Turn waste to value - contributes to  sustainable development goals 

    

Our world faces major challenges:

In 2050 we will be 9 billion people in the world, of which 70% will live in big cities. This causes environmental and transport challenges. In Europe alone, about 500,000 people die due to air pollution every year. Managing air pollution and waste is a prerequisite for being able to live in the cities.

Despite its reputation plastic is a great and usable material. In 1962, 15 million tons of plastic were produced, while the figure in 2014 had grown to 311 million tons, of which 26 percent is used for packaging. Today, the demand for plastic is growing more than steel and concrete. When plastic is put into circulation in our society, we need to ensure that the plastic that enters the market can be recycled in a circular economy and that it can be collected and handled in an environmental and economic way.

It is estimated that 8 million tonnes of plastic waste is dumped in the oceans every year. This is equivalent to a garbage truck emptying its cargo into the sea every minute. All the pollution is detrimental to not least the wildlife. There is a need to increase the possibilities and motivation to make sure the plastic is recycled. One crucial way to do this is to make it more profitable. 

"Turn waste to value" is more relevant than ever to achieve a number of our common world goals. Likewise, know-how, quality and innovation, which, with all modesty, has been RUNI's DNA for the past 20 years.

Today, RUNI screw compactors contribute to refining waste into valuable resources, thereby improving the motivation to and the possibility of recycling. Our equipment facilitates circular economy and energy optimisation.

To put it in perspective:

Around the world RUNI compactors have compacted approx. half a million tons of EPS - and thus recycled. This corresponds to the weight of approx. 55 Eiffel Towers of a 98% airy product!

And for every kilo of EPS recycled in the the world, the consumption and CO2 emissions of 3 liters of crude oil is saved. The current 500,000 tonnes of recycled EPS corresponds to over 300,000 trips around the world by car.

RUNI is working with UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):

SDG 7, Affordable and Clean Energy, through the company's usage of electricity produced in a environmentally friendly way. 

SDG 11, Sustainable Cities and Communities, through compacting EPS and dewatering of rejects and containers, and through enhancing separation and recycling of more waste streams. The compacting and separation of materials also protects the air quality in the cities as it ensures full loads on trucks and helps avoid more trucks on the roads than necessary, because the trucks do not need to transport air and waste liquids.

SDG 12, Responsible Consumption and Production, through compacted EPS, PET-bottles and cans used as raw materials for production in stead of virgin material. 

SDG 14, Life Below Water, through compacting solutions for fish boxes: recycling of EPS from fish boxes, that helps to keep fish fresh for storage and transport. Furthermore a big part of this is to make handling, sorting and recycling of EPS and other plastic fractions both easier and profitable, to avoid disposal of these material into the seas.