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- Case Study: Picnic
Sustainable Plastic Recovery at Online Supermarket Picnic
Efficient Processes, Corporate Responsibility and Sustainable Plastic Recycling
About Picnic – The Giant Supermarket on Wheels
Picnic is a Dutch online supermarket that sells groceries exclusively through the Picnic.app mobile application and delivers directly to private households. The company operates without any physical retail stores and instead focusses on customer proximity and
a highly efficient logistics network.
Picnic has been active in Germany since 2018 and has gradually expanded its delivery area. Following its launch in Oberhausen, additional locations were established in Hamburg, Bremen, Berlin, Nuremberg, Bamberg, the Rhine-Main region, Stuttgart and Viernheim. Today, Picnic operates central logistics centres and regional distribution hubs across many parts of Germany and, since 2022, also in France.
The Viernheim site plays a central role in this network. Since August 2023, all orders for the region have been picked there and delivered on the same day. The delivery area covers parts of Hessen, Rhineland-Palatinate and Baden-Wuerttemberg. With around 15,000 orders per week, the site handles a high logistics volume and consequently generates a significant amount of packaging material, particularly plastic bags.
Sustainability as Part of the Customer Experience
Picnic sees sustainability not as an additional service but as an integral part of the shopping experience. In addition to accepting PET bottle returns, the company offers customers the option of returning the plastic bags used for deliveries directly to the driver. The aim is to return as much plastic as possible to the recycling loop.
To process these volumes efficiently, Picnic uses the HSM V-Press 860 vertical baling press at its Viernheim site. The machine enables the daily volume of plastic bags to be compressed into compact bales and fed back into the recycling loop. This creates a closed-loop process that is both environmentally and operationally beneficial.
Initial Situation and Decision-Making Process
Before the baling press was introduced, the plastic bags were disposed of through conventional waste management channels. This involved regular collections, high costs and considerable space requirements for collection containers. With a growing demand for home grocery deliveries, it quickly became apparent that this solution was neither economically viable nor environmentally sustainable.
The Building & Infrastructure department therefore carried out a market review and came across the environmental technology specialists at HSM. The decisive factors behind the investment were economic efficiency and sustainability, two principles that guide Picnic in all operational decisions. As a result, continuing conventional container-based disposal was no longer considered a viable option.
Why the HSM V-Press 860 eco Vertical Baling Press was chosen
The decision to select the HSM V-Press 860 eco was based on several technical and practical criteria:
- Compact dimensions and minimal space requirements, an important factor in a busy logistics centre
- High pressing force and robust construction, ideal for processing mixed plastic and PET waste
- Large loading aperture, making it easy to load multiple bags at once
- Production of marketable bales that can be sent directly for recycling
The resulting benefits for Picnic were clear:
- Immediate compaction of returned bags after each delivery round, significantly reducing storage space requirements
- An increase in the volume of recyclable materials recovered
- Noticeable reductions in handling and disposal costs
In day-to-day operations, the machine has also proven reliable and user-friendly. Operation is simple and safe, which is particularly advantageous in a logistics centre with frequently changing personnel. The automatic operating mode further reduces time requirements: load the material, close the door and the machine completes the process automatically.
Experience and Conclusion
Picnic is highly satisfied with the overall cooperation. The pre-sales consultation was professional, and the commissioning proceeded smoothly. The machine operates reliably in everyday use. Picnic particularly values the fact that material once considered waste has become a valuable recyclable resource, benefitting both the environment and operational performance.
Summary
For Picnic, the HSM V-Press 860 has proven to be the right choice for improving sustainability. Plastic film and PET can be recycled efficiently. The solution offers an excellent balance between cost and performance while significantly optimising operational processes.
This reference project demonstrates how digital retail concepts and sustainable waste management practices can work hand in hand and how technical solutions can make a measurable contribution to resource conservation.
This report was created with the kind support of the Viernheim site.
Photo credits: Intro image, application, logo - Picnic GmbH; Typical bale of compressed plastic film - HSM GmbH + Co. KG
08/2026
594 kN
max: 480 kg
