FAQ

Plastic pollution of the environment and oceans is a serious problem that rightly receives a lot of attention and for which solutions must be found at full speed. Since a significant part of the products of Cofresco, a subsidiary of the Melitta Group, are made of plastic, we see it as our duty to make a contribution to combating the pollution of the oceans and soils by plastic. The Melitta Group and Cofresco do not want to be part of the problem, but part of the solution. We are therefore committed to a reorganization of plastics production and recycling. Because we are convinced that only the consistent and comprehensive implementation of a circular economy principle can reduce the burden on the environment and lead to a world of more effective use of raw materials. Fair Recycled Plastic aims to avoid marine and microplastics by collecting, processing and reusing plastic waste. It thus represents an important milestone in the overall sustainability commitment of the Melitta Group and Cofresco.

Together with Yunus Social Business, the decision was made to support two charitable projects that provide better health care and additional educational opportunities for the waste pickers and their families. 
 

1. Medical care: With the "Smile on Wheels" initiative, the NGO "Smile Foundation" from India offers free medical first aid for the waste pickers and their families. To this end, so-called mobile clinics regularly drive through the slums of Bangalore. The specialist staff not only offers medical support, but also explains hygiene and other topics of preventive health care. A "Smile on Wheels" cart enables about 15,000 medical examinations per year.
   
   
2. Educational opportunities: The local NGO "Hasiru Dala Trust" conducts educational activities such as community libraries and workshops in the slums of Bangalore. The aim is to promote the social, emotional and cognitive growth of the children through these alternative forms of tutoring and thus work towards a better school leaving certificate. The program will provide additional help to several 100 children in addition to school.

DEG – Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH uses funds from the develoPPP programme of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)  to support entrepreneurial projects that have sustainable development policy benefits. The develoPPP Fair Recycled Plastic project with Cofresco Frischhalteprodukte GmbH & Co. KG is also financed with funds from this programme.

The Melitta Group and Cofresco are concentrating on the recycling company in Bangalore. We hope that Fair Recycled Plastic can be a role model or inspiration for similar initiatives. We are open to exchanging ideas with other stakeholders in order to accompany the establishment and expansion of similar structures in other regions and countries.

There is no question that plastic that ends up in the environment as waste is harmful. And the pollution of the environment and oceans by plastics is a serious problem that rightly receives a lot of attention and for which solutions must be found at full speed. But plastics are not automatically bad. A distinction must be made here. Plastics are an indispensable part of our lives. Among other things, they enable hygiene, can be a very good transport aid and help to extend the shelf life of food. They have properties that other materials do not provide at all or often only with a worse ecological balance. In this case, they are the more environmentally friendly alternative. Plastics must be recycled and reused, because they are also a valuable raw material as waste. In order for plastics to be reused, they must be collected and processed properly. And this is where Fair Recycled Plastic comes in.

Plastics are not automatically bad. Among other things, they enable hygiene, can be a very good transport aid and help to extend the shelf life of food. They have properties that other materials do not provide at all or often only with a worse ecological balance. However, it is essential that plastics are collected correctly and consistently recycled and reused. This is where Fair Recycled Plastic comes in.
In addition, as part of its "Mission 100% Circular" strategy, Cofresco has been working flat out for several years to steadily increase the proportion of sustainable materials in its products and thus protect oil reserves and the climate. The company has set itself the goal of allowing as many products as possible to participate fully in the recycling cycle. These are then made exclusively from recycled or renewable materials and can be fully recycled or composted after use.

Social business is a socially oriented form of business. In contrast to a donation or a charitable project, which mainly fights people's problems with money in the short term, a social business is intended to create a self-perpetuating cycle that solves social or environmental grievances in the long term. A business is established, the profits of which either flow back into the company as reinvestment or benefit social projects that help solve the problem.

The originator of the principle is Nobel Prize winner and economist Prof. Muhammad Yunus, who also founded Yunus Social Business GmbH. Together with the Indian company Yunus Social Business Bengaluru Fund Private Limited (YSB), the Melitta Group and Cofresco have founded the social business "Vishuddh Recycle Private Limited" as a joint venture in Bangalore, whose business is to recycle plastic films and process them into granules. All profits either flow back into the company or benefit two social projects that are committed to better medical care and additional educational opportunities for the waste pickers and their families.

Further information on the principle of social business can be found on yunussb.com

Personally, Prof. Yunus expressly endorses Fair Recycled Plastic and provides operational support through the Yunus Social Business Fund Bengaluru Private Limited and Yunus Social Business GmbH, with whom the Melitta Group and Cofresco work closely. Together, the social business "Vishuddh Recycle Pvt. Ltd." was founded as a joint venture. Yunus Social Business Fund Bengaluru Private Limited is thus a co-investor and has veto rights over important operational decisions.

The recycling company employs around 50 people in various positions.

We work together with four certified partner companies in the local waste management industry:

• Saahas Waste Management Private Limited
• Hasiru Dala Innovations Private Limited
• Waste Ventures India Private Limited
• NEPRA Resource Management Private Limited

The partner companies were carefully selected with the help of Yunus Social Business. To ensure that the high quality requirements for the working conditions and the delivered material are met, we have carried out on-site audits together with TÜV Rheinland, which we repeat regularly. We attach great importance to a cooperative relationship with our suppliers. That is why we will also continue to work together with our partner companies to continuously improve the conditions for employees.

We can produce about 2,000 tons of granules annually from the plastic waste in our recycling company. To do this, we would have to hire about 2,000 new employees to collect the waste for us. Hiring so many new employees in India would be beyond our skills and resources,  and we only need LDPE, but waste pickers usually collect different types of plastic waste. Our partner companies have the structures to separate the waste professionally and sell the leftovers to other customers. We would first have to build up a sales network for this. That's why we decided to work with the selected partner companies as interfaces.

Fair Recycled Plastic creates both direct jobs in production, which ensures employment with high working standards and a good and regular income, as well as indirectly creating new income conditions through our partner companies.

For example, our partner companies will increase the number of their suppliers, such as Waste Pickers, to meet the demand for plastic waste through us. This is because not all plastics are suitable for the production of garbage bags. The recyclate must be made of LDPE, the low-density polyethylene. This is a soft plastic that is mainly used for bags. So far, there is only a small, fluctuating market for this type of plastic in Bangalore. There are few or only very inconsistent buyers for LDPE. The fluctuating price often does not outweigh the effort of collecting, so there is little incentive to collect this type of plastic. With Fair Recycled Plastic, a constant buyer for LDPE is now entering the market, making collection more lucrative in the long term. This means that more waste pickers will receive an additional source of income, which will secure them a purchase guarantee at a fair wage. The transparency of the value chain that we demand also contributes to an improvement in working conditions.

In addition, we support two non-profit organizations that work to improve health care and provide additional education for waste pickers and their children.

Poor waste disposal in Bangalore is not only a problem for the environment, but also affects the lives of the poorest sections of the population. About 15,000 to 20,000 people work in the southern Indian metropolis as so-called waste pickers. So far, very few of them are permanently employed, but collect waste products from early morning to evening without protective utensils such as gloves or masks in the mountains of garbage or in ditches, which they can resell. As a result, they currently earn a very low income, from which they find it difficult to feed their families. Many of them live in slums directly on the landfill. Through Fair Recycled Plastic and the cooperation with partner companies, we want to drive forward the expansion of formal structures in the waste sector and thus create the conditions for the working and living conditions of many waste pickers and their families to improve in the long term. This means, among other things, that they receive a fair and regular income and are provided with protective equipment.

In principle, the goal should be that no more waste has to be collected from the street, but that all waste is collected at the source by a regulated disposal system and processed or disposed of accordingly. Then there would no longer be a need for waste pickers, but as in the European sense, "garbage collectors" who control a disposal process. Of course, this is also our long-term goal.
With our commitment, we contribute to the expansion of formal structures in Bangalore's waste sector and support additional educational opportunities for the children of the Waste Pickers. In addition, we hope to be able to work with other actors to establish and expand similar structures locally or in other regions.
Fair Recycled Plastic is therefore a first, important step towards improving the lives of waste pickers. No more, but also no less.

We wanted to get involved where we have the greatest influence. This was true for India and Bangalore for different reasons:

According to a study by the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research Leipzig and the Weihenstephan-Triesdorf University of Applied Sciences, about 90 percent of the plastic waste in the world's oceans originally comes from ten rivers. Eight of these rivers flow through Asia and two of these rivers, the Ganges and the Indus, lead through India into the seas. In addition, India is currently already one of the most populous countries and this development is likely to be exacerbated by demographic change. This causes the amount of waste to continue to rise and makes an appropriate system for disposal and processing increasingly necessary. In addition, about 22 percent of the population in India lives below the poverty line of $1.90 per day. A large part of them is active in waste collection. Apart from the fact that foreign companies can enter the Indian economy without major hurdles, we have identified a great need for action in India.

We chose Bangalore because it is one of the largest cities in India, one of the largest waste producers in the country, there are sufficient industrial structures such as good water and electricity supply, the metropolis is close to the port of Chennai and there is an office of Yunus Social Business on site.

We are aware that the granules have to travel long distances. Nevertheless, this effort makes sense, as the eco-balance of the plastic is significantly improved by reuse. Overall, the recycled granules are still significantly more ecological than virgin materials and therefore a good alternative for us for our garbage bag production. In addition, we process LDPE (Low Density Polyethylene). This is a soft plastic that is mainly used for bags. So far, there is only a small, fluctuating market for this type of plastic in Bangalore. There are few or only very inconsistent buyers for LDPE. The fluctuating price often does not outweigh the effort of collecting, so there is little incentive to collect this type of plastic. With us, a constant buyer for LDPE is now entering the market, which makes collection more lucrative in the long term. This means that these plastics no longer pollute the environment and more waste pickers receive an additional source of income, which ensures them a purchase guarantee at a fair wage.

The LDPE (Low Density Polyethylene) film waste supplied is processed in an industrial hall in Bangalore that we have converted. There, the delivered material is first pre-sorted again to ensure that only pure materials enter the machine. The sorted plastic is then shredded and cleaned and dried in a washing plant, whose washing water is circulated. The film shreds are then heated and filtered in a regranulation system to remove any remaining residues, such as printing inks. At the end of the process, the granulate produced in this way is packed into so-called big bags.

With our plant, we can currently produce around 2,000 tons of granules per year from LDPE film waste.

LDPE (Low Density Polyethylene) is a type of polyethylene (PE) and is characterized by low density and high flexibility. LDPE is mainly used to make bags and films. Plastic bottles, for example, are usually made of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) or PP (polypropylene).

Only polyethylene (PE) is used in the garbage bags of the Swirl® and handy bag® brands. LDPE (Low Density Polyethylene) is a type of polyethylene that we have deliberately chosen. In contrast to plastic bottles, which are mainly made of PET, there is only a small, fluctuating market for LDPE in Bangalore with few or only very volatile buyers. The fluctuating price often does not outweigh the effort of collecting, so there is little incentive to collect this type of plastic. With us, a constant buyer for LDPE is now entering the market, which makes collection more lucrative in the long term. This means that these plastics no longer pollute the environment and more waste pickers receive an additional source of income, which ensures them a purchase guarantee at a fair wage.

In addition, the use of a homogeneous substance (no mixing of different types of plastics/substances or multi-layered products) leads to a higher recyclability of the product. The high quality can thus be maintained during the next reprocessing.

The profits will benefit, among other things, two non-profit organizations that provide better health care and additional educational opportunities for waste pickers and their families. When selecting the organizations, we worked closely with our partner Yunus Social Business. We are convinced that with this selection we have found a valuable addition to our commitment to waste pickers.

One of the two organizations is the "Smile Foundation". With the "Smile on Wheels" initiative, the NGO from India offers free medical first aid for the waste pickers and their families. To this end, so-called mobile clinics regularly drive through the slums of Bangalore. The specialist staff not only offers medical support, but also explains hygiene and other topics of preventive health care. A "Smile on Wheels" cart enables about 15,000 medical examinations per year.

In addition, Fair Recycled Plastic supports "Hasiru Dala Trust". The local NGO carries out educational activities such as community libraries and workshops in the slums of Bangalore. The aim is to promote the social, emotional and cognitive growth of the children through these alternative forms of tutoring in addition to school attendance and thus work towards a better degree. The program enables several 100 children to receive an education.
Cofresco supports the organizations financially from the start of production, before the social business generates the planned profits. In this way, the waste pickers and their families benefit from the medical and educational offers as early as possible.

"Smile on Wheels" can enable about 15,000 treatments per year.

The car drives to the selected locations in a 2-week rhythm. Thanks to our financial commitment, we can select ten places that are visited regularly.

Hasiru Dala Trust runs various libraries in Bangalore and conducts various workshops with the children. We support these educational measures – in addition to the school – financially.

However, due to Corona, the planned workshops in February 2020 had to be cancelled. Instead, a radio platform has been set up that makes it possible for the children to be reached at a distance and to have regular access to the program. This program was originally broadcast during the lockdown (March-May 2020) and is now being continued due to the positive feedback.

Furthermore, we support the "Bugury Community Libraries", which specialize in promoting the social, emotional and cognitive growth of children and thus working towards a better school leaving certificate. The continuation of these activities and workshops is also planned for 2021. In addition, educational offers such as scholarships are to be rolled out further as soon as schools in Bangalore reopen.

For many years, we have been investigating alternative plastics or packaging that ensure greater ecological compatibility. To this end, we regularly exchange ideas with the scientific community – including through the Cofresco Forum –  and are in contact with our suppliers. We are always testing new solutions and have achieved some successes in recent years. For example, we have been able to expand the proportion of recyclates and have developed films that consist largely of renewable raw materials. We are actively committed to ensuring that our products are returned to the circular economy where possible. As part of the 100% Circular mission, the subsidiary Cofresco, for example, has set itself the goal of having as many products as possible fully participate in the recycling cycle by 2025. These products are then made exclusively from recycled or renewable materials and can be fully recycled or composted after use.

Cofresco is working hard to implement the Mission 100% Circular strategy. As a brand manufacturer, the overriding principle is that the high and proven quality requirements for the products are guaranteed. Although there is still work to be done, important milestones have already been reached. One example is Swirl's® garbage bags, which were converted last year and are now made of 100% recycled plastic. A big step has also been taken with the Toppits® brand. From cling film to zipper® bags to freezer and vegetable bags – the proportion of recycled resources for these products increased to 35% in 2021 and to 70% in 2022. Further milestones are already planned for 2025.