Plastic packaging manufacturer Berry Global has officially received Valpak’s Zero Waste to Landfill accreditation for its manufacturing plant in Steinfeld, Germany.

Berry said that this recognition further demonstrates the benefits of its continuous operational improvements and efforts to enhance on-site recycling capabilities.

The Steinfeld site is Berry’s third European flexible films facility to receive this certification.

The first of Berry's two production plants to achieve this recognition were the Rhymney and Heanor facilities in the UK.

Operations at the Steinfeld site mainly include the production of industrial packaging such as printed sheet packaging solutions, form fill seal primary packaging for the chemical industry, shrink hood and advanced stretch hoods for the transport sector, and pallet protection packaging for use in different industries.

The company’s focus is to reduce waste generated at this facility and implement various programmes to reuse the said generated waste, preventing it from ending up in landfills.

Furthermore, the plant has an on-site recycling centre, which helps in reprocessing post-consumer single-variety film waste into regranulate that can be utilised for making new packaging products.

This recycling centre currently has two recycling lines, including Berry's Norec de-inking line, which decontaminates and recycles post-consumer coloured PE film.

Berry’s Steinfeld site director Nande Van Aken said: “We are delighted to receive the Zero Waste to Landfill recognition from Valpak and will continue our programme of continuous improvement to identify new ways to not only have no waste to landfill but also reduce the impact of waste on the environment in general.”

The latest achievement is in line with the company’s existing sustainability goals as well as its 'More Together' effort.

The company’s broader sustainability plan includes a companywide goal to kerb its landfill waste intensity by 5% on a year-over-year basis.

Berry has already exceeded this target last year, by achieving a reduction of 8% in its landfill waste intensity.