TürkçeReconditioning Information
What Is Reconditioning?
A total of approximately 400 million industrial packaging is used in the world every year of which 235 millions are steel drums, 154 millions plastic drums and the remaining 11 millions are the IBCs.
Mutual interaction in any way of industrial packaging with the environment they are in is unavoidable like any other materials around us.
As the packaging do not disappear after having used once, in any way, they pass through many hands, or are sold widespreadly, or are removed by their end users through passing them to someone else. However, if not reconditioned for reusage, they always constitute in any way a continuous and unpreventable risk not only for the human health but also for the environment including any living-being therein.
The solution is the reconditioning and recycling of the industrial packaging. Through renewal, no used packaging will be chucked out or will cause any pollution of the environment. Multi-times used packaging provides uncountable benefits; not only through preventing environmental pollution, nut also through their economical return thanks to reusing. A conscious circulation will contribute to the national and global economy besides protection of the local and global environment.
The experiences gained in reconditioning and recycling of industrial packaging as a result of the practices applied in developed countries, designates the importance of the following three factors:
- Keeping under control the lifetime of used or emptied packaging to elapse until the reconditioning or definitely disposal thereof;
- Picking up of the packaging from their place of end usage and transportation thereof to the place of reconditioning or definitive disposal;
- Determining the way and quality of and the technology to be used for reconditioning, and disposal of the waste to occur during reconditioning process.
The first two of these three topics are regulated by the prevailing ordinances.
The "Regulation of Control of Packaging and Packaging Wastes" introduced by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry has been published on 30 July 2004 in the Turkish Official Gazette. The said Regulation is enacted as of the date of 01.01.2005.
Pursuant to the provisions of this Regulation, any industrial enterprises keeping any drums, IBCs or various other similar industrial packagings in their premises are obliged to dispatch such industrial packagings after they are used/emptied to reconditioning and recycling plants licensed by the Ministry, and that without polluting the environment and always in compliance with such conditions as stipulated in the aforementioned Regulation, that introduces for the users of industrial packaging the obligation of Notice, Certification and Reconditioning/Recycling of the industrial packagings they have used.
In addition thereto, as pursuant to the provisions of a further Regulation introduced by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry of the Republic of Turkey, the “Regulation of Control of Dangerous Wastes”, also any packagings contaminated with dangerous wastes are also considered as dangerous wastes, any enterprises having used such contaminated packagings are obliged to delivery them exclusively to licensed packaging reconditioning or disposal plants to provide their proper recycling or definitively disposal.
In the same Regulation are also stipulated the features of firms that will perform the transportation of such packagings, of the vehicles to be used for the transportation thereof, and even the qualifications the drivers of such vehicles must have.
It should be in case provided that any packaging reconditioning activities be performed countrywide exclusively by those enterprises that are duly licensed thereto.
Worldwide Associations
The most important associations in the world in the field of industrial packaging reconditioning are:
- ACRA – (Australian Container Reconditioners Association): An association formed by and amongst the reconditioners in Australia, New Zeeland and Asian-Pacific countries.
- JDRA – (Japan Drum Reconditioners' Association) – An association formed by and amongst the reconditioners in Japan in 1967.
- RIPA – (Reusable Industrial Packaging Association) – Represents the reconditioning industry in North America.
- SERRED – European Reconditioners of Industrial Packaging) – An association formed in 1971 by the initiative of England, France and Germany, represents currently all industrial packaging reconditioners in Europe.
All of the above-mentioned associations form the ICCR (International Confederation of Container Reconditioners). All these associations and their members act jointly with the enterprises producing brand new industrial packagings - that have a similar association structure like the reconditioners - and with their associations. Not to forget is, that producers of brand new industrial packagings need reconditioners for the disposal of packaging waste occurring after utilization of the packagings, and the reconditioners need the producers of brand new industrial packagings as primary material source to continue their economic activities.
İzvar Ambalaj is SERRED's (The Association, for the European Reconditioners of Industrial Packaging) first and the only member and representative in Turkey. However, İzvar attempts to provide association of the other licensed industrial packaging reconditioning firms in our country to SERRED in a short term, and thus benefit from the membership to an international association and contribute to the development of reconditioning sector in our country.
