LH Mikl-Leitner: “I am very proud that we are taking on a pioneering role here in Lower Austria”
St. Pölten (OTS/NLK) – In the last five years, around 1.8 million pairs of skis and ski boots, 2.3 million pairs of ski poles and 1.4 million ski helmets were sold in Austria – sporting goods that have so far been disposed of as bulky waste at the end of their lifespan Valuable raw materials for new products could be obtained from them through recycling. In order to develop this source of raw materials in their own country, Austria’s leading winter sports equipment manufacturers, led by the ecoplus plastics cluster in Lower Austria, have come together in a so far unique collaboration and are working together with companies from the plastics sector to recycle used winter sports equipment on a large scale.
“Winter sports items such as skis, ski boots, poles and helmets are largely made from plastics. I am therefore very pleased that companies from the winter sports goods sector are making an important contribution to a functioning circular economy with this cooperation project, in which residual materials are turned into valuable raw materials and new products. And that’s exactly where we want to go in the area of winter sports products. I am very proud that we are taking on a pioneering role here in Lower Austria,” explains Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner.
The basis for this development is to be laid in the WINTRUST project. “The companies that have joined forces in the new WINTRUST project of the ecoplus plastics cluster are entering completely new territory. It is also noteworthy that companies that are actually in competition with each other are pulling together to advance this important topic for the future. The project is another important step in making our region a center of the circular economy in Europe and at the same time meeting the requirements of the EU Green Deal,” the state governor continued.
The EU’s Green Deal envisages a massive reduction in greenhouse gases by at least 55 percent by 2030 compared to 1990. In order to achieve this ambitious goal, the innovative strength of the domestic economy is required. Among other things, Lower Austria wants to promote the circular economy and help to gradually make as many products as possible recyclable. In order to be able to implement these requirements in an ecologically and economically sensible way, a lot of research and development work is necessary, especially in the plastics sector – basic research that will be carried out over the next three years in the inter-company cooperation project WINTRUST (Wintersport Resource Efficiency and improved Circular Economy). .
The main goals of the project, which is funded by the state of Lower Austria and the Austrian Research Promotion Agency FFG, are, on the one hand, the establishment of an appropriate collection system and, on the other hand, the analysis and evaluation of processing options for used winter sports items in order to put the highest possible proportion of valuable materials back into circulation attributed. Using five specific case studies, economically, ecologically and socially sensible circular models are developed.
Project partners are the winter sports equipment manufacturers Atomic, HEAD, FISCHER, BLIZZARD – TECNICA and LEKI. On the supplier side, Isosport, Hexcel, Gabriel Chemie, Asma GmbH and Sunpor are taking part in the project, as are Intersport Austria and Sport Bründl on the dealer side. The processing/recycling area is represented by GW St. Pölten, Thermoplastkreis GmbH, SynCycle Operations GmbH and Next Generation Elements GmbH. The collection is carried out by ZEMKA Gesellschaft mbH, a specialist in the collection of used materials. Pilot regions for the collection of old winter sports items are Pinzgau and Pongau.
The kick-off for the project took place a few days ago at GW St. Pölten Integrative Betriebse GmbH, which is a project partner in the area of processing/recycling. CEO Gerhard Nachförg: “As one of the largest integrative companies in Austria, we understand that sustainability means not only ecological but also social responsibility. With this project, we not only want to make a contribution to conserving resources by recycling winter sports items, but also offer people with disabilities meaningful and valuable work. Linking these topics illustrates our belief that a sustainable future must be designed to be inclusive, encompassing both ecological, economic and social dimensions.”
Research partners in the project are the Montanuniversität Leoben and the Transfer Center for Plastics Technology TCKT. Other project partners include the Austrian Wood Industry/Austrian Ski Industry Association, the Association of Sporting Goods Manufacturers and Sporting Goods Retailers VSSÖ and the Austrian Carbon Cycle Circle ÖCC². The inter-company cooperation project WINTRUST was initiated by the ecoplus plastics cluster in Lower Austria, which also manages the project.
ecoplus Managing Director Helmut Miernicki: “The ecoplus team of the plastics cluster has been working on the topic of circular economy in the plastics sector since 2010. Winter sports items such as skis, ski boots, poles or helmets are largely made from high-performance plastics. So it was the next logical step to bring these two topics together and close the loop in the area of winter sports products.
Further information: ecoplus. Niederösterreichs Wirtschaftsagentur GmbH, Markus Steinmaßl, Tel.: 02742/9000-19619, email:
m.steinmassl@ecoplus.at.
Questions & Contact:
Office of the Lower Austrian State Government
State Office Directorate/Public Relations
Philipp Hebenstreit
02742/9005-13632
presse@noel.gv.at
www.noe.gv.at/presse