Sustainability Report 2016 / 2017

21 Every year the Green Dot (Dual System Deutsch- land) collects about 1.2 million tons of plastic packaging waste with its Yellow Bag system. Approximately 10 percent of it is PET waste. While about 50,000 tons of PET packaging waste is mechanically recycled (into fleece, for example), nearly 70,000 tons end up in community incin­ erators. In both cases the finite resource of crude oil used in this packaging is irretrievably lost. Furthermore, the environment is polluted by ele- vated CO 2 emissions. Werner & Mertz, however, pursues the corporate goal of designing recycla- ble products. Contents and materials are directed back into closed recycling loops in keeping with the Cradle to Cradle ® Principle. No-waste Material Cycle It’s a great challenge to recycle PET waste from the Yellow Bag. The reuse value for brightly colored PET, for example, is very low. The task is to sort the many different kinds of PET waste and to clean the ma- terial so that it can be recycled for use in high-quality, transparent PET packaging. The technology to do so already exists. The Recyclate Initiative has developed a new integrated recycling system which, with the help of innovative sorting technology (high-speed laser spectros- copy), obtains high-quality recyclates from the Yellow Bag or recycling containers. Preforms for new transparent PET bottles can be made from the high-quality PET recyclates. The result is “eco-effectiveness” in a no-waste, quality-retaining material cycle which conserves re­ sources and reduces CO 2 emissions. The goal of the Recyclate Initiati- ve is to promote broader application of this innovation and publicize its economic benefits too. Werner & Mertz has evidence of its successful conversion to the new process with the sale of more than six million Frosch bottles. No new PET, or virgin material, is required. The newest generation of trans­ parent PET bottles for Frosch brand products are made of 100 percent recycled PET and 20 percent of that comes from the Yellow Bag.