Phase 1
- Founding of LEO
- Launch of the LEO bag
- Start-up of a temporary sorting center
What belongs in the bag?
Q: When will LEO Recycle start the sorting of the plastic packaging?
A: The LEO Recycle system will be rolled out in the second quarter of 2024. Bags will be available for sale from April 1, 2024. Receipt of the first bags at the sorting center is scheduled for June 1, 2024.
Q: What will be the aim of LEO Recycle
A: Leo Recycle was founded with the aim of sorting plastic packaging and beverage cartons locally in Grandson, in the French-speaking part of Switzerland.
Adopt LEO...
and play a part in the recycling of plastic packaging and beverage cartons in French-speaking part of Switzerland.
LEO Recycle has developed a bag for all of household plastic packaging and guarantees you an all-in-one solution. With this bag, you are enabling the expansion of a range of solutions in terms of plastic recycling. Today, only plastic bottles (made of PET) are collected and recycled in Switzerland. With LEO, a new world of possibilities is opening up for other packaging plastics.
And the experience of LEO’s founders ensures state-of-the-art recycling.
A three-phase project based in Switzerland
Phase 3
- Opening of a granulation plant in French-speaking Switzerland for the production of recycled materials encouraging the circular economy.
Phase 2
- Opening of massification centers (GE, VD, NE, FR, VS, BE, JU).
- Construction of a sorting center dedicated solely to LEO bag sorting in French-speaking Switzerland.
The Dobler Motion
The Dobler Motion was passed on March 9, 2021, with the aim of “boosting plastic recycling to develop the circular economy”. The text submitted by Marcel Dobler in 2020 calls for nationwide collection of plastic waste. It includes a separated collecting of the plastic waste, the recycling both coordinated of all the recyclable fractions of plastic waste throughout Switzerland.
As a leader in recycling for many materials, Switzerland is behind when it comes to plastics (excluding PET): barely 11% of plastics are recycled.
Recycling plastic means taking care of the planet,....
is the first step towards reducing the amount of plastic we find in nature, whether in Switzerland, Europe or in the North Pacific waste vortex (also known as the 6th continent).
Plastic pollution is one of the major problems the world is facing today, and with LEO recycle, we want to do our bit by developing a 100% Swiss solution for recycling plastics that is both sustainable and relevant.
Today, most plastics end up in household waste bags, which are then thermally recycled. This solution leaves little residue after recovery but entails other risks that we wish to avoid in order to reduce the emission of noxious gases.
For this reason, and many others, we are fully committed to LEO recycle, as it is our responsibility to make a difference. Come along!
Sorting & Recycling
The LEO bag…
is the solution to all of your recycling needs, with a single bag for all of your plastic packaging and beverage cartons.
By sorting your waste at source, i.e. at home, you are helping to look after the environment, save resources and help the environment. Thanks to your enthusiasm to give new life to packaging, fewer new raw materials are used, less energy is consumed, and CO2 emissions are reduced.
Your contribution...
By buying this bag, you are contributing to a local solution by making it possible to deploy new plastic sorting and recycling facilities in the french-speaking part Switzerland.
Switzerland currently recycles only 10% of its plastics (compared to 60% in Germany) and 99% of these are PET drinks bottles. The LEO bag will help to boost the recycling of other types of packaging plastics.
In your LEO bag, ...
you can put all the plastic packaging from the products you use every day in the LEO bag. They must be empty, but there is no need to wash them!
In order to guarantee quality recycling, LEO kindly asks:
- Do not stack the packaging inside each other
- Flatten your beverage cartons
- Separate lids from their trays
- Continue to use your compost for leftover organic waste.
Recycling
Nowadays most of the thermoplastic waste is recycled using what is known as “mechanical” recycling: after being collected and sorted into “homogeneous” plastic families, they are sorted, washed, crushed, extruded, transformed into flakes or granules and then reused in the form of recycled raw material (or secondary raw material), without modifying the chemical structure of the plastic.
At first, the plastics collected, sorted and stored in bales will be sent to recyclers located in neighboring countries, who will meet LEO’s expectations and the requirements of the DOBLER motion, i.e. high quality recycling. But the ambition is clear: to quickly set up a granulation center to recover the material in Switzerland – a first!
What already exists: PET beverage bottles
The PET bottle cycle is currently handled by PET-Recycling with over 60,000 collection points and around 35’000 tons collected per year. Beverage vendors pay a disposal fee for these bottles. This is why your PET bottles do not belong in the LEO bag and why you should recycle them in the same way that you do now.
Cand-Landi is one of the five founders of LEO recycle. Its subsidiary RC-Plast is a state-of-the-art industrial unit for sorting PET drinking bottles.
Versus what we're putting in place: PET packaging...
Today’s manufacturers need to increase the amount of recycled resins used in the manufacture of new products and packaging.
We know that almost 45% of the plastics that end up in these bags will be PET (your food trays, but also your cleaning sprays). These are the volumes we want to recycle as a priority.
In phase 3 of its development, LEO Recycle is planning a plant to manufacture recycled PET resin.
Other plastic packaging….
Yes, other plastics can also have a second life! And we’re aiming for a 65% material recovery rate for all plastics.
You’ve certainly noticed the wide variety of plastics: PP, PS and PVC. LEO Recycle will also separate these fractions and set up partnerships with industries in the sector.
Beverage cartons….
At the sorting center, beverage cartons are separated from other packaging as they are made of several type of materials that can be recycled. The cardboard fibers, for example, can be used to make household paper, toilet paper or corrugated packaging. There are solutions, let’s use them.
Adopt LEO
Why you should adopt LEO
This is in advanced of the application of the Dobler Motion (20.3695), adopted by the National Council and the Council of States in 2021, which encourages the development of plastic sorting and recycling in order to contribute to the implementation of a circular economy. This motion contains new measures to:
- collect separately recyclable plastic packaging such as PET, HDPE, PE, PP, PS and PVC
- promote the recycling and transformation of these plastic packaging materials into new products.
Tell me Leo?!
Let us introduce you to our mascot: LEO!
Leo is a very curious 9-10 year old. He loves going for walks and riding his bike. In summer, the beach and rivers are his playgrounds. And he’s very bothered by what he sees: plastic waste floating in the river or lake! Leo wonders about the environment, about nature and our involvement in this situation… and above all, Léo sees what we should change or improve. So Leo asks questions at school or at home, and he learns.
And because Leo is a curious and communicative boy, he talks about what he discovers, so we learn with him too!
Leo represents our children, the future! It’s through him, and for him, that we must change our habits.
Why Leo recycle ?
Leo Baekeland
Leo Baekeland is the scientist who, with the invention of the autoclave in the 1900s, helped bring the world into the age of injection plastics.
120 years later, plastics have invaded our lives. LEO is setting up a bag to collect them and ensure they are recycled.
Background to the project, focus on the founders and partners
LEO was born out of the merger of five major players in the field of waste collection, logistics and recycling, some of whom have more than 100 years of experience in the business: Henry Recycling, Retripa, Serbeco, Cand-Landi and Haldimann.
Together with LEO, they provide a reliable, local and sustainable solution to the Dobler Motion for the recycling of household plastics.
LEO's Vision
On our scale, our role is not to intervene in consumption or politics, but in Recycling, which is the business of the 5 players making up LEO.
LEO offers a sustainable, reliable, transparent and local solution for collecting and recycling plastics. It thus provides a concrete response to the Dobler motion.
This is the commitment made by the 5 players and their contribution to better plastics management.
Market demand
LEO Recycle also wants to meet a demand from private individuals and consumers by offering a simple, turnkey solution. Many of you have traveled to neighboring countries and wondered why we don’t sort ALL plastics in Switzerland. With the LEO bag, you can make a simple contribution to plastic recycling.
The founders of Leo Recycle
LEO was born of the merger of five major players in waste collection, transport, and recycling, with over 250 years’ experience in the business.
With LEO, they offer a sustainable, reliable and local solution to the Dobler motion and the recycling of household plastics.
The company was founded in September 2023. The LEO Recycle system will be rolled out in the second quarter of 2024. Bags will be available for sale from April 1, 2024. Receipt of the first bags at the sorting center is scheduled for June 1, 2024.
FAQ
We're happy to answer a few questions!
If you can’t find the answer to your question, please let us know by e-mail or by using the contact form. We’ll be happy to help.
What goes in my LEO bag?
- Plastic packaging and beverage cartons emptied of their contents
- Films around magazines and beverage packs, bubble-wrap film
- Clean plastic bags and sacks
- Cosmetic bottles, plastic tubes and refills
- Clean fruit and vegetable trays, ice-cream tubs
- Plastic egg and cookie packaging
- Bottles for dairy products
- Bottles for detergents and cleaning products, shampoos, shower products, soaps, lotions and creams
- Bottles of vinegar, oil and sauce bottles
What can’t go in my LEO Recycle bag?
- Flammable product packaging (white spirit, stove lighter, etc.)
- Unemptied plastic bottles and flasks
- Hazardous products excluded
- PET beverage bottles (PET bottles are collected separately)
- Soiled packaging containing leftovers (e.g. marinades for grills)
- Chips and coffee bags with an aluminum coating
- Fruit and vegetable nets
- Carton strapping
- Electrical appliances (electronic cigarettes)
- Polystyrene (Sagex)
- Plastic toys and cork-type objects
- CDs and DVDs
- Black plastic foil
- Other: printer cartridges, coffee capsules and pods, tea bags, disposable crockery, medicine blister packs, toothbrushes, packaging chips, rubber items, bicycle inner tubes, inflatable boats, inflatable swimming pools, video cassettes, photos and garden hoses.
IMPORTANT
Half-empty bottles with cleaning agents and hazardous substances are considered hazardous waste and must be returned to the points of sale
How can I buy LEO bags?
You’ll soon find an e-shop on the LEO Recycle website where you can order your LEO bags.
Our bags will also be available at a number of shopping center, the list of which will be announced shortly.
What do I do with my LEO bag once it’s full?
You can drop off your LEO bags at several collection points, the list of which will be communicated to you shortly.
How much does the LEO bag cost?
The price will be announced when the LEO bag is available in your area.