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From cardboard waste to a new Boni fruit punnet
15
May
2020
A winner for the environment: making new products from used materials which you can then sort. At Colruyt Group, we apply this to packaging. Follow the journey that our recycled cardboard takes, from shop waste to sustainable and beautifully finished punnets for our Boni Selection fruit and vegetables.
1. Sorting cardboard in the shop
It all starts by sorting properly at the source. Our shop staff are trained to separate the different waste streams. When they stack the shelves with products, they immediately keep all the paper and cardboard packaging separate.
2. Transport to the distribution centre
Most of our stores have their own cardboard press. Our co-workers use it to press paper and cardboard into compact, easy-to-transport bales. In stores without press, we get large carts ready to take the sorted cardboard waste to our return centres. Our drivers who deliver to the shops take these cardboard bales or waste carts with them on their return journey. So we also take sustainable transport into account and avoid unnecessary kilometres.
3. Transport to our recycling partner
In the distribution centres, the cardboard bales are made ready for transport to our fruit punnet manufacturer. The carts with cardboard waste are checked a second time to ensure that there are no other recyclable materials caught up in the cardboard. This cardboard is then also baled and prepared for transport to the recycling company.
4. Making new fruit punnets
The manufacturer processes the recycled cardboard into new punnets for fresh fruit and vegetables. We can also print on the cardboard punnets. Each punnet gets a recognisable look depending on the product.
5. Filling and packing the punnets
Employees in our own distribution centres fill the finished punnets with apples, pears, kiwi fruit, tomatoes and peppers from Boni. If necessary, they are adapted to keep the products in place and to guarantee their freshness. The products in the recycled punnets are now ready for sale.
6. Closing the recycling circle.
The filled punnets are supplied to the stores again, where our co-workers put them on the shelves. You buy the packaged products and put the used punnet into your paper-recycling bin again. The recycling loop is closed.
With this initiative, we contribute to the following Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.
