Green Dot packaging recycling program (May 07, 2002)

By recycling about 2.3 million tonnes of lightweight packaging (aluminum, plastics, composites and tinplate), the German Dual System succeeded in preventing the release of approximately 400,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2001, according to a recent presentation by the CEO of the Duales System in Berlin on May 2, 2002.

The Dual System licenses the "Green Dot" recycling identification to indicate a brand owner has contributed to a recycling or stewardship fund for consumer packaging and products.

The organization estimates that this greenhouse gas reduction corresponds to the amount of carbon dioxide produced in one year by 64,000 average German households, each consuming 2,000 litres of heating oil. The recycling efforts also resulted in energy savings of approximately 33 billion megajoules.

On November 2, 2001, CSR: Corporations Supporting Recycling and PRO EUROPE, the umbrella organization of Green Dot in Europe, concluded a license agreement for the use of the Green Dot trademark in Canada. Canada would be the first North American licensee of the system.

For more information, contact Barbara McConnell at 416-594-3456 or mcconnell@csr.org