Valorlux has revealed the first positive results of its pilot ‘green bag’ project.
Since April 2016, Valorlux has been testing, during a pilot phase, the collection of plastic film and bags in the Valorlux bag. The pilot phase has been carried out in close cooperation with the SIGRE and its member municipalities of Mertert and Stadtbredimus.
During this pilot phase, which lasts aone year, residents are able to add plastic film and bags to other collected packaging, such as plastic bottles and beverage cartons. The project is important for recycling and, above all, this pilot phase allows to test out the recycling of new packaging in order to eventually expand the project to the rest of the country.
The recyclable packaging is collected separately in a green-coloured bag so as to distinguish it from the normal Valorlux daily collections and so to be able to evaluate the impact of the project. Moreover, since the beginning of the project in April, the total weight of collected bags has increased by on average 19.7%.
All of the collected materials are sorted, as with other packaging, then sent to designated recycling factories. The green bag itself is also recycled into used products, for example in the automobile industry.
The residents of the municipalities have welcomed this new system and adhere to it voluntarily. The enlargement of the content of the bag has even had a positive impact in encouraging recycling more accepted packaging.
