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“A reusable cup made of recycled material that prevents waste.”

Millions of people pass through train stations each year, which means that a lot of waste is produced at stations, platforms and trains when travelling. This waste is largely comparable to household waste. In this pilot, NS Stations B.V. and various parties are investigating the options of processing this waste into an acceptable raw material for a reusable To Go cup.

IRENE OVERWEEL, PROJECT MANAGER AT NS STATIONS B.V.:

Make sure that you’re properly informed about the applicable laws and regulations regarding recyclates for applications in food.

Pilot results Within its own station offices, NS Stations B.V. has succeeded in setting up a mono stream suitable to be processed as a raw material. That was much more difficult outside the station offices.

Currently, only paper and residual waste are collected separately at stations. A mono stream for used coffee cups does not yet exist, but is needed for a To Gocup that meets all food safety requirements. So far, experience shows that it isalmost impossible to guarantee that post-consumer material does not contain hazardous substances, because the source of post-consumer material is extremely difficult to trace.

As regards the mono stream from its own offices, NS Stations B.V. asked companiesto develop a prototype of a reusable To Go cup. Many beautiful designs were made, but only a few companies came up with something sustainable, until NS Stations B.V. discovered Simply Cups. This company already produces cups from a mix of virgin PP and rPP, entirely from recycled coffee cups and was furthermore able to meet the package of requirements set by Dutch Railways. Since rPP is not allowed to come into contact with food or drink, whereas virgin PP is, the interior of the To Go Cup is made from virgin PP and the exterior from rPP.

With the pilot, a breakthrough has been achieved within Dutch Railways in that coffee cups are now being collected separately at offices and employees will be using the recycled To Go cups. This will reduce the use of cardboard cups with plastic interior.

“

PILOT PARTNERS • NS Stations B.V.

Reusable To Go cup made of disposable coffee cups

PLASTIC TYPES

• PP• COFFEE CUPS

consisting of a mix of cardboard and PE

=The outside of the To Go cupconsists of six used coffee cups

To Go

“

Success factors

• The momentum in the organisation: Dutch Railways has sustainability high on the strategic agenda. In addition, a special steering committee is focusing on this project. The pilot was able to profit from this.

• Availability of a new and dedicated project team that wants to make a difference.

• Joint advancement of multiple disciplines for the same purpose, with each discipline doing what they do best.

End of life

The reusable To Go cup can be recycled at the end of its useful life. Having reached the end of life, the paper can be separated from the mix of PP and paper.

Dilemmas

NS Stations B.V. has underestimated the complexity ofobtaining low-quality plastic waste that meets the guidelinesfor food approval. It is essential to be properly informed. The requirements imposed by laws and regulations (EFSA, European Food Safety Authority) are high: as regards rPP,99 to 100 percent of the material to be recycled must consist of packaging from the food industry. The work must be conducted in a closed and controlled cycle. This can mean that, during a recycling process, the feedstock (the raw material) is physically checked for the presence of non-food packaging. It must also be demonstrated that the material was originally made from a food-gradepolymer in accordance with European laws and regulations.

“rPP and virgin PPin two separate

layers are agolden combination

for food-gradeapplications.”

INSPIRED? NS Stations B.V. Irene Overweel, Project Manager Telephone: +31 6 51 05 40 47 Email: irene.overweel@nsstations.nl Alternatively, visit kunststofhergebruiken.nl

MARKET PERSPECTIVE

• The environment of NS Stations B.V. offers a lot of potential for scaling up: first their own offices, then the trains and stations.

• More impact can be achieved through collaboration with similar companies or large offices (for example, airports or petrol stations).

• The fact that rPP in combination with virgin PP can now be used for a food-grade application offers endless possibilities. A successful project can play an exemplary role and serve as a flywheel for scaling up.

BUSINESS CASE Providing a full business case is not yet possible. It is clear, however, that the realisation of a mono stream for rPP generates additional costs. This involves the separate collection of waste and storing it. On the other hand, the development costs for the cup are low, because the existing prototype of the reusable To Go cup is used. Dutch Railways also saves on disposable cups and less waste needs to be disposed of. NS Stations B.V. expects that it will be able to successfully market the reusable To Go cup in its own kiosks and shops. NS Station B.V. aims to reduce the use of disposable cups with this product by selling the reusable cup in its retail formulas (in combination with a discount on bringing your own cup).

During the initial tests to set up a mono stream within stations, it appeared that the logistics at stations (and shops) took a lot more time and coordination than planned. Processors too needed more time to performtests and provide specifications.

What next?

NS Stations B.V. will start using the reusable To Go cup in its own office environment first. This environment is manageable and easy to instruct. Dutch Railways then wants to scale up to reuse consumer waste from the trains and stations. The following steps are explored in this process: • further exploration of post-separation of rPP via Attero; • examining whether the rPP obtained from station waste is suitable for use in the reusable To Go cup; • investigating the costs of purchasing rPP if sufficient supply from internal locations is not possible; • setting up the logistics stream for the clean collection of coffee cups in the office; • organising the supply of raw material from the waste processor to Simply Cups; • in addition to the To Go cup, non-food applications are also taken into consideration.

The Plastic Packaging Waste as Raw Material (KVG) programme encourages the use of household plastic packaging waste in products. By better matching supply and demand of recycled plastics, we will reduce the use of plastics. This will bring us closer to a circular economy. The programme focuses on two pillars: purchasing and innovation.

The programme was implemented by the Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management and the Knowledge Institute for Sustainable Packaging (KIDV) and financed by Stichting Afvalfonds.