The successful drug store chain dm operates more than 400 stores in Austria. A dm editorial article elaborates on the long-term cooperation with the consultant Interzero and the advantages of having Orwak balers on site in several of the stores.
In the dm stores, vast amounts of recyclable materials accumulate almost every day – as many products are delivered in large cardboard boxes or wrapped in plastic film. That sounds like a lot of waste, but is it? Not if the empty packaging is collected and prepared for recycling! Interzero supports dm in this process.
Different packaging materials, one solution
When it comes to waste recycling, dm has been relying on a specialist for a sustainable circular economy for years – the consultant and service provider Interzero. In collaboration, the waste management was not only centralized step by step, but a concept for compaction of recyclables by using balers was also put in place.
Bales at the touch of a button
Modern Orwak balers of model POWER 3420, effortlessly and with a significantly reduced risk of injury for the staff, compact the bulky boxes. Three bales per week are produced in a dm store and the waste management company collects the bales along with empties such as bottles and cans.
Image source: dm/Lienbacher
The decisive advantage of advanced balers
Packaging material can easily be compacted directly at source in the store. At the touch of a button, cardboard boxes and plastic foil are compacted and then picked up by the logistics partner Quehenberger.
Long-term business relation
Interzero has been supporting dm in the disposal of empties since 2018 and the company is also Orwak‘s distributor in Austria, providing sales and service of the Orwak balers in this market. During that time, more than a third of the dm stores have been equipped with the practical balers and the demand is high. Wolfgang Gross, Sales Manager at Interzero, comments: “We are happy that our Orwak balers are so well received by dm and that we thereby contribute to a sustainable use of resources.” Michael Schuster from dm Branch Logistics explains: ”Interzero not only supports us with disposal but also advises us on legal matters.”
Image source: dm/Lienbacher
Benefits for our environment
The cooperation with Interzero brings both qualitative and ecological advantages. The use of one baler saves about five large waste bins and that means: less CO2 emissions due to fewer waste transports.
Furthermore, the balers save a lot of time and manual labor when the cardboard boxes no longer are folded or cut by hand. The organizational process has also improved in the long term as a result of the cooperation: instead of commissioning 80 disposal partners individually, Interzero, as one of two specialized providers, takes on the entire coordination, including the legally required licensing of the packaging. This increases the efficiency of the measures to avoid waste and increases the sustainability of the dm stores.
Based upon an article by dm published at www.dm.at in August 2022, image source: dm/Lienbacher