Closing the loop on cardboard packaging with Koen Pack
Please note this article was written in 2021. Our Recycling offering is currently no longer available in the Netherlands.
We’re helping Koen Pack specialist supplier of flower and plant packaging to close the loop on their cardboard recycling and deliver on their sustainability vision.
In short
DS Smith supplies Koen Pack with packaging for flower and plants that are sold all over the world. Now, by working with our Recycling Division, Koen Pack becomes part of a fully auditable and traceable closed-loop model that turns 100% of Koen Pack’s cardboard recycling in the Netherlands back into new boxes.
By partnering with DS Smith we’re using our cardboard waste as the raw material for new boxes, preserving natural resources and reducing CO2. This solution helps to meet our vision to turn 100% of our waste into new products
Robert Kooyman
KAM-Coordinator at Koen Pack
About Koen Pack
Established in 1996, Koen Pack is a specialist in flower and plant packaging. Every day flowers and plants are sent all over the world using their boxes which, in the Netherlands, are manufactured by our Packaging division. Like DS Smith, Koen Pack recognises the need to build a more sustainable world and better waste management plays the part in delivering it.
The challenge
To turn 100% of Koen Pack’s cardboard recycling into new boxes.
Koen Pack joins DS Smith’s closed-loop recycling model for its Dutch operations where their cardboard waste is collected, recycled and then used again to make new boxes. In order to achieve this, we needed to establish collaboration in all areas of their supply chain.
We’re committed to closed-loop solutions and making all our packaging recyclable or reusable by 2023. Thanks to our partnership with Nijssen Recycling we recycle 100% of Koen Pack’s cardboard recycling and keep materials in the supply chain for longer.
Stephanie Dalton
Innovation Manager at DS Smith Recycling
Our solution
Our circular business model ensures that cardboard waste collected from our customers can be processed for recycling, made into new paper and, converted back into corrugated cardboard packaging - all within 14 days.
In order to optimise transport efficiency, we collaborated with a trusted local recycling partner, Nijssen Recycling. Under our fully auditable and traceable solution, Nijssen Recycling collects cardboard recycling from Koen Pack’s plant in Amstelveen and bales it. We then collect bales from Nijssen as part of our regular weekly collection. These are taken to our De Hoop paper mill and used to make recycled brown liners. The liners are then manufactured into new boxes.
Benefits
Koen Pack becomes part of a closed-loop recycling system. Materials are kept in use for as long as possible, reducing the need for virgin materials and ultimately limiting the excessive consumption of natural resources.
By developing the right sustainability strategy, Koen Pack is recycling fibre and keeping thousands of tonnes of packaging in the supply cycle per year
By partnering with Nijssen Recycling we’re providing an efficient solution within a specific local market that cuts costs and unnecessary road miles
We’re delighted to partner with Koen Pack to provide a local solution that keeps valuable resources in use and supports them with their sustainability targets too.
Bert Janssen
Commercial Manager at DS Smith Recycling Benelux
1DS Smith and Ipsos MORI Sustainable packaging report November 2020
Please note this article was written in 2021. Our Recycling offering is currently no longer available in the Netherlands.
