In July 2022, the Protocol and Meetings Directorate, in collaboration with the Buildings and Logistics Directorate of the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union (SGC) and TerraCycle, has launched a project to recycle lanyards used by staff and delegates to hold badges to have access to the premises.

Any lanyards which are no longer needed can be deposited in the zero waste boxes located in the reception area and the entrance of the Council of the EU building. These boxes are provided by TerraCycle  who will then collect them, separate their various plastic, metal and synthetic constituents and use those materials to create new objects, such as watering cans or toys.

TerraCycle’s mission is to reduce waste from overconsumption and waste by recycling and reusing it through innovation and the collaboration of people, businesses and institutions around the world.
The SGC has decided to contribute to that project.

What is the recycling process?

The collected waste is sent to the recovery centre corresponding to the country from which it originates, where it will be transformed into usable forms.

The waste is first collected and stored. It is then sorted by means of various methods: manual, magnetic, optical or mechanical.

– The metal is reused in the metallurgical industry.
– Natural fibres are transformed into insulators.
– The large amount of recovered plastic becomes pellets, flakes or powder.

What is it done with the recycled materials?

The finished product is the raw material recovered through recycling, transformed into different objects by manufacturing companies: glass bottles, cement or concrete, industrial and commercial fertilisers, outdoor furniture and equipment, floor, containers, bins, floor tiles, and coatings for playgrounds and athletic fields.

 

What is it done with the lanyards? 

Lanyards materials include metal, fibers and plastics.

The metal is sent to foundries to be reused in the metallurgical industry.

The fibers are separated according to whether they are natural (ie cotton, silk), synthetic (ie polyester, nylon) or a combination of the two in the same article. Once separated, the natural fibers are transformed into a material called “shoddy” which is used for the insulation and padding of products.

Plastics are the largest category of material we collect through our programs. They are shredded or ground, then melted down and turned into pellets, flakes or powder.