Teaming up with Emballego to reduce e-commerce waste

E-commerce has been growing rapidly over the past two decades, and in the three years since the COVID-19 pandemic began this growth has accelerated considerably. The worst days of the pandemic may be behind us, but e-commerce is here to stay.

While there are many benefits to having goods delivered to one’s home, a major downside is packaging waste. Our partners in the industry are urgently searching for solutions to reduce their waste, recycle more, and contribute to the circular economy, and we’ve developed a way to help with all three: AD Circular.

AD Circular is a pioneering program through which we enable the recycling of used PET and glassine label liners in countries across Europe. AD Circular makes recycling easier for converters and brands by providing a one-stop solution; we collect used liners and then work with trusted partners to recycle and transform them into valuable materials for new applications.

One of our newest program partners is Emballego, a French company specialized in co-packing and the preparation and supply of advertising and promotional materials for various companies, handling approximately 8 million lots annually. We spoke with their team about how AD Circular supports their sustainability initiatives and goals.

Teaming up with Emballego to reduce e-commerce waste

What challenge led you to join AD Circular?

As part of our business activities, we put labels on millions of products and/or boxes every year. We therefore generate significant volumes of used liners, and at the time we were not able to recycle them. We are always looking to reduce the volume of waste we generate, so we absolutely wanted to avoid that our used liners would end up in the industrial waste stream.

How does AD Circular answer your challenge?

Through AD Circular, Avery Dennison offered us an adapted solution to our recycling challenge by providing us with collection boxes, grouped collections, and a simple and efficient website for submitting collection requests and tracking our volumes.

Packaged goods at Emballego’s warehouse in France

What is your company's long-term vision for sustainability? How does AD Circular fit in?

Our sustainability vision is twofold:

To continue to reduce the volume of our waste and improve its recyclability
To enable our customers to reduce waste through innovative solutions

Relating to the first point, AD Circular is a key element of our sustainability strategy because used liners make up a significant share of the waste we generate (10%). By recycling them instead of sending them to landfill, we make significant progress on our top sustainability goal.

Relating to the second point, we help our customers reduce waste by offering innovative solutions that help limit the use of plastic:

Replacing shrink-wrapping with stick-on solutions
Replacing film wrapping with 100% cardboard solutions. We have invented a solution that we call folderpack®, which combines a 100% cardboard solution with easy handling and deployment for operators, resistance to transport tests, and a controlled cost.
Reducing plastic film thicknesses

What measurable results have you obtained by using AD Circular?

In 2022, the year we joined the program, almost 7 tons of used glassine liners were collected from our operations. That is equivalent to reducing our CO2 emissions by 13 tons. This year we expect to recycle 13 tons of used liners, and we expect this number to continue to grow in the coming years.

Learn more

If you wish to learn more about the AD Circular program, click here.

Are you a brand owner or converter interested in recycling used paper and filmic label liners? Contact us to learn more about how AD Circular can help and start your free trial period.

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Teaming up with Emballego to reduce e-commerce waste