RECYCLING WEEK RECAP
The people did well
As we draw a close on Recycling Week, the people of Britain have been thanked "For pulling together whilst staying apart. And continuing to recycle." You can watch the video, "Thanking the nation: Together – We Recycle."
The brands can do better
Little more than a third of the UK's bestselling branded groceries have packaging that is fully recyclable in household collections, according to Which? And almost four in 10 items have no labelling to show whether or not they could be recycled.
Joining forces to close the loop
Recycling Technologies has joined Chemical Recycling Europe while sharing its vision "to close the loop for the plastics industry by offering the technology to endlessly recycle all plastic waste back into its original components".
Joining forces to loop the Loop
Loop Industries and Suez have announced plans to build the first Infinite Loop recycling facility in Europe, aiming "to produce virgin quality food grade, 100% recycled and infinitely recyclable plastic" and dedicated to PET.
Chemical reaction from BPF
British Plastics Foundation (BPF) tweeted: "By turning plastic waste back into its chemical building blocks, chemical recycling processes have the potential to dramatically improve recycling rates and divert plastic waste from landfill or incineration."
CIRCULAR ECONOMY and CEFLEX
How you can apply and share the guidelines
Are you wondering how packaging teams can start applying and sharing the Designing for a Circular Economy guidelines? Haulwen Nicholas, CEFLEX Workstream Consultant, has the answers including: "A tangible first step is an internal assessment to review current portfolio." For more information, you can download the guidelines.
How we are implementing the recommendations
CEFLEX has strongly recommended the use of recyclable mono-materials for flexible packaging. This coincides with our development of a range of mono-material lidding films designed for recyclability. We recently launched mono-polymer material lidding films, made from polypropylene (PP), and all-polyester (PET), weld-seal, mono-material films.
IN THE PRESS
AND FINALLY …
- Start-up hits a sweet spot. A food-tech start-up has developed a plastic-free packaging material made of sugarcane waste that is fully compostable, safe, yet durable enough to be used for greasy, wet, or hot food. They’ve turned this material into trays.
- Takeaway that keeps coming back. A "takeaway without the throwaway" is amongst the winners of a competition organised by the Government-backed Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging (SSPP) challenge. The network of reusable CauliBox lunchboxes is intended to make sustainability more affordable and convenient.
- On paper, plastics are still better. A few industry insiders have helped Packaging Europe conclude that paper cannot YET replace plastics, even if its possibilities for barrier protection are much greater than before.
PLUS … Hello to Konrad
A big KM welcome to Konrad Webster who joins our team as a Graduate Trainee in the Customer Service department. We'll tell you more about Konrad soon once we get to know him better.
From the KM team … stay safe, keep up the good work, and value plastic.
