Hungarocell Green Program

“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