February 8,  2024

The article by Prof. Dr. habil. Uwe Lahl and his two co-authors on the subject of “Plastics recycling and hazardous substances – Risk Cycle” (in German: Kunststoffrecycling und gefährliche Stoffe – Risk Cycle) has been published in the proceedings of the Berlin Conference on Waste Management and Energy – “Abfallwirtschaft und Energie 1” – by TK-Verlag.

Referring to current studies and scientific publications, the authors argue that the use of post-consumer recyclates (from packaging or technical products) for the manufacture of products with direct contact to humans should be discontinued for the time being. This applies in particular to children’s toys, food contact material (FCM)/packaging, indoor products and synthetic fibers.

Packaging should rather be collected unmixed in a controlled manner via extended deposit and return systems and sent for high-quality material recycling (closed loop, same product types such as PET bottles to PET bottles, PET trays to PET trays).

In the medium term, the existing separate collection of lightweight packaging could be converted into a dry collection of recyclable materials, for example to include plastics that were previously not recyclable or difficult to recycle (e.g. technical plastic products) and make them available for chemical recycling.

Below you will find a link to order the conference proceedings and to download the presentation at the conference in German and English.

December 31, 2023

In December 2023, the book “Antriebswende”, edited by Baden-Württemberg’s Minister for Transport Winfried Hermann, was published by the Molino-Verlag (only in German). Our expert for innovative fuels, Uwe Lahl, contributed the chapter on “Chemical energies”.

Unfortunately, a mistake has crept into the text on page 71. “Conclusion on efficiency” should start with:

Die Flächeneffizienz ist ein “pro” für das ICE. Hingegen ist die Antriebseffizienz das zentrale »pro«, was für das BEV spricht.
(The space efficiency is a “pro” for the ICE. Propulsion efficiency, on the other hand, is the key “pro” in favor of the BEV.)

Abbreviations:
ICE = Internal Combustion Engine
BEV = Battery Electric Vehicle

December 18, 2023

January 30, 2024

Prof. Dr. habil. Uwe Lahl, Senior Expert for the chemical recycling of post-consumer plastic waste, will give a presentation on “Plastics Recycling and Hazardous Substances – Risk Cycle” (Kunststoffrecycling und gefährliche Stoffe – Risk Cycle) at the Berlin Conference on Waste Management and Energy and will take part in the subsequent panel discussion on the “Future of the Circular Economy”. You can download the program flyer via the link below.

September 13, 2022

BZL GmbH has been advising the Austrian air navigation service provider Austro Control on environmental issues since 2020. The company sees itself as a pioneer for climate protection in air traffic and has set up an ambitious environmental program. With the recently published Status Report Environment, Austro Control reports for the first time on its own, direct environmental performance.

August 13, 2022

Since August 2022, BZL GmbH has been advising HIF EMEA GmbH, a subsidiary of HIF Global, on issues relating to the production of innovative fuels. More about HIF EMEA

July 1, 2022

Prof. Dr. Uwe Lahl, since 2014 Head of Office at the Ministry of Transport and until June 30, 2022 Head of Office at the Ministry of Social Affairs, Health and Integration Baden-Württemberg, has returned to BZL GmbH after his retirement. Here, he is particularly concerned with the topics of innovative fuels and chemical recycling of post-consumer plastic waste.