[Content from original press release.]
During DrinkTec 2017, Lightweight Containers unveiled the first KeyKeg which is partly made out of used KeyKegs. This breakthrough allows 10% of the raw materials to be sourced from recycled KeyKegs in addition to the 30% recycled materials already being used in production. Lightweight Containers is working to increase the percentage of recycled materials even more by collecting used KeyKegs and continuing to develop and refine this process. Jan Veenendaal, CEO of LWC, notes “We believe that there is only a future for sustainable companies and their suppliers who work together to make circular products. Eventually, there will only be room for products that do not put a strain on our ecosystem.”
A Breakthrough
Plastic recycling is a relatively young industry, still very much in development. Many complex plastic products with a mixed composition cannot yet be recycled on a large scale. “That is why we decided to work together with leaders in the recycling industry to develop a new recycling method of our own,” says Bert Hanssen, Chief Technology Officer of Lightweight Containers. “We have spent the past two and a half years investigating the best technologies and have now started our own project, with which we hope to be standing on the verge of a huge breakthrough. The fact that the KeyKeg has a circular design and consists mostly from mono materials, has certainly given the development a push. We have reached the point where we can now process used KeyKegs with special recycling lines. In doing so, we can recycle 81% of a used KeyKeg. This percentage will only increase in the future.”
Successful collecting methods
Lightweight Containers has started 2 pilot projects for the collection of used kegs. Anita Veenendaal, Chief Commercial Officer states “The logistics are a challenge. We want to set up transport so that the CO2 emissions are kept to a minimum and the process costs are covered by the retrieved materials. We are currently testing a number of different modes, one in Amsterdam for example. In the UK, we are testing best practices for collection kegs at larger festivals. The used KeyKegs will be compressed at the collection sites and then transported to the recycling locations by the thousands. The beverage distributors are seeing it as a service to their customers and the bars and restaurants are happily cooperating. We expect to have a set of successful collection methods with which we can advise and where possible support all stakeholders in the supply chain.”
