Winni’s eco-packaging: packaging that protects the environment

Plastic: light, resistant, cheap, easy to shape, durable. It should be considered a precious material, to be used with the utmost frugality, respecting the environment.

However, as we know, due to a lack of infrastructure, bad habits, or less-than-optimal disposal management, more than half of plastic waste ends up in landfill or incinerators.

Even if we can’t yet do without it altogether, especially in large-scale distribution, what we can – and must – do straight away is reduce our use of it. Winni’s is the first in Italy to have made a move towards eco-packaging that helps to consistently reduce the amount of plastic waste, thanks to a new, completely recyclable eco-format.

Winni’s – always becoming more eco-friendly

But what does the new eco-packaging involve? Our pouches already used up to 84% less plastic than bottles of the same size. The added value of the new eco-refills is their composition – completely recyclable single-material plastic. The new packaging is already available on the market for one litre formats, but by the end of 2020 it will also be introduced for our 1.5 litre and half litre formats.

The Winni’s research department is the first in Italy to develop these new pouches made entirely from polypropylene. This is an innovation that makes disposal more efficient, while maintaining the quality standards and strength of the previous version. “Single-material” means that this eco-packaging is not limited just to the pouch: the thermo-sealed cap is also made from the same material. This is the only way to fully recycle the entire container as plastic.

New eco-formats: what has changed compared to the past?

Today, we are seeing a continuous increase in the amount of plastic collected via the recycling system. Unfortunately, recycling is not very efficient for several reasons, with one of the most important being the fact that plastic bins really collect many different materials. This happens because packaging is made from different types of plastic, each identified by a specific number.

Re-fill pouches are an example of this “mixing”: before today, eco-formats in the detergents sector were made from three materials, among which was nylon, which is useful for making the bags stronger. However, the use of nylon causes problems in the plastic recycling phase, slowing it down and making the entire process more onerous and complicated.

In this scenario, reduced, single-material packaging, such as Winni’s eco-packaging, is a functional alternative with a low environmental impact. But Winni’s doesn’t stop here! As Mattia Testa, the company’s technical director, explains:

“For Madel, ecology is a global project, which starts with the company and finishes with the product, and the use of packaging that is so easy to dispose of in the plastic recycling is another step in this direction. As a leading brand in our category, we are the first to have launched this packaging for our liquid detergents, and this is only one of the innovations in eco-friendly packaging that we are working on.“

Beyond eco-packaging: the company’s eco-initiatives

Winni’s is committed to protecting the environment in every phase of its processes, from production to disposal. Currently, there are many activities in progress within the company with the goal of reducing our environmental impact. Here are a few of them:

We recycle our waste in every area of the company and re-use production residues, whether plastic or liquid;
We recycle the hot water coming from our industrial processes to heat the production area;
We have a 2.6MW photovoltaic system installed on the roof of the plant, which provides us with all our electricity;
Even our lighting is sustainable, thanks to the replacement of all our neon lights with LED bulbs, with an energy saving of 40%;
And Winni’s participates in the Seabin project, to clear the seas of plastic.

Our commitment doesn’t stop at the new eco-format made from single-material plastic. Through our constant process of research and innovation, we have the objective of making the packaging of our entire range of products ever more eco-friendly. Follow us to keep up-to-date on our next initiatives!