MILAN, Italy – The circular economy enters the vending thanks to the RiVending project, a virtuous cycle to recover and to recycle plastic cups and stirrers for vending machines promoted by CONFIDA – Italian Automatic Distribution Association, COREPLA – National Consortium for Collection and Recovery of Plastic Packaging, UNIONPLAST – National Association of Plastics Transforming Industries.
The project has started to make more sustainable the recycling of plastic cups used in vending machines by creating a “full circle” in compliance with the regulation of European Union, aimed by the perspective of a more efficient circular economy.
“Everyone, always and everywhere is our commitment to maximize the recycling of plastic packaging – says Antonello Ciotti, President of COREPLA-. This project fits well with the many initiatives we are carrying out with targeted actions, in specific sectors, with a view to a true circular economy“.
The leading project, sponsored by the municipality of Parma, has been organized locally by FLO Spa (Fontanellato, Parma), a primary European manufacturer of disposable cups, will be held with the participation of Molinari Buonristoro and GeSA Vending, two major Italian vending operators and with the support of Iren, a private company that manages, in the province of Parma, the integrated waste cycle.
But how will RiVending work? Consumers of vending machines, after having enjoyed their coffee, will be invited to dispose of the plastic cups and stirrers, made of one single type of plastic, into a special box in order to separate them from the other mixed plastic products.
The green bag inside the box will be collected together with the yellow ones (normally used in Parma for the generic plastic packaging) by Iren.
This virtuous way of recovering and recycling cups and stirrers will avoid the selection process of the material and will allow to easily recover plastic of higher quality and value to make new products. The final goal is to recycle the used cups in the making of new cups, thus creating an efficient example of circular economy.
The vending cups and the stirrers are technically containers made exclusively by polystyrene, a material with technical features able to ensure the correct working of the automatic machines. In addition, they are used and disposed on the spot of the distributor – so can be easily recovered and cleaned, because they contain mostly coffee residues that can be eliminated with a simple washing.
Acting this way, it will be easier and cheaper to collect and recycle these cups as compared to what is done today.
“The single-use plastic products of our sector – states Massimo Trapletti, President of CONFIDA – have always been recovered and recycled by the collection of plastics because the locations where we consume our products are 97% closed places (offices, factories, universities, hospitals and public offices). But today we want to go a step further, creating a separate recycling and recycling circuit, a closed circuit that can lead to a complete circular economy in a few years “.
The RiVending pilot project already joined important companies and organizations present in the Parma area and surroundings, including the Municipality of Parma, the University of Parma, the same IREN and Barilla SpA.
Once this pilot phase is completed, the further goal will be to extend RiVending to the entire town of Parma and later to involve also other provinces of the Italian territory.
The project foresees for the future important figures in terms of tons of recycled cups and stirrers.
Figures that can be estimated at the end of the pilot phase, but which already show the value of the project: Italy is actually the leading country in terms of number of vending machines, mainly in industrial environments, followed by private offices, trading companies, as well as schools, universities, hospitals and public offices.
Vending is a sector that in Italy involves over 20 million consumers and employs about 35 thousand people.
