Die REMONDIS-Welt der Nachhaltigkeit
REMONDIS' World of Sustainability
De REMONDIS-wereld van de duurzaamheid
The whole notion of sustainability will be a lost cause unless we take action here and now to conserve our planet's natural resources. Future generations and today's developing countries will only be able to enjoy prosperous lives if steps are taken right now to counteract the growing shortages of raw materials. For us – being one of the world's leading recycling, service and water companies – there can be only one goal: to tackle this problem and lead by example. Why not join us on this path?!
Everyone agrees that global warming must be limited to 2°C – or preferably 1.5°C – if we wish to prevent our ecosystem from being irreparably damaged. Large areas of woodland in Germany are dying as the country suffers ever longer periods of drought. Pussyfooting around is not going to stop climate change. Some major action needs to be taken. And not just switching from fossil fuels to renewables but from virgin to recycled raw materials as well. We are showing how this can be done.
The Lippe Plant in Lünen is not only a high tech site, it is also an important project for combatting global warming. The various activities carried out at the site help to cut carbon emissions by 488,000t every single year. For a forest to have the same effect, it would need to contain 37 million trees. Certainly a lovely place to take a walk in but perhaps not an ideal place for creating 1,400 jobs.
People searching for an argument in favour of plastics recycling need look no further than at our seas and oceans. Vast areas of waste are floating around in them and are so big that they can even be seen from space. This problem, however, can only be solved on Earth – with more responsible consumer behaviour and systematic plastics recycling.
Talking the talk but not walking the walk? Not at REMONDIS. It goes without saying that our all-encompassing view of sustainability also includes us being sustainable ourselves. This covers all aspects of our business – from the energy efficiency levels of our head office buildings, all the way through to ensuring that all our locations adhere to our high social standards, no matter where in the world they may be.
Every company tries to make a profit. And things are no different at REMONDIS either. For us, however, money is always a means to a good end – which is why a large part of the profits we make is invested in developing new and innovative recycling processes and technologies. Helping to preserve our planet’s valuable natural resources.
Sustainability is not a state or a condition but an ongoing process. First and foremost, sustainability is team work. Which is why we cooperate closely with experts and research institutes that also feel strongly about conserving our planet’s natural resources and preventing climate change. Such work always leads to new approaches and innovations.
Wherever we see an opportunity to drive forward the notion of sustainability and to fix it even more firmly in the minds of people, then we are there, full of passion and enthusiasm for the cause. This covers a whole range of activities – from educational projects, to acting as advisers, to supporting universities.
Everyone is talking about the scarcity of raw materials and about sustainability. But what exactly is behind it all? We decided to do some research to find out what it’s all about – so that we could put together some pages with the most important background information for you to read.
The whole concept of sustainability may, in itself, be timeless. The following statement is true, however, when it is applied to our everyday lives: the latest product developments can only help us conserve our planet's natural resources, if the recycling sector – and the technology it uses – progresses at the same rate. We participate in a whole range of different research projects, making the very most of our know-how to ensure this happens. At the heart of all these projects is the idea that products, which aim to grow sustainability, would be far more effective if they were able to be efficiently recycled. Or put in other words: any energy saved by using complex composite insulation systems is worth only half its value if the materials impact negatively on the environment once they have been discarded.
A collection scheme for wind turbines? Why not. REMONDIS already provides the services needed to ensure they can be recycled efficiently.
We have been collaborating with a number of partners from the worlds of industry and science for several years now to take a closer look at an aspect of recycling that will become more and more important as we move into the future. With the use of fibre-reinforced composites increasing all the time, this project has been concentrating on finding ways to process and recycle these materials so that they can be reused. We have chosen to focus the attention of our research and development work on the automobile industry as it is so dependent on carbon fibre reinforced polymers (CFRPs) for building lightweight vehicles. Indeed, it is hard to find another sector that is so reliant on CFRPs. One of the car industry’s top priorities is to further reduce the weight of its vehicles as it moves towards e-mobility. The problem: the EU Directive on end-of-life vehicles stipulates that at least 95% of the total weight of a car must be recycled or reused. Vehicle manufacturers are, therefore, keen to recover, recycle and return as many of the CRFP components to production cycles as possible. With the mix of material being so complex, this is not going to be an easy task. And this is precisely where the ReLei project comes into play – a project that, with REMONDIS’ help, is looking to develop a production and recycling strategy for electromobility to enable lightweight components in fibre-reinforced composite hybrid structures to be recycled for reuse.
ReLei is being supported as a joint project* by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and was officially named an “electromobility lighthouse project” back in 2015
With fibre-reinforced composites being so complex, it is essential that all those involved collaborate to enable these materials to be recycled for reuse. An integral concept must be created that takes all activities into account – production processes, material preparation work and dismantling and binding technology – and, of course, the concept must be implemented. The complete life cycle of the materials and products must be taken into consideration. And this is precisely what we and our partners have been doing with the ReLei project. To be able to show how this might be done, the project focused on just one object: the rear shelf of a car. We chose this specific product used by the automobile industry as it is made up of a combination of very different composite materials making it extremely difficult to recycle.
Find out more about the ReLei research project (German only) at plattform-forel.de/relei/
The results of this joint project are something to be proud of. The partners succeeded in recovering and separating all the different materials – from metals, all the way through to the various kinds of plastic. Several screening systems were needed in some cases to separate the plastics from each other. And it was most certainly well worth the effort. The dismantling and treatment process created a number of different materials that could be returned to production cycles straight away, including recycled non-woven fabric as well as recycled plastics suitable for injection moulding.
ReLei is just one of many excellent sustainability projects being carried out by REMONDIS. Discover more in our chapter on awards
The different project areas and the participants responsible for this particular R&D work (Source / graphic: ILK, TU Dresden)
We have been working together with the University of Applied Sciences in Münster, carrying out pilot tests to see how the different materials in composite insulation boards can be separated from each other and recycled. Initial trial runs have already been performed at a construction waste sorting plant in the German town of Mettmann. Yes, even conventional sorting plants such as this one can recover individual components without having to make any specific changes. However, further adjustments are going to have to be made to enable the materials to be separated better from each other so they can be recycled for re-use.
We are currently carrying out a number of test programmes to find out how certain adjustments may produce better results – for example by altering the existing parameters (such as extending the time the material is in the mechanical systems), adding extra retention facilities or using completely new processes.
Renewable energy products are creating new recycling challenges – composite insulation boards are just one example
That research is well worth its while can clearly be seen by the work we carry out in Olpe (a town in the Sauerland region) each and every day. It was here that REMONDIS pooled together its extensive know-how to set up a centre for processing obsolete wind turbines. There are two main challenges to recycling these turbines: their size and the composition of their material. By the time the blades have reached the end of our recycling processes, they have been broken down into their individual parts and are an ideal material for cement works. The wood and resin contents can be used as fuel. The silicate in the glass fibre is perfect for cancelling out any deficits in the source material used by cement works, as their stone material generally has a low silicon content.
If you are looking for long-term commitment, then you need look no further than at the research collaboration work between our subsidiary EURAWASSER Nord and the University of Rostock. One of the objectives of this project is to develop and implement new water processing technologies. In 2015, for example, a project was launched at the central sewage treatment plant in Rostock to monitor the plant's capacity and optimise the process used to dewater the primary sludge. Moreover, we have been funding a professorship for water management at the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences since 2011.
What is particularly pleasing to see is that our ongoing commitment, which began back in 1994, is being praised beyond the walls of the university. 'Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wirtschaft', a joint initiative started by companies and foundations, presented us with an award in 2014 and 2015 in recognition of our research activities.
The microbial fuel cell project was presented with the German Sustainability Award [Deutsche Nachhaltigkeitspreis] in 2018
We have been collaborating with our project partner Clausthaler Umwelttechnik Forschungszentrum (CUTEC) and a number of other institutions since 2014. Together, we have been looking at how environmentally friendly energy can be produced using a microbial fuel cell. All this is being done as part of the (DEMO-)BioBZ projects, which are being sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The aim of the projects is to develop systems which enable wastewater treatment facilities to contribute towards Germany's efforts to switch from fossil fuels to renewables. Our primary contribution here, therefore, is our extensive know-how and expertise in the area of municipal wastewater treatment. At the heart of this project is the idea of having microorganisms act as biocatalysts. This should lead to electricity being generated as a result of the organic substances in the wastewater being biologically broken down. Those taking part in the project have, therefore, been given the task of developing a microbial fuel cell that can be brought to market. And we have got quite a bit closer to this goal over the last few years. The project is to be continued on a much larger scale now that the pilot plant trial phase has been successfully completed. An industrial-scale operational phase will begin as soon as the new plant has been built. This phase is due to run until the end of 2024, during which time the process will also be further optimised.
At the end of 2015, we completed an extremely interesting research project in South Africa – a project that looked into integrated water resource management and involved us cooperating with partners from the world of science in an advisory capacity. One of the milestones of this project is to create suitable structures so that high quality water facilities can be operated that are both economically viable and environmentally friendly. The medium to long-term aim here is to maximise the value added within the water sector. For this to succeed, the country not only needs to import know-how and technology. An important issue here is to get local people and businesses involved so that they feel closely connected to the project. Besides this work, the research team is also examining the whole of the hydrological cycle. The findings should then be used to optimise the so-called water value flow so that the greatest socio-economic benefits can be achieved. First in the Middle Olifants region – and then adapted so it can be implemented in other developing countries around the world.
Being one of the world’s leading recycling, service and water businesses with over 30,000 employees, everything we do revolves around sustainability. We ensure that the environment is protected and that natural resources are conserved in over 30 countries across four continents.
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