project - testmarket for biodegradable packaging

The world's largest test market to apply compostable BDP packaging is running at Kassel, Germany since May 2001.

From craddle to grave - in Kassel all players are involved: Granule manufacturers, processors, packaging companies, retailers and traders, consumers, municipal waste management, composting companies, farmers, but also scientists, certification bodies, funding agencies and authorities. A range of packaging products as for example shopping bags and food packaging made from biodegradable materials will be distributed by retailers. Consumers are advised to dispose these innovative packagings after use via the biobin - together with organic household waste. The resulting compost is applied to agricultural fields - the material cycle is starting again…

The pilot project is supported and financed mutually by industry and the Federal Ministry of Consumer Protection, Nutrition and Agriculture (costs: app. 2.5 million Euro). At the core of the project are two questions:

• Consumer acceptance: How do consumers react to the new kind of packaging material? Are they aware of their use and benefits and does this fact have an impact on their purchase? Answers to this are collected by an accompanying market research.
• Recycling through use of the organic waste bin: Is the consumer able to the properly dispose of packaging labeled with BDP into the biobin for organic waste without danger of increasing the number of false disposals of system-disturbing wastes ("misthrows")? How do BDP composts perform in agriculture cultivation? These questions shall be answered by scientific research of the Department of Waste Management at the Bauhaus University of Weimar.

In Kassel, the recycling idea, which is the developmental approach of BDP products, is thoroughly tested in practice. The recovery system for compostable sales packaging, which has been been implemented in Kassel and managed by Interseroh, could then possibly be established all over Germany. It can also be seen as a model for other countries, which have a comparable infrastructure for composting. It is corresponding largely to the initially shown natural substance cycle of BDP products.
Diagram of the dual system for BDP packaging in Kassel (by Interseroh):

All packagings are certified by DIN Certco for compostability and licensed by Interseroh according to the packaging regulations. It is labeled with the "hexagon" derived from the IBAW logo. A communication campaign under the motto "The 6th Sense" is informing consumers about the new packaging material and motivating them to place used packaging in the organic waste bin. The topical and visual key note of the campaign is the labeling. The local urban refuse collection department ("Stadtreiniger Kassel") and the local print and broadcasting media are also involved in the campaign.