Green Spirit

FILM AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Responsibility towards our environment is something we take very seriously. Economic and ecological concerns are no contradictions to us. As a family-owned manufacturing company we act with environmental consciousness and take every conceivable measure to minimize environmental impacts.

Our raw material consists of 100 % polyethylene, which is composed of carbon and hydrogen. It is environmentally compatible, groundwater-neutral, corrosion-neutral, non-toxic and can be fully recycled.

Identification of packaging solutions suitable for recycling with consideration for product protection at film manufacturer CORETH in Lower Austria  

The company G.Coreth GmbH was an active partner of “Packloop”, a collaborative project by the Food Cluster of Lower Austria and Upper Austria, supported by the provinces of Lower Austria and Upper Austria. 

The challenge is great: According to EU specifications, all plastic packaging should be recyclable by 2030. There are still many unanswered questions, especially in the area of food packaging. Together with CORETH, the FH Campus Wien and several SMEs, the OFI is looking for answers in the cross-industry and cross-state collaborative project “Packloop”, supported by the Food Cluster of Upper Austria, the Plastics Cluster & the ecoplus Business Agency of Lower Austria.

The aim of this cluster project is to identify tailor-made packaging suitable for recycling for all partners, which represent optimal, future-oriented packaging solutions. These packaging solutions will be considered in regard to their recyclability and their Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), taking product protection into account.

Recycled films are also being evaluated with regard to their use as secondary packaging materials, and possible areas of application for them are being worked out.

The current project results show that the use of post-consumer recyclate in secondary packaging materials such as shrink films for beverage packaging from the project partner CORETH not only results in promising film quality, but can also reduce the carbon footprint. The food safety tests carried out so far, under worst-case conditions, have yielded promising results for indirect product contact, which still need to be verified by further tests and legal clarifications.

However, the significant challenge is the rather limited availability and varying quality levels of PCR & general regenerates!

Here at CORETH, we are putting our energy into being well-equipped for the future. Keyword: CORETH Recycling Center etc.

As such, this project provides a valuable contribution to future developments and implementations in order to meet the challenging targets of the EU Circular Economy Package and the resulting necessary use of recyclates.

Coreth now stacks electrically with Jungheinrich!

We are replacing our diesel forklift fleet with environmentally friendly and high-performance electric forklifts from Jungheinrich, our long-standing partner for forklifts and warehouse systems.

More ecological, accessible and with reduced noise

The vehicles not only offer a better eco-balance, but also lower maintenance requirements and higher accessibility. In addition, they operate remarkably quietly.

And the new electric forklifts run on green energy from our own PV system!

This project is particularly focused on innovation and sustainability.

Installation of a photovoltaic system!

In collaboration with VERBUND Energy4Business GmbH, we have built a 170 kWp photvoltaic system as a self-consumption model in three of our production halls. The production of solar energy is highly advantageous as the PV company model by VERBUND guarantees a risk-free installation without the initial investment costs. All of the energy generated by the sun flows directly into our production cycle. This enables us to save on energy costs and increase our energy independence, reaching our goal of reducing CO2 emissions by up to 13 tons per year.

New environmentally compatible materials!

We have already conducted successful trials in the beverage industry using film made from bio-based LDPE. Compared to conventional man-made LDPE, this LDPE is derived from sugarcane, which is a renewable raw material. This film has a significantly negative carbon footprint due to the CO2 in the sugarcane plant.

Recycling!

We have been operating a recycling plant (supplier EREMA) on our premises for many years to ensure 100 % recycling of all waste materials!

At the end of 2018 we opened our very own recycling centre!

We constructed a recycling hall on our new company site, complete with an entire infrastructure. When it comes to processing film, we have set new standards thanks to the new EREMA “Intarema” recycling system. We can now recycle 1.400 kg of film per hour and will gladly accept requests for contract recycling!
Our recycling department was designed according to the EN15593 certification guidelines for hygienic production environments. This ensures high hygienic standards will be adhered to in the production of recycling material.

Post-Consumer Reclaim

One of our main objectives remains the further development of our products in terms of sustainability.

Along with the use of post-industrial reclaim from our own recycling, the first large-scale tests with post-comsumer reclaim have been very promising.

Meanwhile, film produced from post-consumer reclaim has reached a level of quality which is compatible for use in many applications without the need for major compromises in terms of mechanical and optical properties.

In collaboration with the “Kunststoff-Cluster”, the OFI Technology & Innovation GmbH and the Fraunhofer Society, CORETH is working on various projects with the goal of creating future-oriented solutions for the use of post-consumer reclaim in film packaging.

Energy efficiency and the reduction of CO2 emissions!

As one of the largest company in its division in Austria, Coreth takes on great responsibility for people, the environment and maintaining values. For this reason we are actively thinking about and preparing for the future of energy. Since 2014 we have been combining our “know how” and experiences in energy use with those of other companies into a shared energy efficiency network (ECO-NET).

As part of the ECO-NET network we managed to increase our energy efficiency by 7,7%, while demonstrably reducing our CO2 emissions by 7,9%.

This way we can make a valuable contribution in protecting our energy sources!

Exhaust air purification!

In 2013 we chose to go with a modern and high-performance thermal regenerative air purification system by KBA. This system burns all redundant solvent vapours, 96% of which are recycled and reused in the form of heat.
This exhaust air purification system was commissioned at the same time as the printing press and ensures that all environmental standards are met.

All solvents are automatically purified using the distillation system at OFRU, and are then returned into production.