Mondi, Werner & Mertz partner on fully recyclable, award-winning StripPouch that supports a circular economy
Leading global packaging and paper group Mondi’s four-year effort with a customer –– German cleaning products maker Werner & Mertz GmbH –– to develop a fully recyclable, flexible, stand-up pouch for W&M’s Frosch-brand laundry detergent is paying dividends. The project applied Cradle to Cradle ® (or C2C) principles to assess every aspect of the product, from design to optimal end-of-life options, to close the packaging loop.
The resulting product, called StripPouch, recently earned certification from two independent bodies for being 100% recyclable, and has been honoured with several industry awards. The product’s first commercial application of Werner & Mertz’s Frosch-brand liquid detergents, is anticipated to be on store shelves by the end of this year.
”Werner & Mertz gave us a challenge to come up with a fully recyclable packaging solution. We embraced this and by applying our EcoSolutions approach, we have both met the challenge and been recognised for our industry effort. Now, applying the knowledge gained from developing StripPouch, others also stand to benefit from Mondi’s approach to being sustainable by design.” Jens Kösters, manager of technical services for Mondi Consumer Goods Packaging.
The two independent bodies who have certified that the pouch is 100% recyclable are:
The institut cyclos-HTP (the Institute for Recyclability and Product Responsibility) and Cologne-based environmental services company Interseroh, with the StripPouch being deemed to be a “fully optimised sustainable design.”
Industry recognition
StripPouch, has also won the following awards:
- Austrian magazine Kompack has recognised the StripPouch with its Kompack Green Packaging Star Award ® .
- The Deutsches Verpackungsinstitut e.V. (DVI) named the package a winner in the Sustainability category of its 2019 competition.
- Dow also has honoured StripPouch as a Diamond Finalist as well as with a unique collaboration honorable mention in its 2019 Packaging Innovation Award.
Mondi aims to be sustainable by design, and lives by the mantra: “Paper where possible, plastic when useful.” To facilitate this, it has implemented EcoSolutions –– a customer-centric approach to partnering with clients to deliver on their sustainability goals. This approach empowers Mondi’s partners to meet their commitments through three actions: replace, reduce and recycle.
The StripPouch project with Werner & Mertz is an ideal example of specifically designing for recycling purposes. DVI stated: “This bag impressively demonstrates what can already be achieved today with a consistent recycling approach to design.”
Mondi commissioned sustainability services firm Quantis to conduct a comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) of the StripPouch that holds 2 litres of detergent. Quantis conluded that the StripPouch is the best option in comparison to a PET/PE pouch or rigid HDPE bottle regarding carbon footprint. It can save up to 70% of CO 2 emissions compared to the HDPE bottle. The 100% recycling potential, meanwhile, helps to decrease even more of its CO 2 emissions compared to the PET/PE pouch, the study concluded.
Quantis examined the global warming potential (GWP, expressed in kg CO 2 eq), which analyses the impacts on climate change due to emissions of greenhouse gases. The StripPouch’s potential is 61 kg CO 2 eq, compared to 105 kg CO 2 eq for a PET/PE pouch, and 197 kg CO 2 eq for a HDPE rigid bottle. Its research further determined that StripPouch production consumed about 80% of the water needed to make a similar PET/PE pouch, and just 40% of the water needed to produce an HDPE rigid bottle.
Contact:
Judith Wronn, Senior Communications Manager, Mondi Consumer Packaging
Tel: +49 151 17714692
Email: Judith.Wronn@mondigroup.com
Werner & Mertz
For more than 150 years from its site in Mainz, Werner & Mertz GmbH has become established in the European market as an innovative company with its trusted brands Frosch, emsal and green care Professional. Its commitment to Mainz and innovative spirit are the foundation for the novel ideas the company puts into products and initiatives time and again.
Werner & Mertz operates EMAS-validated production sites in Mainz and Hallein, Austria. The products manufactured there are delivered by seven sales companies to many European countries and by the Export department to places around the world. Werner & Mertz GmbH currently has more than 1000 employees.
The company with the frog follows environmentally-friendly business practices as it pursues the goal of making a sustainable lifestyle achievable for the majority. With the Frosch Initiative and select project partnerships, Werner & Mertz paves the way to groundbreaking sustainable solutions beyond its own industry.
About Mondi
Mondi is a global leader in packaging and paper, delighting its customers and consumers with innovative packaging and paper solutions that are sustainable by design. Our business is fully integrated across the packaging and paper value chain – from managing forests and producing pulp, paper and plastic films, to developing and manufacturing effective industrial and consumer packaging solutions. Sustainability is embedded in everything we do. In 2018, Mondi had revenues of €7.48 billion and underlying EBITDA of €1.76 billion.
Mondi has a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange (MNDI), and a secondary listing on the JSE Limited (MNP). Mondi is a FTSE 100 constituent, and has been included in the FTSE4Good Index Series since 2008 and the FTSE/JSE Responsible Investment Index Series since 2007.