy in which packaging is part of the solution and makes a positive contribution to climate protection. Events like this are incredibly important to make this mindset shift visible among the population as well,” she is convinced.

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Since the beginning of 2023, the collection of lightweight packaging has been standardized. In addition, metal packaging began to be collected in the yellow bag or yellow garbage can as standard. Lower Austria, Carinthia, Salzburg and partly Upper Austria have practically completed the changeover. The remaining associations and federal states have until the end of 2024 to adapt. From 2025, joint collection of all lightweight and metal packaging will be mandatory.

This change means that everywhere, in addition to plastic bottles, cups, trays, film and other plastic packaging as well as metal packaging can and should be collected in the yellow bag and yellow garbage can. The aim is to help consumers to collect more plastic packaging in particular and thus to achieve the EU recycling quota for plastics in the future, which is an important milestone for climate and environmental protection.

Interzero is responsible for more than 10 regions in Austria, and thus also for the design of the collection in some conversion regions. Previous data from 2023 already show positive effects. In Carinthia and Lower Austria in particular, where previously only plastic bottles were collected in some cases with the LVP collection, there has been a significant increase. A pattern can be discerned here. In the regions that have already collected all lightweight and metal packaging separately, the change (all LVP and metals together) generally has only a slight positive effect. Very positive stands out such interzero regions Horn with an increase of about 20%. In collection regions where only plastic bottles were previously collected separately or also together with metals, a significant increase can generally be seen in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the first quarter of 2022. In the Interzero regions of Klagenfurt City, an increase of 16% was achieved, and in St. Pölten City, an increase of 53% in the amount collected was even achieved.

In the future, the focus in optimizing the collection of lightweight and metal packaging will therefore be on further measures for simple and easy access to collection, as well as on measures that help to collect primarily well-recyclable packaging with the yellow garbage can or the yellow bag. Interzero is convinced that it will also be able to master this sensible and necessary task together with the very committed employees of the waste associations.

Sometimes you have to put all your eggs in one basket. That’s exactly what we do at Interzero, because our vision is a world without waste.

Zero Waste is our vision – we go ALL IN for it!

We show exactly how this works in our new sustainability magazine and the latest sustainability report – both of which are available for download as of today.

In the magazine, we provide inspiration and concrete examples of how companies have taken major steps toward the circular economy and with which services we actively support such processes.
A pioneering example is the recycled Tandil 3-in-1 box from ALDI North and ALDI South, which saves 60 tons of new plastic per year. REWE has also successfully implemented the all-in-one solution with Sykell’s EINFACH MEHRWEG solution. This means that REWE customers can take drinks and food home in reusable containers and return them to the deposit machine – without any waste. You can find these exciting customer cases and much more in our sustainability magazine as a free download or on our Interzero sustainability page.

And what do we do at Interzero? Internally, too, sustainability is naturally a top priority for us. Anyone who would like to know exactly what measures we are taking to achieve this and how many resources were saved last year as a result of our work in 2022 can read about this in our latest sustainability report – including all the facts relating to social and economic issues.

We are going ALL IN – are you with us?