Did you know that refrigerators have a secret second life?
Every fridge has a life beyond your kitchen. At least, it does if you take it to a recycling centre at end of life. By recycling your fridge, you are enabling recycled metals, plastics and even glass to be used to build new products such as computers, mobile phones, metal cans ... and even toys. How does this work? Watch this video and see for yourself.
Waste as a resource
Never before has there been as much raw material extraction, product manufacture, consumption and waste as there is today. The extraction and processing of materials is responsible for 70% of all greenhouse gases. Renewi’s role, as a pure-play recycling company, is to slow down the need to extract and process virgin materials by giving new life to used materials. This puts us at the heart of both climate action and resource preservation – at the heart of the circular economy.
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“By embracing and boosting the circular economy, by replacing incineration and landfill with recycling, we can slow down global warming and tackle the threat of climate emergency.” – Otto de Bont, CEO Renewi |
Waste is a raw material, a resource that deserves a (secret) second life.
Secret? Not any longer if we share it with you! Second? Oh yes!
Recycling is the engine of a circular economy. It is important we consider waste a resource. By turning waste into new products, we can turn today’s discarded materials into tomorrow’s resources.
Today Renewi has an industry leading recycling rate of 65.8%. We have committed to raise this to 75% by 2025 which will see us divert an additional 1.3 million tonnes (above today’s 8 million tonnes) away from incineration or landfill. This is done by giving it a second life.
Some of our secrets revealed
From waste to toys
A fridge is full of valuable materials, 98% of which can be recycled. These materials can give life to sustainable toys such as ROCKEEES: a fully sustainable gravity game.
Once delivered to Renewi, the fridges are dismantled by Coolrec, a subsidiary of Renewi. This includes removal and destruction of environmentally impactful gasses, shredding and separation of plastic materials into different types and enhancing purity through the use of an electrostatic separator. High quality plastics are then sorted and converted into a granulate with a customised composition. These granulates are injected into ROCKEEES - 100% recycled stones, that boast 17 balancing points for endless play and amusement. Other raw materials – including metals and colourants - are released into alternative fractions.
From waste to sustainable fuel
Bio-LNG: Renewi, Nordsoland Shell teaming up
Renewi, Nordsol and Shell have formed a strategic partnership to jointly produce bio-LNG - sustainable fuel for long haul transport. This collaboration aims to contribute to the circular economy and complete the cycle by transitioning organic waste into fuel.
- 80% Lower greenhouse gas emissions created by bio-LNG compared to diesel
- 60% Level of methane within the biogas that Nordsol will convert into bio-LNG
From waste to essential oils and cleaning agent
The Netherlands produces around 250 million kilos of citrus peels per year. They are mainly orange peels. PeelPioneers is the first company in the world that processes the components of citrus peels into valuable new raw materials, such as cellulose and pectin, thereby providing a 100% circular solution for the flow of citrus peels that remain after making fresh juice. Renewi has affiliated to PeelPioneers as a partner.
From waste to new matresses
Last year, we announced our investment, together with IKEA Group, in Dutch mattress recycler RetourMatras, which opened a new recycling plant in Zeeland. Over the course of the year, one million Renewi-sourced mattresses were saved from the incinerator in the Netherlands through automated processes, and around 90% of the materials were recycled or reused.
- 90% Of mattress materials now recycled and reused in the Netherlands
- 1.5 million Expected number of Dutch and Belgian mattresses that will be recycled
- 200,000 Number of mattresses it will be possible to convert into polyol per year
Renewi brings so much more to a second life and is constantly partnering up to find innovative ways to bring new life to hard-to-recycle waste streams. Keen to find out more about what is possible? Get in touch.
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