DS Smith Creates Custom Closed Loop System for Koen Pack in The Netherlands
Collaboration across supply chain creates fully auditable and traceable recycling solution
London, UK; April 20, 2021 - DS Smith, the leading sustainable packaging company and Europe’s largest recycler of paper and cardboard, and Koen Pack, a world leading supplier of flower and plant packaging have collaborated on a custom Closed Loop Recycling System. The unique Recycling System, means 100% of Koen Packs cardboard waste is fully auditable and traceable, and guaranteed to make new boxes.
Established in 1996, Koen Pack is a world-leading supplier of flower and plant packaging used to send millions of flowers and plants all over the world. DS Smith who have worked with Koen Pack since 2014, produces millions of transport boxes to distribute packaging materials for the company each year. The companies worked in collaboration, across supply chains, with support from local partner Nijssen Recycling, to guarantee that 100% of the 5,000 tonnes of cardboard waste produced each year, was collected, recycled, producing new cardboard which created new boxes. Certification of the system was established with its full traceability & auditability.
”By partnering with DS Smith we’re using our cardboard waste as the raw material for new boxes, preserving natural resources and reducing CO2. It’s wonderful that this solution helps to meet our vision to turn 100% of our waste into new products.”
100% of Koen Pack’s cardboard recycling in the Netherlands is now recycled into new boxes
The cardboard waste at Koen Pack’s Distribution Centre in Amstelveen is collected by local partner Nijssen Recycling and baled up for pick up by DS Smith. On a regular basis bales of cardboard for recycling are collected and taken directly to De Hoop Paper Mill for pulping, to produce recycled brown liners. These brown liners are used by the DS Smith Packaging Plant to make the new flower and plant boxes, which end up back at the Koen Pack. This is all part of the 14 day ‘box to box’ packaging recycling process that underpins DS Smith’s sustainable business model.
“As part of our Now & Next Sustainability we’re committed to closed-loop solutions and making all our packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025. Thanks to our partnership with Nijssen Recycling we’re already able to recycle 100% of Koen Pack’s cardboard recycling and keep materials in the supply chain for longer.”
By utilizing the existing logistics, the looping of materials does not demand additional transportation requirements. Working in collaboration, the three companies have created solutions to keep materials in the system longer, consolidate resources and avert additional truck journeys. As it has become more essential for businesses to demonstrate sustainable business operations, and a fully auditable Closed Loop Recycling system, is a vital tool to drive key sustainability goals.
DS Smith is a leading provider of corrugated packaging, supported by recycling and papermaking operations. Headquartered in London and a member of the FTSE 100, DS Smith focuses on creating innovative sustainable packaging solutions in 34 countries employing around 30,000 people. Using the combined expertise of its divisions – Packaging, Recycling and Paper – DS Smith works with customers to deliver solutions that reduce complexity and deliver results throughout the supply chain. Its history can be traced back to the box-making businesses started in the 1940s by the Smith family.