Avery Dennison has expanded its European waste disposal programme by appointing Tramonto Antonio, an environmental service provider, as its partner in Northern Italy. The Vergiate, Lombardy-based company has joined a group of designated partners that collect and process waste from label products, enabling converters and brand owners to avoid disposal at landfill sites or incineration plants, and thus improve their sustainability performance.

“With our partners, Avery Dennison is developing better ways for our pressure-sensitive customers to manage waste”, says Xander van der Vlies, sustainability director at Avery Dennison Materials Group. “Environmental considerations are crucial, and we are focused on concrete and transparent solutions that will give label converters reliable sustainability credentials. This programme not only improves sustainability but also simplifies the process and leads to a reduction in cost”.

Siliconised liner, and all other waste that can be recycled and segregated, is collected by Tramonto and channelled through the best available recycling option. The laminate waste collected by Tramonto, such as matrix waste or start-up reels, are processed for the production of RDF (refuse-derived fuel), and supplied to cement plants as an alternative to coal. This solution not only provides an alternative to landfill or incineration, with consequential reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, but also turns waste into a resource, reducing fossil fuel dependency. Moreover, high temperatures and use of waste as raw material in the cement kilns eliminates the generation of residues and the need for their disposal.















Davide Tramonto, technical director of the Italian company, explains: “Finding the best solution for waste disposal, taking into account the environment, is central to our job. Avery Dennison’s waste disposal programme offered us an ideal opportunity to collaborate and contribute to their sustainability commitment. We invested in the new RDF process technology in 2010 and we have ensured full compliance with material requirements and regulations, as also shown by our extensive range of certifications which are UNI EN ISO 9001:2008, UNI EN ISO 14001:2004, OHSAS 18001:2007, SA 8000 and EMAS”.

Depending on circumstances, the fees for the new scheme have the potential to offer label converters up to 20 percent cost savings. A specific estimate is provided by Tramonto Antonio after an initial site visit. Recently, other Italian label converters also joined this programme (Artes, Euroadhesiv etc.).