Mondi co-founds “milestone” alliance for paper bag circularity in the construction industry

Mondi has co-founded a Spanish alliance to improve used paper bag circularity in the construction industry. The alliance, Paper Sacks Go Circular Spain, comprises 12 European companies from the full value chain, including Mondi.

The initiative follows Mondi’s summer launch of a dissolvable cement bag to the Spanish building industry. SolmixBag is a one-ply paper bag made from 100% kraft paper that stores and transports dry cement, screed and coarse pre-mixes. It disintegrates during mixing, eliminating dust and waste on the building site.

In Spain, construction waste accounts for more than 30% of the total waste generated, with a recovery rate of only 48% according to the latest report from the Spanish National Statistics Institute.

“This initiative demonstrates Mondi’s commitment to collaborating with industry partners across the value chain to increase recycling rates for used paper bags,” says Carlos Martinez Ezquerra, circular economy manager at Mondi Flexible Packaging.

“It creates a scalable approach for the rest of Europe and other industries, leading to a reduction in waste management costs, a significant increase in the valorization rate, and supports transparency and traceability of the circular economy.”

Construction goes circular

In June, Paper Sacks Go Circular Spain hosted a webinar called Construction Goes Circular, with over 80 industry participants, to introduce the initiative and explain the roles and responsibilities within the value chain.

Mondi details: “Paper Sacks Go Circular Spain is an alliance of companies that share a common interest in closing the loop and building a circular economy for paper bags in Spain. Starting with paper bags for construction materials, the coalition will look for synergies with other construction and demolition waste streams to increase volumes and achieve economies of scale.”

“It aims to improve the recycling of paper bags used for construction materials such as cement, plaster and insulation, balancing the sustainability and economic aspects, and is expected to have a positive impact on the industry's overall business model.”

Topics in the webinar included fostering relationships between participants, extending the circular model to other construction materials and promoting membership of the alliance. 

“The Arpada Group from Spain is already a good example of this alliance in action,” details Mondi. “They are successfully separating the construction waste for efficient recycling of the paper bags and are working on more optimized waste management systems.”

The alliance’s next steps include working groups on process optimization, traceability and certification, training, best practices, communication and “synergies with other construction waste materials.”