Screw caps turned into highlighters

+++ Production of the STABILO GREEN BOSS highlighter from recycled plastic "Procyclen" saves up to 50 per cent greenhouse gas emissions +++ Material comes from Coca-Cola bottle screw caps +++

Cologne/Berlin. Leading international writing instrument manufacturer STABILO, together with soft drinks producer Coca-Cola and recycling service provider Interseroh, has launched a project to recycle plastics that could set a precedent. For the first time, STABILO is producing a highlighter from Coca-Cola bottle caps. STABILO sells the highlighter, 83 per cent of whose casing is made from the recycled plastic "Procyclen", under the name STABILO GREEN BOSS. The recycled plastic "Procyclen" was developed by INTERSEROH Dienstleistungs GmbH, a subsidiary of the international recycling specialist and raw materials supplier ALBA Group.

The Coca-Cola bottle screw caps are particularly suitable as a starting material for the production of highlighters, as their plastic meets STABILO's special requirements for health safety due to its original authorisation for foodstuffs. Coca-Cola collects the screw caps throughout Germany as a separate recyclable material as part of the processing of its returnable PET bottles for refilling and can therefore make them available for the production of the markers. "For these reasons, it quickly became clear to us that we had found a source of plastic that was perfect for us," says Peter Satzinger, Manager Global Engineering, STABILO International GmbH.

Interseroh produces the multi-award-winning recycled plastic Procyclen from the Coca-Cola closures using its specially developed Recycled-Resource process. "The special thing about Procyclen is that this recycled plastic fulfils all expectations of a high-quality product thanks to its individual recipe and is absolutely equivalent to virgin material based on crude oil. But with a significantly better raw material, energy and climate protection balance," says Dr Manica Ulcnik-Krump, Head of Research and Development Recycled-Resource at Interseroh. Scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute UMSICHT have determined that the greenhouse gas emissions generated during production can be reduced by up to 50 per cent if Procyclen is used instead of new granulate. Ulcnik-Krump: "Using Procyclen is therefore the best decision in terms of sustainability."

"In terms of innovative packaging solutions, we are continuously working on making our bottles lighter, focussing on the use of recycled materials and plant-based raw materials and, of course, on the multiple use of materials through reuse and recycling. We are therefore all the more pleased that, together with our partners, we have found a way to achieve high-quality processing for our screw caps," says Sanam Moayedi-Stummer, Director Procurement, Coca-Cola European Partners Deutschland GmbH.

STABILO sells the highlighter in four colours as part of its "Green range" under the name STABILO GREEN BOSS. The STABILO GREEN BOSS is refillable with the STABILO BOSS Refill and is the first product from the co-operation between STABILO, Coca-Cola and Interseroh. Further products are to follow.

STABILO International is one of the leading writing instrument manufacturers in Europe and continues to set standards with products for writing, colouring & drawing and highlighters - such as the STABILO BOSS with over 2 billion pens sold worldwide.

Coca-Cola European Partners Deutschland GmbH (CCEP DE) is the largest German beverage company with a sales volume of almost 3.9 billion litres (2015). It is responsible for the bottling, sale and distribution of Coca-Cola branded products in Germany. CCEP DE serves around 370,000 retail and catering customers and employs around 9,000 people. CCEP DE is part of Coca-Cola European Partners (CCEP), one of the leading consumer goods manufacturers in Europe. CCEP serves over 300 million consumers in twelve countries with a wide range of non-alcoholic beverages.