FOR STARTERS …
WRAP RAP HAS STREET CRED
Quality Street has launched a fun rap video featuring John Barnes to promote recycling of its paper sweet wrappers this Christmas.
In the video titled “Street (W)rappers”, the football legend encourages shoppers to recycle and keep it simple by responsibly disposing of Quality Street wrappers.
This year, the brand has transitioned nine chocolates to paper wrapping, with the Green Triangle and Orange Chocolate Crunch remaining in foil.
MEANWHILE …
New PP grade for food packaging
Braskem America has introduced a new polypropylene (PP) grade designed to replace polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in consumer food packaging applications requiring higher temperature resistance.
The new grade offers optical properties approaching PET, with improved thermal properties over PET and traditional random copolymer polypropylene.
Big cheeses excuse Camembert
The big cheeses in the European Commission have addressed concerns surrounding the potential impact of new regulations on the traditional packaging of Camembert.
Fears arose when the recent European Union regulation on Packaging and Packaging Waste aimed to make all waste recyclable by 2030, potentially affected Camembert’s iconic wooden packaging.
In response to strong opposition from the French, the EU decided to exempt Camembert cheese from the ban, ensuring the preservation of its traditional packaging.
Missing the plastic targets
WRAP has recognised in its progress report on the Plastics Pact 2025 that the necessary regulatory measures crucial for achieving targets will not be implemented by the deadline.
The report indicates that most targets established in 2018 to address single-use plastic packaging issues will be missed.
With over 120 signatories, the Plastics Pact aimed to eliminate problematic plastics, ensure all plastic packaging is recyclable, boost plastic recycling to 70%, and increase recycled content to 30%.
BRANDS WATCH …
Serial cereal sustainability achievements
Weetabix achieved its goal of 100% recyclable packaging across all its brands, three years ahead of the initial target, as revealed in its 2023 Sustainability Report. The company is now focused on reducing the carbon footprint of its packaging by 15%.
ALSO …
- Cheesy design: Davidstow Cheddar has received a modern pack design to give it a more premium appearance. The new look features a consistent inky blue colour across all variants and a new logo.
- Premium paper: Fromagerie Milleret has chosen Amcor's recycle-ready paper packaging for two premium cheeses to improve recyclability while preserving product quality.
- Crunch revamp: Rollagranola has revamped its entire granola range packaging, incorporating bold contrasting shades while preserving the distinctive window pack design.
ON THE STORE FRONT …
Backing ban on plastic fruit and veg packaging
Tesco is supporting a UK government ban on plastic packaging for fruits and vegetables, advocating for a "level playing field”. This proposed ban, already implemented in countries like France and Spain, is suggested by environmental advisers Wrap to address the growing plastic crisis in the UK.
This coincides with a survey by sustainable packaging firm WF Denny revealing that 60% of respondents support a ban on individually wrapped fruit and vegetables, and 58% favour banning all plastic packaging for such produce. In contrast, only 34% support a ban on plastic packaging for meat.
ALSO …
- Pet project: Asda is refreshing its own-label pet food packaging, aiming for a "bold, playful look and feel" that resonates with consumers' love for their pets and enhances confidence in own-brand choices.
- Organic first: Meijer has become the first national retailer in the US to offer Earthbound Farm Organic Mini Peeled Carrots in compostable bags, packaged by Bolthouse Farms. These bags, made from 100% renewable sources such as canola and soy, are certified as home-compostable by TUV.
- Setting sights on sustainability: Morrisons has set its sights on reducing, replacing, or eliminating plastic and promoting reuse and recycling in its stores – aiming for the complete elimination of “problematic plastic” and 30% recycled content for all its own-brand primary plastic packaging by 2025.???????
RECYCLING INTEREST …
Simpler reforms unveiled by government
The UK government has unveiled a series of reforms aimed at enhancing recycling rates and environmental protection.
The “Simpler Recycling” initiatives include a simplified and consistent approach to recycling across England for households, businesses, and schools, reducing confusion about recyclable materials and bins.
Additionally, weekly collections of food waste will be implemented for most households in England by 2026. The measures are part of a broader strategy to improve waste management and curb unscrupulous waste carriers.
Recycled plastic meets food standards
Tests have indicated that material from recycled plastics meets safety and suitability standards for food contact products. The finding has emerged from research by two companies as part of a Business Finland programme.
Orthex and Fortum have collaborated to focus on the viability of utilising Fortum Circo® Recycled Plastics Recyclate from consumer-collected food plastic packaging.
The carbon footprint of Fortum Circo®-PP grade used in the project is over 70% lower than virgin polypropylene, making it a sustainable raw material choice.
Film discovery
A wide range of advanced, multilayer flexible packaging for various foods has been found to be compatible with polyethylene film recycling.
The Institute Cyclos-HTP GmbH, specialising in assessing recyclability, has found that films with PA6 and EVOH can be recycled in PE film waste streams without major process adjustments.
Flexible loan
Nestlé is providing UK-based Impact Recycling with a £7 million loan to support its innovative recycling process for flexible packaging. Impact Recycling will utilise the loan to establish a facility in Durham, in the north of England.
There, it will employ its Baffled Oscillation Separation System (BOSS) to recycle hard-to-process flexible plastics into pellets. These pellets can be used to manufacture new flexible products, including mailing pouches and refuse bags.
Packaging agreement
Nova Chemicals has agreed to supply packaging maker Amcor with polyethylene from its proposed first mechanical recycling plant in Indiana, United States. The recycled polyethylene resin (rPE) will be used in Amcor’s flexible packaging films.
Sorting sorted
A new plastics sorting facility, touted as the world's largest, has been opened in Sweden. Operated by Sweden Plastic Recycling, the facility uses cutting-edge technology to sort up to 200,000 tons of plastic packaging annually.
First facility
Recycling company Revalyu has begun building its first US facility in Statesboro, Georgia. It is projected to recycle 200 million pounds of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) annually.
SUSTAINABLE TOPICS …
Wasted opportunity
Adopting the Packaging and Packaging Waste regulation has been seen as a missed opportunity by the trade body Plastic Europe.
Managing Director Virginia Janssens said: “We believe the plenary vote was a missed opportunity to strengthen this critical piece of regulation and create the incentives for the huge investments needed to make plastics packaging circular.”
Best boomerang
In the RECOUP awards, “Best Development or Innovation to enhance plastic products for recyclability or reuse,” was won by Apetito & Wiltshire Farm Foods Ltd for their “boomerang” initiative.
This establishes a closed-loop recycling system for ready meal trays, collecting plastic trays from customers each week and transforming them into new trays.
EPR funding is sought
The cross-party think tank Policy Connect has released a report titled "Unpacking the Circular Economy – Unlocking Reuse at Scale," urging the UK government to allocate funds from the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme to promote and incentivise reuse.
Smart funding is secured
Six projects focusing on capturing and storing household flexible plastics for recycling have been awarded funding as part of the UK Research and Innovation's Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging (SSPP) Challenge.
The projects include innovative solutions such as a battery-operated device to densify and store plastic waste, a capsule for compressing flexible plastic, and a kitchen countertop waste collector and compactor.
ALSO …
- Cutting the gas: The widespread adoption of returning and reusing plastic packaging could help to cut greenhouse gas emissions by up to 69%, a study by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation has shown.
- Dump disgrace: An investigation has revealed that plastic waste from Europe and North America is being dumped in low-income communities in Myanmar, Southeast Asia.
- Innovations showcased: Five noteworthy recyclable flexible packaging innovations from Pack Expo 2023 in Las Vegas have been showcased by Packaging Digest. They include bio-based resealable zippers and barrier monolayer polyethylene films.
- Compostable first: India's first compostable flexible packaging has been introduced by packaging solutions manufacturer Pakka in collaboration with Brawny Bear, a nutrition company.
BIO-DIVERSITY …
- Seaweed approval: Seaweed-based packaging from Notpla is the first such material recognised by the Dutch Government as plastic-free. The government strictly defines plastic, including technologies like aqueous dispersion coating.
- Edible film: A research team at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) has developed food packaging that's edible, using bacterial cellulose.
IN TRAYS …
- Up the Revolution: Packaging Automation has highlighted its Revolution range of tray sealers that can monitor and verify seals during the production run.
- Sealing the deal: Proseal has published a photo reel to highlight how its machines are used to seal millions of ready meals worldwide every day.
OTHER NEWS BITES …
- Greenwashing clean-up: Consumers often misunderstand eco-terms, such as "biodegradable," "compostable," and "recyclable," leading to inaccurate assumptions, according to an Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) report. The ASA aims to combat such greenwashing by addressing misleading terms in advertisements.
- Spanish tax: Companies introducing non-recycled, non-reusable plastic packaging to the Spanish market are now subject to a “plastic tax”. Businesses can seek exemption by using recycled content in their products.
- Food protection: An additive designed to protect packaged food from degradation caused by UV radiation has been introduced by Tosaf. UV9389PE EU is formulated explicitly for clear packaging films.
- Paper plans: Amazon has revealed plans for its first automated US fulfilment centre designed to replace plastic delivery packaging with paper.
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY …
From the KM team … protecting, presenting, and preserving your products.