Issue 2 March 2013

Repak Update

Prevent & Save

Upcoming events

SMILE invite you to a free business event that encourages the sharing and exchanging of resources in order to reduce costs and help the environment.

The Energy Show 2013 is a business-only flagship event for professionals in the energy sector and has been presented by the SEAI since 1996.

You can discover a world of smart energy solutions at this trade exhibition. This annual two-day show brings together up to 200 exhibitors showcasing the latest sustainable energy technologies on the market from leading suppliers from Ireland and Europe and features an electric vehicle pavilion displaying the latest vehicles suitable for commercial or fleet users. A range of other events are set to make the Energy Show 2013 the best yet.

For more information about the show click here.

April 10th & 11th - energy show 2013

Venue: RDS Main Hall, Ballsbridge, Dublin

Dates: Wed 10th April, 10:00 - 18:00 Thur 11th April, 10:00 - 18:00

Attendance to the exhibition is free.

April 25th - sMile event

The SMILE concept is not limited to reusable items, by-products or surplus materials, but can also be applied to logistics, services or skill share. Examples of items and products which may be on offer include plastics, timber, cardboard, paper, pallets, etc. All items are offered for free or below market value.

SMILE Resource Exchange events are open to all sectors and those attending events should either be seeking or offering resources or items.

SMILE events are free to attend but registration is essential as places are limited.

SMILE Resource Exchange is a network of businesses that reuse each other’s surplus products, by-products and reusable items in order to save money and help the environment by diverting waste from landfill. SMILE stands for Saving Money through Industry Links & Exchanges.

Venue: Tallaght Stadium, Dublin 24

Date: Thur 25th April, 09.00 - 13:00

tenth AnnuAl csr AwArds lAunched

eircoM energy & recycling AwAreness dAy

Repak membeRship news

Repak have been participating in eircom energy and recycling awareness days in their buildings throughout Ireland.

This ties in with eircom’s SURe campaign, which is designed and run by Green Aware. This is a company wide initiative, which is aimed at making the company more resource efficient through good staff practice. The three pillars of the SURe campaign are:

• Switch off

• Unplug

• Recycle

where and when possible on all eircom sites.

Repak became involved to lend their support to the recycle element of this campaign. eircom have funded the design and construction of specially dedicated staff recycling bins, which will now be roling out on all sites owned by the company. The bins allow for the easy segregation of waste at source, which saves on recovery operator fees and encourages staff to bring their recycling habits from home to the workplace.

Staff increase their knowledge and awareness of on-site recycling through quizzes and games.

At the same time, Green Aware are working with staff and management to complete

energy audits on all sites. This augments the switch off and unplug elements of the campaign. The results of the audits are diseminated to managers at each site, in order to ensure that eircom are using their resources as efficiently as possible.

For more information visit the Green Aware site.

Chambers Ireland has announced that nominations for the 2013 Corporate Social

Responsibility Awards are now open.

The Awards were established in 2004 to recognise the work being carried out by Irish and multinational companies to improve the lives of their employees and to enhance the civic environment in which they operate.

Now in their tenth year, the 2013 Awards were launched on Thursday 7th March by Aidan Cotter, CEO, Bord Bia, in association with the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government, partnered by Business in the Community Ireland and sponsored by BAM.

The launch was hosted by O2, winner of last year’s award for Outstanding Achievement in CSR.

Award categories include:

• Excellence in Environment

• Community

• Workplace

• Marketplace

• International CSR

• CSR Communication

• Best SME

• Outstanding Achievement in CSR

Past winners:

2011 Microsoft Outstanding Achievement in CSR for their sustained commitment to CSR.

2012 Croke Park Excellence in Environment for their “Greener. On and off the pitch” initiative which showed its commitment to innovation and best practice to maintain its position as a world leader in venue sustainability.

For further information relating to the Awards or to apply - Click Here

The closing date for nominations is Thursday 25th April 2013.

The Green Aware ‘Watt Challenge’

Travel website TripAdvisor has announced that it is accepting applications from U.S. hotels to be considered for it’s soon-to-be

launched TripAdvisor GreenLeaders program. The company is planning to roll out the initiative to other territories in due course.

Created in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR program, the United Nations Environment Programme and the U.S. Green Building Council, the program will recognize eco-friendly properties and help travelers plan greener trips.

Large hospitality companies including Best Western, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts and Select Registry, as well as independent hotels, are participating in the program.

All properties qualifying for the TripAdvisor GreenLeader program must have a basic set of green practices in place, including:

• Tracking energy use on a regular basis

• Using at least 75% energy-efficient light bulbs

• Having current and active towel and linen re-use plans in place

• Recycling at least two types of waste

• Staff training on green practices

• Guest education on green practices

Other criteria relating to energy, water, purchasing and waste will also factor into a hotel’s GreenLeader level.

For more information visit green.tripadvisor.com

Currently Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) fish boxes are the number one means of transferring fish from shore to store due to their superior insulation properties. However, most of these boxes are intended only for single-use which in turn causes lots of packaging waste.

These fishboxes are then usually sent to landfill due to their bulk. However, for those companies who use a lot of EPS there is a range of compacting equipment available on the market. This process compresses the EPS material down to 5% of its original size, thereby leading to reduced transport costs and providing a real value for the material.

tripAdvisor proMote eco-friendly hotels

Addressing wAste expAnded polystyrene (eps)

Repak membeRship news

Meanwhile, in other parts of the World reusable HDPE boxes are in common usage. For example, in Denmark ‘Pack and Sea’ operate a reusable loop for fishboxes in a way similar to the CHEP pallet pool commonly in use in Ireland.

As a result, Repak and BIM are working together to explore the reuse options available for the Irish Seafood industry, so if your company has any thoughts or comments on this process please contact us and we can include in our research. It is intended to publish a report later in the year with our findings.

Click on the image below for examples of these compactors in use.

In Ireland Rehab Recycle have been collecting EPS in the Dublin area for the past number of years. Next month they will open a new facility in Cork which will be also accepting EPS. See the ‘Cork Eco Village’ article later in the newsletter for more details.

F.S. Gross APS Polystyrene Compactor Model EPS900

packaging developmentsepA reports further iMproveMents in recycling

Waste figures released on Tuesday, 26th March by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) show that Ireland has achieved a packaging recovery rate of 79% in 2011, easily surpassing the 2011 EU target of 60%. This reflects an increase from 74% in 2010.

Much of this significant increase in packaging recovery is as a direct result of Repak member’s efforts to support the Waste Management hierarchy by improving material reduction and reuse in packaging design and by increasing recycling through Repak membership.

The EPA report also shows that Ireland’s municipal solid waste generation has decreased by 17% since it peaked in 2007. This trend affirms the PMCA report on ‘The quality and value of savings by Repak members’ which was released with the support of Repak last October.

Ireland now produces less household waste per capita than the EU average and is recycling 40% of its municipal waste. Indeed the national packaging recycling rate of 71% is hugely responsible for the increased overall municipal waste rate.

The main findings of the report showed that in 2011:• Ireland has surpassed the 2011 EU packaging recovery target of 60%, with a 79% recovery rate

in 2011, an increase from 74% in 2010. • The packaging recycling rate of 71% (increased from 66% in 2010) is well in excess of the 55%

target.• Municipal solid waste generation in Ireland has decreased by 17% since it peaked in 2007.• The recycling rate for municipal waste is now equivalent to the EU norms, at (40%).• There was a 5% increase in municipal waste recovery since 2010, to 47%.

All this data helps illustrate the essential contribution Repak members make towards attaining the National targets set out by the EU. Endorsing this crucial role Dr Jonathan Derham, EPA said: “Ireland is well advanced towards achievement of all of its EU obligations across a broad range of waste legislation, in particular in relation to recovery and recycling. In fact, a recent European Environment Agency report showed that Ireland was one of the countries in Europe with the fastest growing recycling rates. We have to decouple waste generation from economic growth through ensuring that waste prevention and resource efficiency remains at the core of targeted national policy and measures, so that when economic recovery happens there is not an associated increase in waste to be managed.” The National Waste Report 2011 is available on the EPA website.

Packaging Recovery Trends 2001 - 2011

Repak membeR news

Repak are delighted to announce details of the 2013 Repak Recycling Awards. Expressions of interest are invited for the various categories by filling out this very brief form.

The closing date for application is May 3rd and the Awards themselves will be presented in conjunction with the Member’s Conference in early October.

If you have any question please contact us by email or by phone on 01 4619 229.

repAk recycling AwArds 2013

Repak Recycling Awards Categories:

• Member Of The Year

• Best Packaging Prevention Initiative

• Best Practice - Hospitality

• Best Practice - Retailer

• Best Sustainable Packaging Design

Rehab Recycling, in conjunction with SMILE, are set to officially launch Cork’s First Eco Village at 12pm on Thursday 11th April.

The Eco Village is a business-to-business recycling, reuse and waste compound for local Cork companies. The aim of the Eco Village is to give businesses access to a one stop, low cost, reuse, recycling and waste disposal option where Glass, Paper, Cardboard, Metals, Timber and WEEE are among the products that will be accepted.

Rehab Recycling will be hosting a tour of the new facility in Monahan Road, Cork City. To hear more about this opportunity and how to get involved come along to the Eco Village on 11 April at 12pm.

If you would like to attend the launch of Cork’s first Eco Village please contact Aidan Geary on 087 989 0686 or email aidan.geary@rehabrecycle.ie

cork eco villAge set to lAunch

The third phase of the voluntary waste reduction agreement for the grocery sector, the Courtauld Commitment, is set to be launched this Spring and will include targets for 2013-15.

The new agreement will be based on the targets set out in Courtauld Commitment 2 – covering packaging, food and supply chain waste – and will focus on areas of significant environmental impact.

A spokeswoman for WRAP stated “Courtauld 3 will tackle areas with significant environmental impact. The targets will be announced in Spring 2013 when the new commitment is launched.”

Phase 2, launched in March 2010, ran from 2010 to 2012 and required signatories to reduce food and drink waste by 4%; reduce grocery product and packaging supply chain waste by 5% and reduce the carbon impact of grocery packaging by 10%.

A 1kg reclosable polypropylene plastic bottle introduced by Heinz for its Heinz Beanz product under Courtauld. Developed to help consumers eat as much or as little as they like, the bottle has a see-through portion control guide on the side.

For more information visit Letsrecycle.com

cortAuld 3 to lAunch this spring

Repak Ltd.Red Cow Interchange Estate1 Ballymount Rd.ClondalkinDublin 22

www.repak.iewww.preventandsave.iewww.recyclemore.ie

membershipservices@repak.ie01 4670190