Waste management Archives

Circular factory development in Nyírbátor

Alternative energy use and energy efficiency, Circular economy, Climate protection and adaptation, Waste management, Water usage

“Our circular factory development project in Nyírbátor is special because the environmental footprint of our manufacturing activities is undeniable, so in addition to economic growth, we must also pay special attention to introducing a number of environmental innovations to reduce or even neutralise this footprint.”
Tamás Ács, Managing Director

Company name:

Unilever Hungary Ltd.

Implementation Year:

2021 – 2023

Focus Areas:

Circular economy, Climate protection, climate adaptation, Waste management, Alternative energy use and energy efficiency, Water use

Program Objective:

Between 2021 and 2023, the HUF 15 billion expansion of our Nyírbátor household chemical plant was carried out, with a strong focus on environmental innovation and circular industrial solutions, in addition to technological modernisation.
Our Nyírbátor unit is the Group’s most efficient household chemicals factory in Europe, covering 2/3 of the Eastern European region with products manufactured here. Circular solutions are inspired by the Unilever Group’s sustainability ambitions. This helped in the planning, implementation, internal reporting and impact measurement, as the ambition to go green was not unknown even in a small country like ours and thus had the support of the management.

Program Measures and Commitments:

The factory already has a number of green solutions in place, such as the fact that around 70% of the packaging material produced here is made from recycled plastic, that more than 30% of the waste water generated here is recycled in-house and the rest is fully filtered and cleaned in the factory before being released back into the environment, that 100% of the electricity from the grid will be generated from renewable energy sources from 2021 and that 75% of their entire manufacturing operations will be carbon neutral from 2024. However, the latest factory expansion and the construction of an automated high-bay warehouse have taken the practical implementation of the circular economy one step further. No waste was landfilled during demolition or construction, as it was either fully recycled on site or reused through expert partners. Unilever’s so-called “zero waste to landfill” strategy has inspired many innovative waste management solutions in the past, but the example of Nyírbátor is the one we are most proud of at the moment.
How sustainable is our solution? The inefficient treatment of industrial waste and its eventual landfilling is an outdated and polluting method, but there is an alternative. In addition, the increasingly stringent regulatory environment (both at EU and local level), rising transport costs, rising raw material prices are clear indicators of over-consumption of raw materials and the irresponsible and often wasteful use of the earth’s resources. Against this background, we believe that our solution is not only sustainable, but will also be the only viable option in the near future for all industrial players who wish to remain resilient in the face of various economic and environmental anomalies.

Program Impact and Results:

54 obsolete industrial silos and buildings were demolished at the outset due to the factory expansion, the remains of which were recycled in the following way: concrete rubble (13,000m3) was crushed on site and used for the foundations of the new hall building. The brick waste (6,000m3) was used by our partners for the stabilized soil of a solar park near Nyírbátor and for the stabilization of internal roads within the site. Iron waste (3000tonnes) was purchased from us for automotive purposes.

Keywords:

circular factory development

12.12.2024

Hungarocell Green Program

Circular economy, Climate protection and adaptation, Waste management

“Sustainable, environmentally conscious operations are a key element of our strategy and long-term business plans. As a large ESG-conscious company, we are particularly proud to be the first in the Hungarian construction industry to have established a circular economy programme. In addition, our factories use almost zero waste production technologies and conscious energy management to further reduce the company’s environmental footprint.”
Tibor Dávid, CEO

Company name:

Masterplast Plc.

Implementation Year:

2020

Focus Areas:

Circular Economy, Climate change and adaptation, Waste management

Program Objective:

As a manufacturer and distributor of Hungarocell material, our aim is to recycle as much of the waste generated during its use as possible. As part of our Hungarocell Green Program, we recycle to produce a thermal insulation material called Thermobeton. The programme therefore implements the circular economy by not only reducing the amount of waste generated by the use of the building material we sell, but also by creating a new energy-saving material, thus reducing the carbon footprint. Masterplast’s target is to recycle 10,000 m3 of polystyrene cuttings residue per year.

Program Measures and Commitments:

At the heart of our programme is always that the products we manufacture and distribute are in line with the values our company stands for, and these include environmental responsibility. Our innovative programme is the first and only one of its kind, and its steps are simple: the consumer buys the polystyrene, then collects the cuttings in the bag previously purchased. He then drops it off at one of our partners in the national network of Eco-Points, which Masterplast then returns. It creates a recycled product, Thermobeton, which the consumer can also buy at the Eco-Points mentioned above. In summary, the product contributes to reducing carbon emissions in buildings throughout its life cycle. We started small and now there are over 100 Eco-Points throughout the country where you can join us. As well as providing an environmentally responsible solution, it is also a clear cost-cutting option, as consumers are exempt from the cost of polystyrene waste treatment. So when you drop off unused polystyrene to our partners, we can use it to produce a new, excellent thermal insulation material. So not only are we recycling a material that would have become waste, but we are also doing good in the long term: thanks to Thermobeton, the buildings we construct will be much more energy efficient.

Program Impact and Results:

Our previous target was to save 10,000 m3 of material from becoming waste each year, as 100% of the material is recycled in the manufacturing process. Now this figure stands at 6,000 m3 . With Masterplast products and insulation techniques, energy efficiency improvements of up to 50% and a corresponding reduction in emissions can be achieved on average per building. We put great emphasis on promoting the Programme, so that, by combining the various communication channels (television, website articles, advertisements, trade events), it has already reached hundreds of thousands of people.

Keywords:

recycling, circular economy, thermal insulation, energy savings, carbon reduction

12.12.2024

TORK PaperCircle program

Circular economy, Climate protection and adaptation, Waste management

“For us, sustainability is not just a slogan or a fashion, but a business concept and product strategy that has been in place for years: as the largest forest landowner in Europe, Essity’s former parent company, the Swedish forestry company SCA, has always been committed to sustainable management. For me as a family man, it is also important to preserve the planet for the next generation, and my children hold me accountable for what I do for the environment in my work.”
Zoltán Venter, Managing Director

Company name:

Essity Hungary Kft.

Implementation year:

2018

Focus Areas:

Climate protection and adaptation, Waste management, Circular economy

Program Objective:

We have committed to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. In the short term, we have committed to a 35% reduction in our emissions from manufacturing and raw material use by 2030. To achieve net-zero emissions, we have developed an eight-point climate plan, including investments in technologies that improve energy and resource efficiency, and focus our innovation competence on waste reduction and sustainable solutions. We offer services and products that fit into the circular system.

Program Measures and Commitments:

As a responsible company producing paper products, it is important that we operate business models that include the efficient recovery of used products and use technologies that are capable of producing recycled products of high quality.
We are constantly innovating to achieve this, and in 2018 we set new and ambitious targets to reduce waste – launching the world’s first handkerchief paper recycling scheme, PaperCircle. Available in 15 countries across Europe, the scheme involves washroom users hand-drying their paper hand towels and then throwing them into a separate collection bin, which is then separated by cleaners when they empty the bin. Our recycling partner then collects and transports the collected hand towels to the nearest Essity factory. Essity then uses the collected hand towels to make new paper products, so the cycle continues and new products are returned to our customers.
Another important milestone is the use of alternative raw materials, such as wheat straw, which is the plant fibre left over after wheat is harvested. At present, almost half of the world’s wheat straw is classified as waste, but value can be created from it. Our manufacturing process produces a pulp that is soft, shiny and strong, similar to the pulp made from fresh wood fibre. This is used by several of our businesses to make hygiene products. Our circular innovation reduces the environmental impact of our products, as this raw material is recyclable and requires less water and energy to produce.

Program Impact and Results:

We calculate that our PaperCircle programme can reduce the amount of waste going to landfill by at least 20% and improve the carbon footprint of the point of use by up to 40%. For example, an office of 50 people could reduce its monthly carbon emissions by almost 12 kg by using the service. We’ve also created a calculator that allows anyone to work out how much the company, office or institution they work in could contribute to reducing their carbon emissions annually by joining Tork PaperCircle.

Related keywords:

recycling of hygiene products

12.12.2024

Indoor community composting in an educational circular system

Circular economy, Climate protection and adaptation, Waste management

“Our development is a composting system that actively helps in environmental education and awareness raising. With our solution, every community can actively contribute to a more livable and greener urban environment in a playful way.”
Emese Pancsa, Managing Director

Company name:

Compocity Kft.

Implementation year:

2022

Focus Areas:

Climate protection and climate adaptation, Waste management, Circular economy, Consumer awareness

Program Objective:

Compocity Ltd. is a sustainability service startup operating since 2020, supporting circular economy challenges in urban environments with a smart composting service. Through their activities, from sustainable practices in smart cities to improving soil health, workers are taking action against the impacts of climate change in a way that is driven and powered by community collaboration itself. A smart composting device and its playfully educational app with its tracking solution keep the value chain from apple pip to happy urban vegetation in one hand. Employees can thus be connected to ESG goals at individual and community level.

Program Measures and Commitments:

According to the UN, by 2050, seventy percent of the population will live in cities, with a significant proportion working in office environments. Thirty percent of office waste is organic green goods, for which Compocity has created an urban ecosystem system: CompoBot, a composting chef, uses a microorganism cocktail to create a nutrient-rich soil food. The cycle is provided by Compocity through its partnerships to care for the urban green issue, but where there is an openness to do so, communities themselves can participate in the process and return nutrients to urban soils and plants in the form of planting. This is complemented by a playful mobile app that allows office communities to monitor their work and environmental impact. All this has a community-building and educational power, in addition to the data collected to support companies’ sustainability efforts. The urban Miyawaki mini-forest method used by Compocity provides both urban compost utilization and a maximized community customer experience in a species-rich ecosystem, closing the urban loop. Not only is the home-grown method using native vegetation, but Compocity’s development includes a range of habitat creation activities from insect hotel making to synodu to increase biodiversity. Their message is that you can enter anywhere in the cycle either by installing Miyawaki mini-forests and creating nutrients for it, but you can and should avoid the creation of food waste in an easy, playful and value-creating way.

CompoBot monitors the material thrown in, sends feedback to the user and illustrates the usefulness at scale through everyday examples. A monthly report summarises for the company the equivalent activities of different CO2 emissions, key information on recovery and community activities, highlighting also the individual involvement of employees.

Program Impact and Results:

Currently reaching more than 15 large companies with nearly 20,000 users per day. Over the next 5 years, their impact will be: 75,000 Compobots in operation, 136,500 tonnes of organic material produced, 819,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions prevented, 15 million users reached per day, 45.5 million trees planted to channel their nutrient needs into various environmental benefit projects and to measure the benefits, provide feedback and further build the motivation system that makes corporate responsibility locally accessible.

Related keywords:

circular economy, food waste, community composting, sustainability pedagogy

12.12.2024

Digitalisation in food waste processing

Circular economy, Climate protection and adaptation, Waste management

„At Biofilter, we are constantly striving to achieve new milestones in environmental protection and efficiency, and to support the implementation of the circular economy and the growth of renewable energy sources through our developments.”
György Deák, CEO

Company name:

Biofilter Zrt.

Implementation year:

2023

Focus Areas:

Climate protection and adaptation, Waste management, Circular Economy

Program Objective:

By collecting waste, BIOFILTER Zrt. prevents its accumulation and its negative impact on the environment, and by recycling it, it helps to produce bio-energy carriers. The collection and recycling of food waste from restaurants and other catering establishments has been operating in Hungary since 2004. Although a number of campaigns have been launched to reduce food waste, the amount of food waste generated is still significant and modernisation of processing procedures has become essential to ensure proper pre-treatment of waste. In response to these trends, Biofilter has been one of the first to transform its food waste processing plant to make the digital transition.

Program Measures and Commitments:

The new industrial robotic arm represents a huge step forward in the company’s food waste processing process. The company’s Lepsény plant receives around 600-800 blue drums of food waste per day. The robotic arm will complement the manual processing of these. The robot guides the incoming food waste from the barrels to the sorting and grinding system. After pouring, it can determine by weighing whether the barrel has been emptied properly or whether extra help is needed to empty it. If the keg is properly emptied, it is placed on the conveyor of our automatic keg washing system, where a pre-washing process cleans out any debris left in the keg, which is then returned to the grinding hopper to ensure nothing is wasted.

The first stage of the grinding hopper is a sorting belt, where inappropriate materials are sorted by hand. For example, knives or forks often end up in the barrel, so a metal detector is built into the belt. From the sorting belt, the waste flows into a grinder, which can grind the food waste into a size that can be used more efficiently in biogas plants.
The sorted, shredded food waste is transported to biogas plants in closed, containerised trucks for recovery. Biogas production results in renewable energy, electricity and heat. The industrial robotic arm can process up to 1,000-1,200 barrels per day, increasing the capacity of the plant.

Program Impact and Results:

Over the past years, the amount of food waste collected has gradually increased, and in 2022, Biofilter Zrt. has processed nearly 10,000 tonnes of food waste, of which 100% has been biogas. This is the equivalent of the annual electricity consumption of nearly 6,500 households in renewable energy production. Biofilter Zrt. is constantly striving to achieve new milestones in environmental protection and efficiency and to support the implementation of the circular economy and the development of renewable energy sources.

Keywords:

circular economy, food waste, digitalization

12.12.2024

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