“The most sustainable is what lasts”
Christian Priebe explains how he achieves sustainability through
the high quality of his products and thus protects the environment
Living sustainably, as CO2-neutral as possible and aligning your own consumption accordingly: More and more people are pursuing this lifestyle in order to avert further global warming and environmental disasters. At the same time, we live in a throwaway society in which it is often cheaper to buy a new product than to repair it. This results in mountains of waste. PricoPlex takes a completely different approach: its plastic trays for display in fresh food counters are durable, long-lasting and therefore sustainable thanks to their high quality.
Sustainability through high quality
Plastic waste is not only bad for the environment, but also harmful to our health. In the world’s oceans, more and more plastic particles end up in the stomachs of fish and thus at the end of the food chain on our plates. Every year, an unimaginable amount of up to ten million tons of plastic waste ends up in the world’s oceans. The Federal Environment Agency estimates that there are between 100 and 150 million tons of plastic in the world’s oceans. According to estimates, around 250 million individual pieces are circulating in the Mediterranean alone. How can the problem of ever-increasing environmental pollution be tackled?
Paper or plastic? It depends on the recycling
There are no simple answers to the question of the most environmentally friendly solution. For example, the energy required for the production of paper bags is significantly greater than for the production of plastic bags, says Christian Priebe, Managing Director of tray manufacturer PricoPlex in Eresing. “It is important that we close the loop. Plastics are easy to recycle if the disposal routes are clear.” Unfortunately, this is currently not the case at all. Through his work, Priebe has become an expert in sustainability. When he sees everything that is thrown into the yellow garbage can, his stomach hurts. A public awareness campaign on the subject of waste disposal is urgently needed.
Sustainable quality products reduce resource consumption
But how does Priebe define sustainability? “For me, the most sustainable thing is something that lasts a long time,” says the head of tray manufacturer PricoPlex. The long shelf life of his products is part of the program: “You see, the production of bowls is very energy-intensive. If the trays have to be replaced frequently due to their fragility, this results in high energy consumption. However, if I stock my fresh food counter with high-quality plastic trays, I reduce the consumption of resources compared to products with a short service life – which also applies to cheap plastic trays.” The same applies to paper bags. If they tear after just one use, resources have been wasted unnecessarily in their production.
Robust composites instead of melamine create sustainability
As the earth’s resources are limited, they must be conserved. That is Priebe’s philosophy. The plastic trays that his company produces have a long half-life. This is achieved by using extremely robust plastic materials. Melamine is not used at all for tray production. For one thing, it is not break-proof, and for another, it cannot be recycled.
Das Auge kauft auch
For the expert, sustainability also has to do with appearance. Because if a bowl no longer looks nice, it is discarded. However, Priebe’s trays should adorn the fresh food counters for as long as possible. PricoPlex achieves this with a final layer of Plexiglas that seals the surface of the tray. The Plexiglas is also dyed the same color as the base material. Scratches, which occur again and again in daily work, are then not noticeable. This means that the tray can meet visual requirements for a long time, is used for a long time, conserves resources and is therefore sustainable.
The second life of the shell
However, when the trays have had their day, they can be recycled. Priebe explains how he closes the loop: “Our trays are labeled with the plastics used. We take the trays back from the customer and then put them back into the cycle. First, the plastic from the discarded trays is ground. Then the plastic flour is returned to the production cycle. We are not allowed to reuse recycled plastics because our trays come into contact with food. However, they are then used to make tool carriers for industry or blister packs for electric toothbrushes, for example.”
Sustainability through high
quality made in Germany
Priebe can easily see that this is really the case, as production takes place in Germany for quality reasons. The result is something to be proud of:
“Many of our customers have been using their bowls for 20 years. That’s sustainable for me. Because if I buy cheap, I buy twice. I don’t want that for our customers. Our products therefore have a long life cycle.”
Sustainability through high
Quality also at the company headquarters
Logically, Priebe always has an eye on the environment at the company headquarters itself: The building in Eresing is heated by a heat pump fed by geothermal energy. The company’s own PV system produces environmentally friendly electricity. And the green roof filters the air, can temporarily store water and provides cooling and insulation for the offices. “The new building will save us 160,000 tons of CO2,” says Priebe, who has made sustainability his life’s work.
Construction of the sustainable company headquarters
