Recosys®: a virtuous circle
The recycling program for transfer products “made in Kurz” is full of ideas and makes it possible to close the circle of sustainability. And Luxoro makes itself the spokesperson: green goals also in finishing.
Kurz and Luxoro Srl have been working together on sustainability issues for many years and have taken a number of initiatives (all of which can be documented) to reduce the environmental impact of their activities.
Luxoro, in particular, has implemented the energy transition towards 100% renewable resources; it also provides for the proper disposal of industrial waste and sponsors WWF projects aimed at upgrading and protecting the environment.
A pioneering system with sustainable results
Thanks to Kurz’s innovative RECOSYS® program, as of today, the leftover PET layer at the finishing stage is converted from waste material to RECOPOUND® injection molding raw material through a dedicated system. In combination with the PET recycling system, Kurz also offers the material collection service included in the program.
First in the world, RECOSYS® is therefore a system for recovering and recycling the PET layer that has completed the finishing transfer cycle: in practice, a recycling program for transfer products “made in Kurz” that finally closes the circle of sustainability.
This is a step forward for sustainability and quality finishing, which Kurz is planning to develop further, involving an ever wider number of users.
How does KURZ RECOSYS® work?
First of all, there is no PET in the final decorated product.
At the end of the production process, the customer has to keep the PET discarded from the finishing process; through a dedicated app he communicates to Kurz the amount of material to be collected, so as to organize its collection. From that moment on, the PET left over from the printing process enters the KURZ RECOSYS® program.
Once in house, the PET is optimised to ensure an efficient recycling process. What Kurz provides is a fully integrated and automated PET recovery and recycling system.
To date, the RECO grade is available for cold foil stamping under the name KPS RECO + (plus), with many more variants to be added over time.
As far as participants in the RECOSYS® program are concerned, users within a 1000 km radius of the German production sites will gradually be involved, until they spread globally in proportion to the number of requests. Customers who join the RECOSYS program are not required to use technologies other than the traditional ones, also because RECO products can be processed on the machines already in use, while obtaining a completely recyclable processing waste.
The advantages: transparency, quality and reputation.
Participants in the RECOSYS® program will receive a certificate attesting to their commitment to environmental protection. On the other hand, adopting quality and sustainable products not only allows you to grow in credibility, but offers the knowledge that you are working to ensure a better future for the planet and the generations to come.
The points of sustainability
Reduction (of costs, of transport, of emissions). The Kurz Group is an international company that, by strategic choice, produces locally. The various production sites around the world are in fact at the service of the respective areas of reference, which allows us to optimize logistics management: shorter shipping times, lower costs and drastic reduction of emissions harmful to the environment.
Control of raw materials, ‘green’ and safe production. In terms of material procurement, Kurz has a very restrictive purchasing policy with strict controls on incoming goods. It can therefore guarantee that its products do not contain any volatile halogenated hydrocarbons (which can damage the ozone layer) or heavy metals (cadmium, lead, mercury or hexavalent chromium).
Recyclable and reusable transfer products. Kurz finishing solutions are characterized not only by outstanding print quality and process efficiency, but also by a high degree of recyclability. These are not laminates, metallized papers or laminated board - they are transfer products.
The thickness of the aluminum in a “Kurz effect” is 6,000 times less than that of a hair, so materials decorated with Kurz products are technically recyclable. This is proven by tests carried out by an independent institute authorized to certify the deinking process, in which the company scored 100/100, the highest score.
Applied Kurz products remain separate from the paper fibres, even in the deinking process, without affecting the recycled paper and are suitable for all disposal systems; tests show that even 100% decorated surfaces can be recycled. The compostability of several of Kurz’s flagship products has also recently been certified; in particular, up to 1% mass of the product’s lacquer layer can be applied to a substrate without limiting its compostability in the slightest.
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