Stadler is also collaborating with the international consultancy RecycleMe with the aim of determining the recyclability of packaging in a unique alliance along the recycling value chain. Through this partnership, Stadler’s Test and Innovation Centre in Slovenia offers customers of RecycleMe the opportunity to analyse the sorting behaviour of their packaging under current and real-life conditions. "Our cooperation with Stadler allows us to conduct sorting tests under the best conditions, using the latest technology, simulating the sorting process in practice and with representative packaging quantities," says Sabrina Goebel, Managing Director at RecycleMe. "This will enable us to further increase the quality of the results in our recyclability analysis and optimization of packaging."
Plastic food packaging is another area that presents particular challenges for the recycling process because it often consists of multiple layers of different polymers, each contributing a specific functionality to the overall packaging. The strong physical attachment of these layers means that separation to polymer level is not always possible, hindering mechanical recycling. Today, the main valorisation of these multilayer packages is through incineration with energy recovery. Stadler is taking part in a new Flemish project, Multi2Recycle (coordinated by Pack4Food), to evaluate the recyclability of multilayer flexible food packaging materials in function of their composition and the resulting shelf life of food products. Value chain thinking is central to the Multi2Recycle project.
Stadler’s wide-ranging approach to the global plastic waste issue extends beyond the established waste collection channels. In November 2023, it started a collaboration with everwave, the German start-up with the mission of combating plastic waste in rivers and oceans. The aim is to combine Stadler’s solutions in plant engineering with everwave’s holistic approach to protecting the environment from waste with a focus on emerging and developing countries. In this collaboration, Stadler will develop and test a flexible solution for a mobile sorting container in order to set up a low-threshold infrastructure for waste management.
Developing the experts of the future
Working with universities and schools is also important for Stadler, not only as an accelerator of innovation but also as a contribution to developing the experts of the future. These initiatives take different forms – from delivering lectures and seminars to creating practical and engaging learning experiences.
Stadler collaborates with several schools in Altshausen, where the company is headquartered. Willi Stadler explains: “Initiatives such as our new “Wissensfabrik” – The Knowledge Factory – joint project with the Herzog-Philipp-Verbandsschule elementary and middle school enable us to give children and young people an understanding of STEM professions. The majority of our apprentices come from these local schools, and the children of today are our experts of tomorrow. That’s why it is so important that we support the local and regional schools. The environmental problems and challenges must be approached in a future-oriented way and that is how we at Stadler act in everything we do.”
Another example of educational collaborations is the Stadler Summer School. The first edition was held at the company’s Test and Innovation Centre in Slovenia in September 2023 in partnership with Lindner Recyclingtech, Tomra Recycling and Steinert. During the 5-day session, the 15 participating students, coming from 7 universities, had the opportunity to independently set up and operate a complete process chain to convert the input material into appropriate product fractions. “The students’ and our partners' commitment to innovation in sorting technology, resource efficiency and recycling equipment made this program exceptional,” comments Willi Stadler.
A holistic approach to contributing towards the circular economy
Stadler’s wide-ranging collaborations stem from its holistic view of the roadmap to the circular economy, which it believes requires the active participation and coordination of the different players in the recycling chain.
“As 2023 comes to an end and I look back at what we have achieved, I am proud of the work that Stadler has done in collaboration with so many great partners and institutions. I want to thank them all for giving us the opportunity to be a part of all these projects and work together to make the circular economy a reality,” concludes Willi Stadler.
