Upcycling art object is created from old recyclables

As part of the Group-wide plastic strategy REset Plastic, the Schwarz Group regularly initiates and organizes campaigns in which employees campaign for less waste in the environment. Last year the Schwarz Group organized a cross-divisional clean-up campaign at Stiftsberg for the second year in a row, in which more than 1,000 employees from all divisions and management levels took part. The result: a total of 2.4 tons of waste was removed from the environment around Neckarsulm and Heilbronn. The majority of the collected recyclable materials were recycled by our environmental division PreZero. Another part was handed over to the special education and counseling center Lichtenstern in Löwenstein last year. The Protestant Foundation has been committed to inclusion in the Heilbronn region since 1963. 

As part of their focus topic "Recycling and Upcycling," the vocational school class dealt with the collected recyclables from the Schwarz Group: the students used them to create a new art object in close collaboration with upcycling artist Bastian Kniehl. They not only had a lot of fun with the creative and practical work, but also learned about responsible handling of the recyclables. "The topic of recycling and upcycling is more topical than ever," emphasized teacher Inge Visser, who led the upcycling project together with her colleague Ms. Carmen Lurtz-Horch.

After completion of the art object, the students and their teachers handed it over to the Schwarz Group. At the same time, the Lichtenstern Education and Counseling Center received financial support in the form of a check. Anja Köllner, the overall project manager of REset Plastic, emphasized the importance and significance of the topic during the handover: "With our group-wide plastic strategy REset Plastic, we have set ourselves ambitious goals that we approach globally and holistically. We are reducing plastic, closing loops and recycling the recyclable materials in the best possible way. We are very pleased about the regional cooperation with the Lichtenstern Foundation. Another positive result of the project is that we were able to make the topic of upcycling visible once again in a special way."

Sybille Leiß, head of the foundation, and Bettina Brenner, principal of the school, were not only pleased about the financial support, but above all about the appreciation shown and the good cooperation.

By the way: This year, there will again be a Group-wide clean-up campaign in which the employees of the Schwarz Group will free the environment around Neckarsulm and Heilbronn from waste.

More information on REset Plastic is available here: https://reset-plastic.com/en/plastic-strategy/remove