EKO-PUNKT to file legal complaint concerning fraud with recycling volumes

Lünen. The EKO-PUNKT Dual System, a company belonging to the REMONDIS Group, is filing a legal complaint this week in light of the massive decrease in volumes of licensed material handled by the dual systems in Germany. Last year alone, the amount of light sales packaging actually licensed was approx. 400,000 tonnes less than the amount the companies placing sales packaging onto the German market had declared to their chambers of commerce. This can probably be put down to fraudulent intent and is to the detriment of all those market players working in accordance with the regulations. Those affected include the licensing industry, the dual systems working according to the rules and the service providers within the waste management sector. "For two years now, we have been playing a leading role in introducing measures to create quality standards for the licensing process. Unfortunately, we have noticed that the overall market is becoming smaller and smaller as volumes are being fraudulently defined out of existence and as a result a few individuals are getting rich at the expense of all others. The quality assurance measures must be seen as having failed and now others must look into and judge the situation," commented Markus Mohren, managing director at EKO-PUNKT.

It is common practice of a number of market players to offer to take over all obligations stipulated in the Packaging Ordinance on behalf of their customers and to then collect the material as a kerbside collection but not recycle the material. Instead, the volumes are "redefined" and fed into other system solutions where they neither belong nor are collected nor are recycled. Very clear proof of this, proof which is understood by everyone, is that the volumes of materials entering so-called branch solutions and self-take-back systems are increasing virtually all the time. As these volumes are collected from so-called "waste generators of similar status" such as hotels, hospitals and canteens, then the volumes collected from households should noticeably fall accordingly. The fact of the matter is, however, that the volumes of waste sales packaging collected from households have been constant and are not falling.
"It is necessary to resort to such measures because all the other methods we have tried have failed to be successful. This also refers to the authorities and ministries responsible, who have been given detailed information about this by us and from whom we have requested support to tackle these fraudulent practices. As this has also not been successful and the damage caused to both the economy and businesses has reached a sum involving several hundred million euros, we have been forced to take this measure," explained Thomas Conzendorf, the board member at the parent company REMONDIS responsible for EKO-PUNKT.

According to EKO-PUNKT the following method is used:
"Customers are charged for services which are not actually performed. To begin with, customers are attracted by low prices and then the companies duck out of paying the services performed by waste management businesses to save money," explained Markus Mohren. "This was not an easy decision to make. We believe, however, that this is not only important for our company but also for the survival of the whole of the dual system. And, considering the high recycling standards that have been achieved in Germany, this is a system that is well worth protecting and a few black sheep should not be allowed to destroy it," commented Thomas Conzendorf.

Background information

REMONDIS is one of the world's largest privately owned water and environmental service companies providing services for more than 20 million people. Via its branches and associated companies, REMONDIS is active in 21 European countries as well as in China, India, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand. REMONDIS employs just under 19,000 people. Around 1,400 employees alone work at the company's Lippe Plant in Lünen, Europe's largest centre for industrial water and recycling services.

EKO-PUNKT GmbH is a company belonging to the REMONDIS Group.
REMONDIS has many years' experience of setting up and operating take-back systems. Across Europe, EKO-PUNKT organises the take-back of several 100,000 tonnes of packaging materials every year. The material is processed and any recyclable materials recovered and fed back into the economic cycle.  
Internationally active manufacturers and distributors are particularly interested in finding cross-border solutions on the European market. EKO-PUNKT has access to an international network and is continuously working on extending its services throughout Europe. Its services range from organising nationwide waste collection logistics, to processing such materials and marketing secondary raw materials, to documenting waste streams. In Germany, EKO-PUNKT's services are available to all manufacturers and distributors of sales packaging.

Further informationen:

REMONDIS SE & Co. KG
Michael Schneider
Marketing &amp, Corporate Communication
Brunnenstraße 138
44536 Lünen
T +49 2306 106-515
E-Mail