German drugstore chain dm is currently trialling a system for taking back packaging in selected German stores. The company states that it wishes to determine whether customers will return empty plastic bottles even if they do not have a deposit on them. This would for example apply to primary packaging for shampoos and detergents. Around 150 dm stores in the Karlsruhe and Munich areas are taking part in the one-year test phase, which started at the beginning of October.

Return via Familiar Recycling Bins

The recycling bins in the checkout area of stores throughout the test regions are provided with special compartments. Customers can return plastic bottles purchased both in-store and online from dm. The returned bottles are transported to a nearby recycling plant using the existing logistics network, according to the company. There they are weighed, processed into recyclate and reprocessed into new plastic bottles for dm brands by a bottle manufacturer.

Suitable Quality Recyclates Still in Short Supply

By using recyclates in its own-brand product packaging, the drugstore chain plans for 90 per cent of its non-food plastic packaging to contain at least 50 per cent recyclate by 2025. Only a small number of recyclates recovered from packaging so far fulfil the qualitative requirements for the production of new packaging. As a result, a packaging return system could represent an additional opportunity to obtain material for new, high-quality packaging, the company hopes.

Source, Photo: dm