Metagenics had been looking for a cheaper collector for their reusable pallets and empty plastic drums for quite some time. Through the Upcycle Your Waste project of the Economisch Huis Oostende (BE), they came into contact with The Circle of Packaging. This way, the materials get a new life as second-hand packaging and they themselves save on costs.
The company Metagenics is a global player specialising in food supplements. For some time, they had been looking for a new purpose for their reusable packaging materials. Torsten Kuhn (Metagenics Prevention Advisor): “Our food supplements are sold in small white jars. Sometimes the plastic jars are rejected as packaging for the supplements. They are therefore unused and still perfectly suitable for other applications outside the food sector. The same applies to the coloured plastic drums and pallets. Our raw materials arrive in them, but once empty, we no longer need them. This initiative also fits in perfectly with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that we want to achieve.”
Peter Feys (business manager of The Circle of Packaging) collects the pallets, repairs them and prepares them for resale. “For me it is important that materials that have not yet been depreciated are given a new purpose. I notice that companies are also ready to make this change. Second-hand pallets are also cheaper.”
By sorting and stacking the pallets more efficiently, Metagenics can have them collected free of charge instead of having to pay for them to be processed as waste. This way, their waste containers disappear. So it’s a double cost saving with free collection on the one hand and no need to hire the containers on the other.
Arne Rossel (project coordinator Upcycle Your Waste): “The aim is to link the supply and demand of materials in companies. This is already very common in families and households. Just think of the many platforms such as eBay or Vinted where things are offered for little or no money. Companies should be aware that their waste streams can also be a source of income.”
Are you located in Belgium or in the North of France and do you, like Metagenics, also have plastic or wooden pallets lying around that deserve a second life or are you specifically looking for perfect second-hand pallets or barrels? Then be sure to contact the Economisch Huis oostende at arne.rossel@economischhuis.be.
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