reLosy@(reScratches) reLosy@(reScratches) reLosy@(reScratches)

reLosy (reScratches)

“The journey of scratch cards doesn’t end with a win. That’s just the beginning! We are the first lottery company in the world to upcycle scratch cards. We have decided to produce modern, high-quality products from old winning and unsold scratch cards. And we’re just getting started.”

Facts to start with

1

Sazka sells 250 tonnes of scratch tickets per year.


2

We handle the lottery tickets that come back to us responsibly and have been recycling them for over 20 years. In 2023, approximately 113 tonnes of Sazka lottery tickets were sustainably recycled by an external partner.
3

The resulting material from organic shredding is used in other paper products, such as construction insulation or egg cartons.
4

137 tonnes of non-winning lottery tickets sold end up in mixed waste.


5

We are always looking for new ways to use and upcycle old Sazka lottery tickets. We want our material to gradually become the basis for different types of products.

Projects 2024

Sazka Kickz

We’re all dressed up! Our first project involves scratch-card sneakers, created in collaboration with the NAUT design studio. Together we designed and produced 200 unique pairs.
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Sazka modular furniture

We’ve turned old winning and unsold scratch cards into recycled material that is so durable and strong that we’ve turned it into modular furniture.

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Student challenge

How do young designers deal with old lottery tickets in the Reborn Design 2024 eco-design competition? Not only their designs, but also their products’ commercial potential and technological feasibility are evaluated. 
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BMX Pumptrack

We are also pedalling into sustainability and cycling, including the young and attractive discipline of BMX. A modular BMX pumptrack is already being developed and will be the first of its kind in the world.

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Recycling or upcycling

    Recycling and upcycling are two different methods of waste treatment.
We are using the upcycling method in our initial projects (Sazka Kickz, Sazka Modular Furniture, BMX pumptrack and Student Challenge).

Recycling

Recycling involves the processing of waste by breaking down the given waste materials and reusing them individually to produce other products.

Example: old newsprint that is used to make new paper of lower quality or paper products such as envelopes, toilet paper and cardboard boxes.

Upcycling

Upcycling is the transformation of waste materials or old items into new products with higher value.  

Example: old wooden pallets from industrial warehouses are transformed into new furniture such as tables, sofas and shelves.

FAQs


What is the reLosy platform?     
Scratch cards have been a popular form of entertainment among the Czech people for several generations. Sazka is the first lottery company in the world to give scratch cards a second life. The reLosy platform seeks out opportunities and new ways to recycle and upcycle scratch cards and is striving to draw attention to the topic of sustainability and circularity through innovative designer items. The reLosy project has now come up with a collection of designer products made from lottery tickets. The products also emphasise Sazka’s strong connection with sports and the sporting community.

Who is behind it and who is involved? 
Sazka is behind the project. The company collaborates on the products with leading Czech designers, universities and other entities. We also want to involve our customers in the project by offering them the possibility of returning non-winning scratch cards at our retail stores. 

What is the goal of the project?    
Paper is an excellent and undervalued material and Sazka wants to find and use opportunities for recycling and upcycling so that as many scratch cards as possible have a chance for a new life. The overall goal is to promote sustainability and circularity. At Sazka, we have been recycling returned scratch cards (winning and unsold) in an environmentally friendly manner for over 20 years. The material is subsequently used, for example, to make egg cartons. However, we are looking for other ways to process large quantities of lottery tickets in a meaningful and sustainable way and to give them a second life so that they can continue to bring joy. One solution is upcycling, which replaces the purchase of new products and instead puts the waste material to valuable use.

What companies are involved in lottery ticket processing and upcycling?
Sazka is the first lottery company in the world to upcycle its scratch cards. The company’s vision is scalability of its products to the public space and other high-volume uses.

What is the environmental impact of Sazka?      
Sazka is not a manufacturing company and, thanks to the relocation of its offices to the Bořislavka complex, it does not have a major impact on the environment. It has received LEED Gold certification thanks to, for example, rainwater harvesting, energy recovery from lifts and a heat exchanger. But we sell a lot of paper – scratch cards – and we want to continue to manage the amount that we have under our control in a sensible way. We have been recycling the lottery tickets with an external partner for over 20 years and we are looking for further solutions that will enable us to continue to sustainably process the material. One of the options is upcycling.

Why does Sazka upcycle lottery tickets?     
We are looking for other solutions for processing the material, which we have a lot of, in a sensible way. Upcycling is another step toward reducing our environmental impact. At the same time, we want to bust the myth that upcycled products are not very nice and show that they can instead be stylish and high-quality. 

What is the difference between upcycling and recycling?     
Recycling involves the processing of waste by breaking down the given waster materials and reusing them individually to produce other products. Examples include old newsprint that is used to make new paper of lower quality or paper products such as envelopes, toilet paper and cardboard boxes. Upcycling involves transforming waste materials or old items into new products with higher value. Examples include old wooden pallets from industrial warehouses, which can be transformed into new furniture, such as tables, sofas and shelves. 

What are the next steps?    
At the end of the year, we will present the first upcycled certified BMX pumptrack at the Life! experience festival in Brno. At the same time, we are discussing with the pumptrack manufacturer the possibility of using certified material from scratch cards in mass production. We are preparing other items for the public space, which will raise awareness of the possibilities of recycling. And we will involve our customers – in the summer we will launch a pilot project in which we will give them the opportunity to return non-winning lottery tickets at selected points of sale. The lottery tickets will then be given a new life by Sazka and its reLosy platform.


What is Sazka Kickz?        
Designer sneakers made from vegan apple leather, with a soles made from upcycled Sazka lottery tickets.

Who is the creator of the Sazka Kickz?       
The sneakers were created in collaboration with Naut, the design studio founded by Tish Seabrook and Filip Nguyen.

Is it possible to buy the shoes? How many were made?       
Two hundred pairs were created and the shoes cannot be bought, as they can only be won in competitions on Instagram.

What are they made of? 
The shoes are made from eco-friendly vegan apple leather with Greenguard Gold certification. The soles are made from  upcycled scratch cards.

How durable is the scratch-off layer?      
The upper scratch-off layer is washable and durable, so it can withstand normal wear and tear.


What is Sazka modular furniture? 
The modular designer furniture is 70% made from Sazka scratch cards – this is the largest possible percentage of scratch tickets that could be used with a focus on robustness, durability and outdoor placement. The remaining 30% comprises soft recycled plastic.

Who is the author of the design?   
The designer Filip Krampla.

What is the furniture designed for? Where can it be found?      
We plan to use the furniture in the context of events; in the future, it could also appear in relaxation zones for attendees of various sporting or cultural events. We update events regularly here on the website in the Sazka Modular Furniture section. We are also looking at ways to further scale this product into the public space. We believe that in this way we will also be able to naturally draw attention to the topic of sustainability and upcycling.


Why did you join the RebornDesign student challenge?       
The Reborn Design project excited us with its innovative vision of connecting students and companies for the benefit of sustainability and creativity. We look forward to hearing more ideas on what products we can further upcycle the lottery tickets into.

How many students will be involved in the competition?     
A total of 124 students are involved.

When were the results announced?
The announcement was made on 18 June 2024. The winner of the “paper” category and the overall winner of the competition was Václav F. Matyáš with his MOTMAL project involving deodorising eco-pucks made from Sazka scratch-off lottery tickets.

What are your future plans?   
We are already working on other interesting and design projects. we want to upcycle the material from the scratch cards in large volumes. In the next phases, we will engage our customers and, at the same time, we are looking for new opportunities and partnerships for the further use of the material from lottery tickets.