Day: March 23, 2023

UK – British supermarket chain Sainsbury’s has introduced sustainable packaging for its own-brand liquid laundry detergent.

Rolling out in all stores and online this week, the new design looks to help customers reduce plastic at home and will see all of its own-brand 750ml laundry detergents switching from sleeved plastic bottles to cardboard cartons.

The products will be available across the Big 4 grocer’s tropical super concentrated, bio super concentrated, non-bio super concentrated, color super concentrated and lavender super concentrated lines.

The new design will be available in the new packaging at all Sainsbury’s stores and online from this week.

Sainsbury’s new packaging, which is 35% lighter and can be recycled at kerbside or at recycling banks, will take 13 lorries off the road each year and reduce carbon emissions of this range by 50%.

In addition, the laundry liquid has also been reformulated and is now super concentrated, with a smaller amount of detergent required per wash, allowing five additional washes per carton.

According to the company, the packaging is expected to reduce the use of plastic by 80%, saving around 22 tonnes of plastic a year. It is made from cardboard certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

This comes as part of a string of plastic reductions across Sainsbury’s household range, as part of its commitment to halve its use of own brand plastic packaging by 2025.

The latest move comes nine months since Sainsbury’s launched its own-brand refillable handwash pouches in an effort to help customers reduce their consumption of plastic waste.

The pouches use 85% less plastic than the equivalent number of 250ml The Collection bottles, as well as costing 35% less than other equivalent bottles.

Sainsbury’s at the time said: “The 1L pouches use 85% less plastic and will help customers to reduce the amount of plastic waste in their homes by simply reusing their handwash bottle and pump and refilling from a Sainsbury’s handwash pouch.”

In a move to reduce plastic in its packaging, the supermarket chain also introduced a vacuum-packed alternative across its beef mince range, saving 450 tonnes of plastic annually.

The new packaging contains the same amount of beef mince, but is smaller in size, helping customers to use their freezer and fridge space more efficiently by taking up less space.

Source:

https://www.sustainablepackagingafrica.com/2023/03/22/sainsburys-rolls-out-cardboard-packaging-for-own-brand-detergent/

ISRAEL – Hp has unveiled its new HP Indigo 200K Digital Press, designed to give digital flexible converters the competitive edge with better productivity, on-demand delivery, no minimum orders, unique designs, reduced energy consumption, and minimal waste.

The new press is based on the only field-proven digital technology for digital flexible packaging and on a successful install base of over 300 HP Indigo 25K digital presses, series 4, worldwide.

The new series 5 HP Indigo 200K digital press is designed to increase the productivity of high-margin, sustainable short runs, delivered in days with no minimum order size required.

According to the company, it can print up to 56 m/min (183 ft/min) and sets out to increase the productivity of high-margin, sustainable short runs of digital flexible packaging, to be delivered in ”days, not weeks.”

Noam Zilbershtain, VP and general manager of HP Indigo & Scitex said: “The HP Indigo 200K is a mid-web digital press especially designed for converters addressing the needs of brands in flexible packaging, but it also serves the growing requirements of the label and shrink sleeve industries for higher productivity and wider format.

“Flexible Packaging is a growing market, and as HP Indigo customers are growing much faster than the market, I have no doubt that the HP Indigo 200K digital press will open the door for more flexo converters who want to join the success, and reign in industry 4.0.”

The HP Indigo 200K digital press showcases a 30% increase in speed and 45% boost in productivity compared to the HP Indigo 25K.

Featuring gravure-matching color quality based on the HP Indigo Liquid Electro Photography (LEP) and One-Shot Color technologies, the new press offers the widest available range of ElectroInks.

It is designed to print high-coverage packages with white on the majority of industrial substrates, both surface and reverse. Additional business opportunities include unique brand protection elements.

Following the announcement of UK-based Sirane Group as one of the press’ first beta customers, Peter Ralten, commercial and business development director, says: “At Sirane, we have been looking into digital print for a while now, realizing it is where the future lies.

“The HP Indigo 200K digital press, with its incredible increase in productivity, opens new business opportunities for us. With the unmatched HP Indigo quality and versatility, we can’t wait to see the results of adding it to our portfolio.”

Source:

HP Indigo unveils new press for the digital flexible packaging industry

SOUTH AFRICA – Dairy product manufacturer Fair Cape Dairies has added CFA 812 filling machine from aseptic carton supplier SIG to expand its flexibility with regard to packaging formats and volumes.

The CFA 812 filling machine allows Fair Cape Dairies to offer its products in South Africa using SIG‘s combistyle carton packs.

Available in 1 liter and 500ml sizes, combistyle features a new shaped corner designed to improve grip safety and provide more functionality and convenience.

Fair Cape Dairies Group CFO JJ Olivier said: “We are very excited to have partnered with SIG on adding a new SIG filling machine that will allow us to offer the first unique combistyle carton pack in South Africa.

“Our experience working with SIG provided us with a fantastic performance, world-class efficiency and reduction in waste that supports our sustainability journey.

“We continue to expand our portfolio to offer a bigger range of products for our customers. The pack with the shaped corner panel stands out on the shelf and offers extra convenience.”

The CFA 812 machine is intended to offer users more flexibility in packaging different formats and sizes.

The packaging innovation helps beverage manufacturers stand out from the crowd and makes it easier for consumers to find exactly what they need.

The stylish ‘corner panel’ also allows Fair Cape Dairies to highlight its corporate promise and brand message: ‘Do the Right Thing’.

Fair Cape Dairies previously installed two SIG CFA 312 filling machines, which use SIG’s combiblocSlimline carton packs.

The company is now offering combiblocSlimline, combiblocMidi, combifitMidi and combistyle among other packaging formats.

Following the installation of SIG CFA 312, the company has seen strong demand and growth for its popular Fair Cape brand of UHT milk.

SIG Middle East and Africa president and general manager Abdelghany Eladib added: “combistyle is one of our latest innovations and Fair Cape Dairies is the perfect partner to officially introduce it in the South African market.

“The packaging offers Fair Cape differentiation on the store shelf, convenience and flexibility. combistyle exemplifies SIG’s commitment to delivering innovative, differentiated product and packaging solutions that help businesses satisfy ever-changing needs.”

Source:

Fair Cape Diaries installs SIG’s CFA 812 filling machine to optimize its operations

COTE D’IVOIRE – Moroccan waste management company Arma Environment has announced plans to set up a recycling plant in Abidjan, says Chief Executive Youssef Ahizoune.

Ahizoune as cited by Reuters explained that the new plant is “expected to be operational within a few months” as the deals are being finalized with plastic waste suppliers.

The move comes at a time when Abidjan produces 288 metric tons of plastic waste, including a large number of plastic bottles, as cited by Veolia.

The country only recycles about three percent of the plastic used. In addition, it still does not have a systematic approach to tackling the problem.

With the new plant, the rate of waste collection and recycling is expected to increase in the city of Abidjan and expand to other cities.

Expanding Recycling across Africa

Arma also has waste management operations in 16 Moroccan cities including the capital Rabat but is looking to expand across the continent while also seeking to reduce emissions.

It introduced its first electric truck for waste collection in Rabat last week, though replacing its entire fleet will take time.

“Reducing the firm’s carbon footprint is a priority,” Ahizoune said but noted the price of heavyweight electric vehicles and a lack of charging points on highways are obstacles.

He said that electric truck prices would need to drop to the level of fossil fuel trucks for the company to achieve full electrification.

One of Arma Environment’s major projects has been underway since 2019 in Casablanca. It targets four main areas in the city, covering 72 square kilometers.

The company has deployed cleaning services using innovative technology collecting 440,000 tonnes of waste a year, says Arma Environment’s official website.

The other large-scale project in Marrakech has generated jobs for 1,022 employees and covered over 126 square kilometers.

The project began in 2014 and is set to finish in 2026, having received a total investment of over MAD 1 million (US$96,114.52).

Another project took place in Rabat and targeted three main areas, including Hassan, Yaacoub Al Mansour, and Touarga.

Through its work across these areas, the company has served 300,000 residents during the seven-year contract.

Maintaining green spaces is another key goal for Arma, as they also help with landscaping projects, equip children’s playgrounds, supply shrubs and trees, and install lighting in public areas.

The environmentally savvy company aligns with Morocco’s shift towards green energy. One of Morocco’s targets is to have 80% of the energy supplied by renewable sources by 2050.

Source:

Morocco’s Arma Environment to set up recycling plant in Abidjan

SOUTH AFRICA – JSE-listed packaging group Nampak has, through its Nampak Products subsidiary, entered into a sale of equipment agreement with Mpact’s indirect subsidiary Mpact Plastic Containers Castleview (Mpact PCC).

Nampak has been winding down and closing its crates manufacturing business and intends to sell equipment that is no longer used.

The company, which is now valued at R690 million (US$38.06m) on the JSE, has been actively optimizing its portfolio and reducing interest-bearing debt, which it intends to do with the disposal proceeds.

“The disposal is in line with Nampak’s active portfolio optimization strategy and will assist Nampak in its focus on the balance of its portfolio and to reduce its interest-bearing debt,”  said the company in a statement.

The equipment in question will be sold for R40 million (US$2.21m) and is located at Nampak sites in Olifantsfontein, Gauteng; Pinetown, KwaZulu-Natal; and Epping, in the Western Cape.

The company said the book value of the equipment, which consisted of injection molding and recycling equipment, ancillary equipment and spares, was R4.5 million (US$0.25m), and the profit on the disposal amounted to R35.5 million (US$1.96m).

Mpact PCC will pay the consideration in three tranches, the first of which will comprise 50% of the consideration upon delivery of the equipment. The second and third tranches will comprise 25% of the consideration, respectively.

The move is the latest in Nampak’s bid to simplify and optimize operations by addressing non-performing operations and rationalizing product offerings.

The group is laboring under an R5.2 billion (US$286.84m) debt pile after its ill-fated expansion into the rest of Africa.

The 2020 disposals of Nampak Glass and Nigerian Cartons have helped the group to settle the dollar-denominated debt.

The Johannesburg-based group has also been working to complete the sale of Nampak Tubes in 2023.

Owing to a challenging macroeconomic environment, the disposal of assets at fair value proved difficult in 2022 and the group did not meet its target to reduce net interest-bearing debt by R1 billion (US$55.16m) by June 30, nor was it able to do so by September 30.

Nampak said it successfully renegotiated the terms of its funding arrangements and covenant threshold levels, extending the debt maturity dates from 1 April 2023 and 25 September 2023 to 31 December 2023, which improved the structure of its statement of financial position and provided relief to short-term liquidity, giving it time to consider all alternatives to strengthen the capital structure and reduce net interest-bearing debt.

This is subject to a successful rights offer to raise a minimum in net proceeds of R1.3 billion (US$71.71m) to be used to repay the net interest-bearing debt by 31 March 2023.

As a part of a turnaround plan that was approved in September 2022, the group in December proposed an “up to” R2 billion (US$110.32m) rights offer to settle at least R1.35 billion (US$74.47m) in debt owed to banks and to fund an upgrade of one of its beverage lines, which sent its share price nosediving.

Source:

Nampak offloads crate manufacturing equipment to Mpact subsidiary in optimisation strategy