REset Plastic: Schwarz Group’s REmove initiative is a resounding success across the globe

As part of its group-wide sustainability strategy and our plastics strategy REset Plastic, the Schwarz Group’s REmove field of action is helping to free oceans, rivers, and lakes of plastic waste. The shared vision of the corporate group is to turn today’s waste into tomorrow’s treasure. The Schwarz Group regularly organizes a wide range of “REmove activities” on a global, national, and local scale: commitment that pays off.

Traveling from Neckarsulm to Indonesia for the environment

Achieving an international milestone: After a successful round of capacity building in Indonesia, the Schwarz Group is preparing to hand over the BRIC river cleanup project (Bekasi RIver Cleanup) to local stakeholders. The corporate group initiated the project in 2019 together with its partners One Earth-One Ocean e.V. and the local waste management company WasteforChange Alam Indonesia (W4C), with the support of the local government in Bekasi. Since the station commenced operations three years ago, the “SeeHamsters” (catamarans designed to remove waste from rivers) have been removing up to 500 kilograms of waste every day, around 60 percent of which is returned to the local material cycles and recycled. Achievements include setting up an infrastructure to remove and recycle river waste, creating jobs, improving working conditions, and ensuring carbon-neutral operation for the project. Aside from financial support, the Schwarz Group has shared its expertise in the field of waste management. 

Lending a hand on our doorstep and around the world 

The Schwarz Group also launched a successful river cleanup project in Europe this year: In September, the corporate group initiated a cleanup campaign along the Danube River across all of its divisions for the first time. Under the motto “River Cleanup Collective @Danube – Together for Cleaner Rivers,” 15 Lidl and Kaufland subsidiaries volunteered together with NGOs and local project partners. In nine countries, a total of 55 activities / projects were organized to clean up the riverbank along the Danube. Around 3,000 participants, from employees to school classes and professional divers, removed a total of almost 20 tons of trash from the environment. 

In addition, the retail company campaigned for a clean environment at its main administration location: In September, Schwarz Group employees picked up trash in public places around Heilbronn and Neckarsulm for the third time as part of a group-wide cleanup campaign. More than 1,000 employees in 128 teams pitched in and collected over 3 tons of trash, which was sorted and then recycled on site by the PreZero environmental division.

Additional information

For further information on the Schwarz Group, see https://gruppe.schwarz/en/press.
For further information on the REmove initiative from our group-wide plastics strategy REset Plastic, see REmove – Initiative against plastic waste | REset Plastic (reset-plastic.com).