Start-Up Sendmepack: "So far we have saved almost a million boxes from the paper bin"

Ms. Reed, Mr. Bondulich, everyone has probably reused packaging boxes for gifts or for storage.

With Sendmepack, you have founded a company that processes packages on a large scale for further use.

How did that happen?

Philip Bondulich:

I've been carrying the idea around with me for nine years.

At that time I was working in design and got to know an online retailer who always sent his goods in used boxes.

For this he got negative reviews on Google.

His mistake: He never mentioned that he was doing this for the sake of the environment.

Communicating exactly that is what we have been doing for two years.

How did you approach the project?

Neither of you come from the logistics industry.

Bondulich:

Our first point of contact was a fulfillment center, i.e. a logistician for online shops and brands.

They receive goods in large boxes and send the ordered products to customers.

Once the boxes are empty, they are thrown away.

This is exactly where we start.

Our employees intercept the boxes on site and save them from the paper bin.

We do not disrupt any production or delivery processes, but integrate ourselves into an existing logistics chain.

And did it work right away?

Bondulich:

We were really naïve.

Thought we'd come and pick up boxes once a week.

In fact, the boxes are located in a logistics area of ​​more than 120,000 square meters and are emptied at what feels like every minute.

We quickly realized that we need local people.

Now they save the boxes every day at the three locations in Berlin, Leipzig and Nuremberg.

How do you recycle cartons then?

Michelle Reed:

They are first hand inspected for stains, soft spots, stability and holes.

After all, a reused carton must protect the goods just as well as a new one.

In the second step, the box is freed from address labels and packaging tape, repaired if necessary and provided with our "Reused" label.

There is also an individual QR code on it.

With this and the app, customers can see how much CO2 has been saved with the recycled cardboard.

Companies that ship in their own designed boxes use our idea on the basis of a license agreement.

They have their own people for processing, but use our label.

Who are the customers?

Reed:

Our customers are online shops such as Outfittery, Avocadostore, Vytal, Your Superfoods.

But there are also smaller and medium-sized brands among them.

Every online shop needs shipping boxes, whether it's an Etsy shop or a global corporation.

How many times can you reuse a box?

Bondulich:

We sent one back and forth ten times just for fun.

After that it was really ready for the bin

.

It's over after the fifth time at the latest.

So far we have saved almost a million boxes from the paper bin.

Keyword paper bin - what's so bad about it, after all, paper is recycled?

Reed:

Intact boxes are not ready for the bin.

We extend the useful life of a product until it is no longer possible.

Recycling is only great after the so-called precycling.

But not before that, because it takes a lot of energy and water.

New raw materials often flow in because the fibers become shorter with each recycling process.

We see ourselves as a brake in the system.

You are currently working on setting up return stations.

There, as a consumer, you can return your boxes as long as they have the Sendmepack label.

How will the system work?

Reed:

After a year and a half on the market, these stations have become immensely important.

Not every end user is aware that sustainability is already taking place when a retailer uses our boxes.

You can return them to retailers, large chains or small shops: We use the inner-city infrastructure, similar to the Hermes parcel service.

People hand in their empty Sendmepack boxes and can track how much less CO2 has been released as a result.

Small retailers save the cost of new boxes, and end consumers are happy about a less full paper bin and a good deed.

The retailer only has to scan the code on the box so that the CO2 balance can continue to be determined.

Where are these stations located?

Reed:

We have now started with 30 "stations" across Germany.

This includes, for example, the “1.

FC Nürnberg Shop” in downtown Nuremberg.

Our goal is to expand the network to several thousand over the year and also to win retail chains and department stores as partners.

All "stations" can be found in our app.

How is the carbon footprint of a box measured?

Isn't it always the same depending on the size?

Reed:

For this we visited corrugated cardboard plants and got the numbers.

In fact, it's not the size of a box that counts, it's the weight.

In grams, it corresponds to the CO2 gram value that was needed to re-produce the box.

Each Sendmepack replaces at least one new box, saving an average of 260 grams of CO2 and four liters of water per use.