Our Verzuolo mill in north-west Italy is a world-class recycled containerboard mill providing security of supply for our customer base, with a focus on sustainability, cost efficiencies, and innovation.

The Verzuolo mill embarked on its current reject handling journey in 2021, by initiating a start-up style industrial research project that focuses on a unique and innovative approach. Rejects are the non-fibrous materials that we receive with recovered paper. These often contain plastic, and we wanted to find an alternative way to handle the plastic rejects instead of sending them to landfill. This initiative marked the first trial of its kind in Italy, with the creation of pellets made from recovered waste plastic for upcycling and reuse.

Of the rejects currently generated, 937 tonnes are directed outside of the Verzuolo mill for energy recovery, and 485 tonnes of secondary raw materials are directed to the production of manufactured goods, such as pallets and waterproofing sheaths for the building industry. This is a deliberate move away from conventional landfill and contributes to the circular economy. The key element of this project lies in its treatment of low-density plastics, which are repurposed into black pellets, offering an environmentally friendly, closed loop alternative. At the same time, we gain a higher yield of fibres that are attached to the plastic rejects.

Raffaele Marinucci, General Manager of Smurfit Kappa Verzuolo comments "We are pleased to take a proactive approach and create a new stream for waste management and environmental stewardship. Since last year, this project has already achieved a 29% reduction in waste by recovering low-density plastic from the pulper. This means we are capturing non paper-based materials from within the collected recycled bales and repurposing these rejects."

 

Smurfit Kappa’s aim is to contribute to a world without waste, supporting the concept of circularity. Learn more about our waste commitments.

OUR WASTE COMMITMENTS