Paul Linder AG - Collection partner since 2020
Paul Linder AG from Walenstadt has been a collection partner of "Bring Plastic back" since 2020 and currently serves one municipality. In 2022, Paul Linder AG collected a total of 15,490 kg of plastic in collection bags.
Why do you offer the collection bag?
A few years ago, the people of Walenstadt expressed the wish for a separate collection for household plastics. We too were not happy that these valuable raw materials were simply being incinerated. Especially as we were already collecting plastic from industry separately. We have also been collecting PET drinks bottles separately since we started collecting PET in 1990.
Why did you opt for the "Bring Plastic back" collection system?
InnoRecycling AG had already been our customer for plastics from industrial customers for a long time. When we heard about the possibility of separate collection for household plastics, it was clear to us that we wanted to find out more about it.
How did the collaboration with "Bring Plastic back" come about?
We told our contact at InnoRecycling that we were also interested in the collection bag. Marc Briand, Managing Director of Sammelsack, came by a few days later and explained the collection system and the material cycle to us. We were impressed by the product and the end-to-end transparency. Six months later, we started collecting in Walenstadt. We received the collection concession from Walenstadt. We also have the pressure from the population to thank for this - without them it would probably not have happened so quickly.
What is your experience of working with "Bring Plastic back"?
The collaboration is very straightforward. Ordered rolls of collection bags are delivered quickly. Existing infrastructures are used for the return delivery of the filled collection bags and we work together with other participating recycling companies from the region. We receive filled collection bags from other collection partners and deliver them together with our collection bags to Vögele Recycling AG in Chur. This prevents unnecessary double trips. This cooperation works very well and also allows us to exploit other synergies.
How have your customers reacted?
The majority of our customers are enthusiastic - some of them have been waiting a long time for a solution like this and have campaigned for it in the community. They also appreciate the transparency of the material cycle and are pleased that their waste can be recycled, saving resources and emissions. Of course, there are also opponents of the system. These are difficult to convince of the usefulness of separate plastic collection. But if you can convince a skeptic to join in the collection, it's a good feeling.
Do you have a special experience with "Bring Plastic back"?
One story I always like to tell is that of a local resident who approached me at the collection point when I was throwing the collection bags into the compactor for compaction. He gave me a long lecture and made it quite clear that he thought the whole separate collection thing was nonsense. A few days later, I saw him on the way to the collection point - with a bulging collection bag.