The ambitious goal we have set ourselves is to build a true, strong circular economy. We strictly reject misleading greenwashing and opaque marketing campaigns that fake sustainability and environmental friendliness. Instead, we have developed the RECOSYS^® 2.0 recycling program, which is proven to make our products more sustainable and reduce our Scope 3 emissions by up to 90%.

By reducing the transfer carrier thickness of the transfer product for processing in the graphics industry from 12 µm to 10 µm and even ultra-thin 6 µm, KURZ not only reduces resource consumption and the carbon footprint but also the amount of waste generated by the customer after the finishing process. Because with KURZ finishes, no plastic film remains on the refined products, and the transfer carriers used become a waste material that becomes a valuable raw material for us. Bringing this valuable raw material back into the circular economy was an ambitious goal for KURZ for a long time, which only became a reality with RECOPOUND^® and this year also with RECOSYS^® rPET.

The process behind RECOSYS^® 2.0 is incredibly simple: Participating customers from the graphics industry order and process KURZ products as before. According to the framework agreement, they collect the distinctive carrier material and register it in an app. If collecting the total quantity of residual material is considered ecologically reasonable, our logistics service provider Gebrüder Weiss will collect the material. The distinctive carrier rolls are then processed in the KURZ recycling plant. When customers use our RECOSYS^® 2.0 program, they receive a recycling certificate that is verified by the independent environmental expert organization Intechnica Cert GmbH and confirms the important contribution to a true circular economy. We convert the residual material into the new raw material rPET. The recycled material obtained is a valuable virgin material that offers a wide range of uses. This includes a variety of everyday products, such as shampoo bottles.

The return process has already started and the first customers are on board. Since March 2024, the amount of returned carrier material has already been so large that we have been able to start up the machines for further processing.

Our logistics partner Gebrüder Weiss has been supplying our transfer products to our customers in Europe for many years. They now also pick up and return the used transfer carrier material. With its ‘zero emissions’ service, the logistics service provider Gebrüder Weiss offers a climate-neutral transport option that offsets all emissions at the same level. How does this work? First, Gebrüder Weiss calculates and documents the CO₂ emissions for each transport. This is followed by the certified compensation of the emissions volume by supporting various climate protection projects.
As part of the RECOSYS^® 2.0 program, KURZ has chosen the ‘Germany plus Alps’ environmental project, which supports many social projects in the region in addition to planting natural forests in the Oberallgäu region in Bavaria.
All customers who participate in RECOSYS^® 2.0 therefore have a clear competitive advantage that also benefits the environment.

Do you also want to become part of the sustainability community at KURZ? Learn more about sustainability and Lifecycle Thinking at KURZ. If you have any questions or would like to join RECOSYS^® 2.0, feel free to get in touch using our contact form.