LJUBLJANSKE MLEKARNE: Closure of the internal materials loop for Tetra Pak packaging

ABOUT THE COMPANY:

• Ljubljanske mlekarne is the biggest buyer of raw milk of Slovenian origin and the biggest dairy company in Slovenia;
• for every tanker of milk collected from more than 2,000 farms, it can identify with precision the farm that the milk came from, thanks to its traceability system;
• it is the first company in Slovenia to have closed its internal materials loop for Tetra Pak packaging (in which approximately 85% of the company’s products are packaged);
• the company was the recipient of the Environmentally Friendly Company Award 2018 and the Factory of the Year Award 2019.

BREAKTHROUGH SOLUTION: Closure of the internal materials loop for Tetra Pak packaging:

• every year the company produces 160 tons of Tetra Pak packaging waste. The materials loop begins in the factory, where reels of packaging material are transformed into the shapes that are familiar to customers and filled with dairy products. The waste packaging produced during this process is deposited in a recycling area, from where it is transported to a crusher;
• the waste is delivered via the packaging waste management company to a paper mill, where the waste packaging is converted into paper handkerchiefs, paper towels and toilet paper. Ljubljanske Mlekarne then purchases these products to supply the daily needs of its employees;
• by buying and using new products made from its own waste products, the company assumes responsibility for its waste even after it has left the factory.