Collaboration between Carlsberg and Stena Recycling ensures 98% recycling of worn-out refrigerators

af Food Nation

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Refrigerators consist of many materials, among other things aluminium, electronics, CFC-gasses, plastic, glass, rubber and foam. Over time the refrigerators become less energy-efficient and should be replaced by more efficient models.

Sustainability is a part of Carlsberg’s strategy and with the sustainability program Together Towards ZERO, Carlsberg wants to eliminate CO2-emissions from their breweries while also reducing their carbon-footprint within the whole value chain by 30% in 2030. Thereby, Carlsberg is contributing to the Paris-agreement´s ambitious goals of limiting the global temperature increase by 1,5 degrees Celsius.

Productive partnerships are key in reaching company goals

Realisation of high climate ambitions demands partnerships with capacity, technology and skill to ensure a resourced handling of the refrigerators. Therefore, Carlsberg are collaborating with Stena Recycling, who with transparency document sustainable disposal and traceability in the recycling-process.

”We are looking into every detail to reach our 2022-goal of 100% sustainable energy and 50% CO2-reduction at our breweries and the ambition of reducing the CO2-footprint throughout the whole value chain by 30 % before 2030. There is, not least in terms of energy and climate, good sense in replacing the old refrigerators with the new, more reliable and more sustainable refrigerators, and together with Stena Recycling, we now have a good plan for what will happen to the old, inefficient and worn out refrigerators that are disappearing from supermarkets and bars”, says Thomas Hansen, Warehouse Manager, Carlsberg A/S.  

High traceability ensures high quality for recycling

With 80 years of experience, more than 300 Danish employees, 19 departments in Denmark and a strong international network, Stena Recycling have many years’ experience in sustainable handling of all types of materials. Stena Recycling is the largest recycling company in The Nordics and since the collaboration with Carlsberg, Stena Recycling has ensured an environmentally sound handling of the brewery´s worn out refrigerators.

An example of this is seen in an investment by Stena Recycling of more than EUR 97 million in a comprehensive technology center in Halmstad, Sweden, where 96% of the plastic waste from the refrigerators are recycled.

The combination of Stena Recycling’s comprehensive technology investments, innovative approach and decades of material expertise ensures that the materials are included in closed circuits. Thereby the quality is preserved for a large degree of recycling.

“All documents at Stena Recycling, which are audited according to current ISO-standards in this field, are under control. Overall, we experience that the traceability is flawless. This gives us security in that our worn-out refrigerators comes back into the loop, and that we thereby contribute to a more sustainable development also in that area”, says Thomas Hansen.