Since 1870 we’ve lived and breathed malting. With this passion and expertise, and by combining traditional and modern techniques, we create an impressive range of malted and non-malted products, including several unique and exclusive barley malts.
There is nothing more we love than talking to brewers and distillers so if you have any questions, or would like to arrange a call with a member of our team, please feel free to get in touch – we would love to hear from you!
The recycling of plastic malt sacks has been an industry-wide challenge for many years, mainly because local recycling centres do not accept this type of waste (flexible polypropylene and polyethylene). Through our collaboration with TerraCycle, these types of ‘unrecyclable’ waste streams can be recycled.
TerraCycle’s recycling programmes deliver a net positive environmental impact across various categories compared with traditional municipal waste management practices. By reintegrating waste that would otherwise end in landfills or incinerators back into the economy, as secondary raw material, these programs help reduce environmental harm while promoting resource circularity.
Almost everything can technically be recycled. But it is a costly process, so whether or not a local recycling company will recycle an item depends on whether they can make money doing so. If the costs of collection and processing are less than the value of the resulting material, the product will likely be locally recyclable. Local recyclers typically accept profitable-to-recycle items such as aluminium cans, PET and HDPE plastics and cardboard. They do not accept items made from LDPE and flexible PP plastics (like malt sacks). Even if they are collected alongside other recyclable items, it is very unlikely that they are actually recycled, and it is common that they are diverted to landfills or incinerators.
This is where TerraCycle comes in. They can recycle hard-to-recycle items because they obtain funding from various stakeholders who cover the cost of the different stages of the recycling process. Crisp Malt covers the cost of programme management, including optimising the recycling platform, traceability and reporting.
The fees covered by our participating customers cover all costs associated with collecting, sorting and recycling, reintegrating used plastic malt sacks back into the economy, rather thant being landfilled or incinerated.
Here is a video link showing how TerraCycle deals with flexible waste streams TerraCycle: What happens to the waste? – YouTube
The secondary raw material TerraCycle obtains from recycling plastic malt sacks is most commonly used to manufacture:
TerraCycle can legally guarantee that the malt sacks they collect are recycled because they charge the actual cost of collecting and processing into new materials, crediting what those materials are sold for. This guarantee gives confidence and transparency to the customer. Through Crisp Malt’s programme, TerraCycle can provide participants with an annual Recycling Certificate upon request.
TerraCycle’s recycling models outperform municipal waste management options by an average of 45% across 8 key impact categories, including global warming potential, human carcinogenic toxicity and fossil resource scarcity, primarily by avoiding extraction of virgin material for new product development.
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