Recyclable packaging in the circular economy

Raw paper is used as the basic raw material for our sustainable corrugated cardboard packaging. This consists largely of recycled paper with a low proportion of fresh fibres. In 2021, the proportion of fresh fibre was only 16 percent. We use almost exclusively water-based glues to manufacture our packaging. Glue consumption has decreased significantly: we used 8,167 tonnes in 2021 compared to the previous year’s consumption of 10,176 tonnes. Our raw paper is 100 percent FSC-certified. It is made from wood that is mainly sourced from sustainable forestry. This means that all of our packaging is environmentally friendly, fully recyclable and a cycle product made from naturally renewable raw materials.

Whereas a cat has nine lives, corrugated cardboard is far more durable, with up to 20 life cycles. When the raw paper is delivered to the plant, waste paper is also taken away. This waste from production and packaging additionally used in the retail sector and private households is thus fed directly into the reusable material cycle.  They are recycled and can then be used again as a raw material. Even after 20 recycling rounds, the raw material paper still has excellent fibre properties.

All processes at THIMM are geared towards sustainability. Various measures help to reduce or eliminate waste in production. To reduce the amount of waste, we have, for example, automated the process of shutting down digital printing rolls on the corrugators. The lean process at THIMM also influences the amount of waste. Significant achievements in terms of scrap, performance and set-up times can already be seen here. System downtime is avoided as far as possible. We are also getting closer to our goal of print-on-demand production thanks to economical residual material management and the reduction of overproduction. The amount of production waste has already been significantly reduced.

The raw material paper is precious. We offer our customers a wide range of FSC-certified packaging. The wood for the raw paper comes from ecologically and responsibly managed FSC-certified forests. Our certifications and standards for sustainable and environmentally friendly production also include the ISO 14001 environmental management system and the ISO 50001 energy management system. The topic of sustainability runs through all areas and processes in our company – from the selection and procurement of raw paper to sales.

We source most of the raw paper for the production of our sustainable corrugated cardboard packaging from Germany. As the German corrugated cardboard industry is made up of regional, medium-sized structures, the routes for transport and recycling are short. Other raw paper suppliers of the THIMM Group are located in Scandinavia and southeastern Europe. Due to the high demand for paper (use of raw paper in 2021: 520,002 tonnes), we can aggregate the paper deliveries into shiploads and thus choose a more environmentally friendly mode of transport than by HGV. For our packaging solutions, we source raw paper almost exclusively from suppliers that are certified to the Controlled Wood or FSC standard as a minimum.