In 2023, the recycling rate for paper and cardboard packaging in Italy exceeded 90%, once again surpassing (as it already did in 2022) the European target of 85%..
These figures come from the latest study by Comieco (the National Consortium for the Recovery and Recycling of Cellulose-based Packaging), which reveals that each Italian citizen collects 64 kilograms of paper per year, amounting to a national total of 3.7 million tons.
These numbers, which include both private individuals and businesses, highlight that Italy as a whole is a virtuous country when it comes to recycling cardboard and paper.
The report also emphasizes the care Italians take in recycling these materials by carefully separating paper and cardboard from other associated waste, such as plastic or metal components.
In 2023, what is termed the “non-collection fraction” (waste improperly sorted) dropped from 2% to 1.55%. This is a positive figure, helping improve the recycling chain and making the work of disposal plants and their operators easier.
The impact of packaging on everyday work
Packaging has a significant impact on everyday work, so much so that it must be managed with absolute precision and responsibility to prevent it from becoming a source of confusion, dirt, and, most importantly, pollution both inside and outside the company.
Yet, every single supply that arrives at the company is packaged, obviously to ensure it stays protected during transportation. This, of course, generates a substantial amount of packaging, which in our opinion, must be managed in the best possible way.
Regarding the recycling of plastic packaging, we have adopted specific measures, which we have outlined in this article.
As for cardboard recycling, we have chosen to work with a system that allows us to compact the packaging boxes and store them in designated sections of the warehouse.
The compacting machine for cardboard recycling
The company is equipped with a compacting machine which, as the name suggests, allows us to compact cardboard, significantly reducing its thickness and, consequently, its bulk.
This investment enables us to promptly press the cardboard we handle daily in the company, creating neat, compact bales that are easier to manage in the warehouse.
As seen in the images, the bales can be stored in designated areas of the warehouse, ensuring they don’t take up extra space and keeping the premises clean and organized.
The ecological value of this form of paper recycling impacts both internal management and the disposal process once the waste reaches the collection bins.
A 20 cubic meter container filled with loose cardboard weighs about 1,000 to 1,500 kilograms. The same volume filled with 20 compacted cardboard bales weighs 8,000 kilograms. In other words, this system allows us to store eight times as much.
Fewer transports, fewer emissions
This brings both operational and environmental benefits, since for 8,000 kilograms of loose cardboard, it would take six truckloads to reach the collection center, whereas only one trip is needed to transport 8,000 kilograms of compacted cardboard.
The environment benefits because this means fewer CO2 emissions into the atmosphere.
The fuel consumption ratio for transporting waste is, in fact, 6 to 1: six trips for loose cardboard versus one for compacted cardboard.
In a context where road transport has seen a slow reduction in emissions (-0.5% in 2023, according to Ispra), every decision and action in this regard becomes important in helping to limit air pollution.
Logistics improvement
Targeted storage of packaging boxes helps create an increasingly efficient and digitized warehouse, as we explained in this article.
In this way, logistics improve, operations become smoother, and the overall organization of the workspace is enhanced.
Cleanliness and order allow the company’s spaces to remain tidy, making room for new machinery, more comfortable operations, and, last but not least, a way of working that is increasingly qualitative and safe.
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