Environment
RECYCLING SCHEMES MAKING A MARK
DELVING INTO THE WORLD OF
WIDE-FORMAT PRINTING, THERE ARE A FEW
INDUSTRY NAMES THAT ARE MAKING THEIR MARK ON CREATING A MORE ENVIRONMENTAL WAY OF WORKING.
ASSISTANT EDITOR, ANA LAMBERT, INVESTIGATES HOW THE INDUSTRY IS UTILISING RECYCLING SCHEMES TO BECOME GREENER.
26 | April/May 2026
With environmentally-friendly programmes starting to be made an integral part of the industry, it’s becoming more and more common to see businesses create new initiatives aligning with it’s sustainability goals. Touched upon in last issue’s environment feature, AI is a grey zone for the environment but by creating schemes that offset these grey areas, then actions can be made to make print more eco-friendly. Among the businesses creating industry-leading sustainability plans, a few stand out, including Corplex’s innovative closed-loop recycling system and Tradeprint and Antalis’ partnership for a banner recycling scheme.
A ‘WORLD-FIRST’ RECYCLING SYSTEM Taking initiative of creating an innovative way to recycling, Corplex partnered with Global Media and The Delta Group to create a creative closed-loop recycling system for OOH media.
At the centre of the project is Corplex’s new multi-million-pound 22,000sq/ft de-inking facility at its Gloucester site, and is designed for outdoor signage mounted on the side of London busses, made from polypropylene Correx board.
The reason for this new system came about from how traditionally printed vinyl was glued onto the boards, which were reused two to three times. Then when they came to end-of-life, the boards were incinerated or sent to landfill – creating non-recyclable waste and a higher carbon footprint. Now, the new closed-loop system allows direct returns of the printed Correx boards, post advertising campaign, back to Corplex’s Gloucester site after each campaign. There the boards are shredded, washed, and recycled into clean, high whiteness PP flakes. These are then re-extruded into new boards with up to 70% recycled content – an industry first. Lucas van der Schalk, CEO of Corplex, said: “This is a
world first for printed PP boards and moves the needle on closed-loop recycling. The level of investment we’ve made in our unique de-inking facility is fully justified when you look at the results. Partnering with Global and The Delta Group demonstrates how collaboration can make a sustainable difference.” Corplex’s mechanical de-inking system is the engine behind the groundbreaking project; one that fully closes the loop while making significant CO2 savings. The process reduces carbon emissions by more than 500t annually, cutting the footprint by 80%. This is the equivalent to 1,200 one-way flights from London to New York, or removing 110 cars from the road each year.
Lucas added: “The shift toward reusable, recyclable substrates is no longer about feasibility – it’s about adoption. When combined with high-efficiency de-inking, polypropylene offers the clearest path to circularity in printed signage. “Stakeholders must now evaluate signage not just on print quality and durability, but also on total lifestyle impact and recyclability infrastructure.” Leading on from this creative de-inking recycling
system, is another type of recycling scheme that focuses on banners.
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