Obolon is one of the first domestic beverage producers that carries out its own recycling of used plastic bottles. The company has been implementing the successful practice for already 17 years.
No-waste policy
Part of Obolon’s strategy is to minimize waste and to recycle.
“For the company, the ecological effectiveness is not only a challenge of the current state of the environment, but also an opportunity to save and free up additional resources,” says Oleksandr Slobodyan, president of Obolon. “Considering the increasing prices of raw materials, this sort of practice is beneficial and it creates safety for the people and the environment. Every year we work on advancing the policy of rational and responsible use of resources.”
The company’s view of waste as a source of recyclable material for production completely corresponds with the European Union’s strategy of switching to a circular economy, including the goal of recycling waste.
Only during the five-year period of 2013-2018, the company invested Hr 62 million into its own program of protecting the environment. In addition to reducing industrial waste into the atmosphere and pollution, an important direction for the company is the no-waste policy.
The portion of the corporation’s production of waste is only 1.11% while the rest is all used. At the same time, during the past few years, the actual share of waste is decreasing: from 1.24 tons/1,000 dal of production in 2007 to 0.113 ton/1,000 dal in 2018. The decrease amounted to 90.9 percent compared to the amount of waste that was formed in 2007.
Problems and solutions
As noted by Obolon’s specialists, a number of ecological characteristics have pushed the corporation to initiate its own reycling of plastic packages. According to data of ecologists, on average a Ukrainian resident creates 271 kg of household solid waste annually, and a resident of big cities – 330-380 kg. And these volumes remain consistent. Polymer waste makes up about 10-15% of the overall household waste volumes, which is equivalent to about 10 kg per person annually. “Simultaneously, with such dynamics of waste increase, plastic bottle packaging production also remains consistent, a sector which is increasing annually by about 10-12%,” Alexander Slobodyan analyzes. “Specifically, polyethylene terephthalate is a big threat for the ecological wellbeing since it takes 200-300 years for the plastic to decompose. Overall, plastic bottle waste makes up 15% of all household waste. Currently, Ukraine has initiated a national strategy of waste management until 2030, but still has not created a legislative framework that would stimulate waste recycling. At the same time, the country does not create effective incentives for the population in order to sort their trash, there are no conditions for recycling, and the actual system of collecting separately sorted waste is developing very slowly. All of the successful projects of collecting and recycling waste are initiated by individual companies at the local level.”
“Back in 1995, Obolon was the first company among beverage producers that started to use plastic bottle packaging. It was also the first company that began to recycle its packaging waste in August 2002. Therefore, the company has been recycling its own plastic bottles for 17 years already,” says Oleksandr Slobodyan. “Today our company is the only domestic beverage producer that implements its own recycling of used plastic bottles. The key goals that we set for our project are:
• provision of the recycling of plastic bottles;
• improvement of the environment by decreasing the accumulation of plastic in nature;
• production of new materials out of plastic bottle waste;
• creation of new jobs;
• contribution to the development of an eco-culture among manufacturing enterprises.”
Waste recycling project
Obolon’s plastic bottle recycling assets are located in the city of Oleksandriya, Kirovohrad Oblast.
“The region became an ideal location for implementing the project from the point of view of logistics and having an equal distance from large cities. Our recycling factory includes an innovative processing line for the processing of plastic bottle waste. During the period of 2002-2015, around $2 million were invested into the project,” Oleksandr Slobodyan shares his experience. “During the first phase of the project’s implementation such processing consisted of shrinking the bottles into a so-called “flex” that would then be exported. The second phase was in 2008 with the introduction of a processing line which would make packing tape out of recycled material. To accomplish this, the company purchased modern German equipment with an output capacity of 125 kg/hour that produces bandage tape 100% out of recycled material. This modern German production line enables to recycle plastic bottle waste without a negative impact on the environment.”
Today joint-stock company Obolon is independently collecting plastic bottle waste for recycling from its own production sites. There are more than one hundred containers for the collection of used plastic bottles at the production sites. Moreover, the company has signed contracts with suppliers for the purchase of used plastic bottles.
The overall effect from implementing the plastic bottle waste recycling project includes:
• an ecological component: more than 12,100 tons of plastic waste has been processed during the last 17 years;
• the production of bandage tape from 2015-2018 – 2,631.55 tons;
• an economic component: For example, the revenue from selling bandage tape during the period of 2015-2018 was Hr 90 million.
About 96.2% of the waste is recycled and reused by the corporation. The remaining 3.8% are recycled by third-party companies or disposed.
“The enhancement of recycling used plastic bottle packaging is an integral part of our sustainable development strategy,” underlines Oleksandr Slobodyan. “That is why our plans include new investments into ecological programs.”
ANNOTATION
Successful recycling practices
Plastic bottle packaging recycling by a beverage manufacturer
Obolon is the first company among Ukraine’s beverage manufacturers that began to use plastic bottles in 1995 and it was the first to recycle plastic bottle waste in 2002.
Obolon’s plastic bottle recycling assets are located in the city of Oleksandriya, Kirovohrad Oblast. The recycling factory has an innovative processing line for the processing of plastic bottle waste. In 2008, the company initiated its second phase. Obolon started to produce final products out of recycled materials – packing tape, boxes, chairs and other plastic goods. About 96.2% of the waste is recycled and reused by the corporation. The overall effect from implementing the plastic bottle waste recycling project includes ecological, economical and social components.
