Category: News & Updates

See a few examples of refillable and reusable packaging solutions from Keurig Dr Pepper, Heinz, and Clover Sonoma from ThePackHub’s May Packaging Innovation Briefing Report.

Recycling initiatives continue to be one of the most active sustainability areas driven by challenging Plastic Pacts around the world that are part of a three-pronged objective to deliver 100% recyclable packaging by 2025. Pending packaging taxes that require 30% recycled content are influencing change as well as the focus on stretching recycling targets.

Investment Advisory Firm Successfully Pushes Keurig Dr Pepper for More Sustainable Packaging

Green Century Funds, a responsible investment advisory firm, has successfully pushed Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP) to adopt more sustainable packaging practices. The firm urged KDP to consider their single-use plastic pods’ environmental impact and invest in alternative solutions. As a result, KDP has announced a new commitment to sustainability, promising to make all K-Cup pods recyclable by the end of 2022 and to use 30% post-consumer recycled plastic in all K-Cup pods by 2025. Additionally, KDP plans to pilot a program allowing customers to return used K-Cup pods for recycling. As more investors prioritize sustainable investments, companies like KDP will continue to face pressure to adopt more eco-friendly practices. This success demonstrates the power of responsible investing in encouraging companies to prioritize sustainability.

Heinz Brazil’s new recycled PET sauce bottles are estimated to save around 700 metric tons of virgin material each year.

Heinz Brazil is moving its ketchup, barbecue sauce, and mayonnaise to a new bottle that contains 30% recycled PET (polyethylene terephthalate) material. The move, which will not affect the shape or color of the bottles, is estimated to save around 700 metric tons of virgin material per annum. The new packaging was developed in just under a year by Sao Paulo-based Valgroup, who are the largest plastic producers, transformers, and recyclers in Latin America. Because these products contain no additives or preservatives, Kraft Heinz demanded a quality PET PCR resin to guarantee the integrity of the product’s taste, smell and color. Kraft Heinz is starting to implement this change in packaging material with the Heinz brand, but the idea is to move to the company’s other SKUs. The initiative is part of the company’s global goal of producing 100% of its packaging with recycled, recyclable or compostable material by 2025.

Clover Sonoma’s new milk jugs are made with Envision’s EcoPrime food contact-approved rHDPE.

Dairy Company Clover Sonoma Moves to Jug That Contains 30% rHDPE

Californian dairy company Clover Sonoma has announced that it has moved its one gallon (3.78 litres) organic milk to a new jug that contains 30% rHDPE(recycled high-density polyethylene). The material chosen for the bottles is Envision’s EcoPrime food contact-approved rHDPE, which has been available for more than 15 years, but manufacturers and brands have been slow to adopt the material, which is believed to be due to a lack of experience running PCR (post consumer recycled) materials, and also cost, as PCR resin is 8 to 10% more expensive than virgin HDPE resin. Another challenge for milk producers seeking to use rHDPE in their milk jugs has been sourcing clear PCR content. PCR content in other consumer packaged goods products is more readily available, but food-grade PCR content less so until now. EcoPrime is made from curbside-recycled food and beverage packaging and uses a unique, patented cleaning process designed to eliminate contaminants.

Source:

https://www.packworld.com/news/sustainability/article/22865429/thepackhub-keurig-dr-pepper-heinz-and-clover-sonoma-introduce-postconsumer-recycled-packaging-solutions

UNEP, the United Nations Environment Program just sent out a press release entitled “UN roadmap outlines solutions to cut global plastic pollution”. Here’s the first paragraph:

“Plastic pollution could reduce by 80 per cent by 2040 if countries and companies make deep policy and market shifts using existing technologies, according to a new report by UN Environment Programme (UNEP). The report is released ahead of a second round of negotiations in Paris on a global agreement to beat plastic pollution, and outlines the magnitude and nature of the changes required to end plastic pollution and create a circular economy.”

First, let’s deal with the non sequitur in the room: end plastic pollution and create a circular economy. Why are plastics being singled out here? And how will ending plastic pollution create a circular economy? What exactly is plastic pollution? How prevalent is it? How does it compare to other forms of pollution in terms of environmental degradation, human health, ecosystem health, cleanup costs and potential, etc.?

Why isn’t this statement something more along the lines of “optimize source reduction and circularity in order to reduce litter, landfilling, greenhouse gas generation, and virgin material use”? Further, a circular economy shouldn’t be a goal. It should be a strategy that helps lead to a goal, something along the lines of “minimize all types of waste in order to allow the Earth and its variety of ecosystems to remain healthy, vibrant, and sustainable”.

For the sake of discussion, let’s define plastic pollution to be litter, both on land and in marine environments. In reality, litter reduction is not dependent on circularity systems, unless the systems include the carrots and sticks needed to prevent the true cause of littering — people.

No amount of recycling, EPR, deposit laws, etc. will reduce litter in the developed world. And without actual solid waste management infrastructures and similar consumer regulation in the developing world, no real progress will be made there either.

As my SPRING associate Chris Lynn pointed out to me, this report relies on global government mandates, rather than financial incentives, to create change. A key problem here is that companies and even countries can weigh the cost of mandated fines against the expectedly enormous costs of meeting the mandates, and decide to pay the penalty rather than make the required changes. Wouldn’t it be better to use taxes and other levees to create a desired path of least economic resistance?

Finally, if we are to worry about one issue that needs to be driven by global action, this one is not at the top of my list. Reducing greenhouse gas generation, driven by strategies and tactics that dramatically increase energy efficiency and decrease fossil fuel use would be a more worthy objective — especially if one wants to see significant progress by 2040.

Source:

https://packagingeurope.com/comment/a-critical-view-on-the-uns-roadmap-towards-cutting-plastic-pollution

After a relatively buoyant few years, demand for corrugated and folding cartons has fallen off a cliff. So far this year, UK demand for corrugated is down by 10% and folding cartons by 3%; Europe isn’t far behind. Neil Osment, Managing Director of paper packaging industry analysts NOA, takes a look at why.

In terms of markets for paper, corrugated and folding cartons are hugely important. While corrugated is very sensitive to changes in demand and responds quickly, folding cartons take a little longer to react, but will generally track demand for corrugated.

Why is this? Corrugated is produced and shipped quickly and can virtually be ordered on a just-in-time basis. By contrast, folding cartons are ordered ahead of time, then made and warehoused until needed. Here, brand owners are predicting future demand, based on retailer feedback. As a result, any changes in demand take a while to make an impact.

So, this explains why corrugated demand has dipped even further than for cartons, but it doesn’t complete the story and so requires us to delve deeper. To seek an answer, we need to look a little further back.

Towards the end of 2020 and into 2021, there was growing demand for both types of products. Corrugated demand was spurred on by the explosion in e-commerce, while both benefited from a rising demand for food and drink.

But at the beginning of 2022, demand for corrugated across Europe dropped, by 4 to 5%. This coincided with Amazon cutting its orders, because its own sales were falling as people returned to the office to work and were ordering less of their own product offering online.

Demand for folding cartons was still growing in 2022, so on the face of it all looked well. In fact, what was happening was stock was being built up in the system and throughout the supply chain. Predictions for demand didn’t always prove completely accurate, so brand owners were left with cartons for products that weren’t selling.

Brand owners were reintroducing SKUs (some that had been mothballed during Covid, when ranges shrank due to supply chain pressures). There was also a move away from products being packaged in plastic shrink wrap and hi-cone formats towards cartons, notably multipacks for beer, cider, soft drinks, and canned food (like soup and baked beans). But, as always, folding cartons has tracked demand for corrugated, and its demand is falling too.

So, what has happened in 2023? The expectation was that demand for corrugated would bounce back, followed by growing demand for folding cartons. However, demand has been supressed, and here’s why.

First, the cost-of-living crisis across Europe. Inflation and high fuel prices have affected consumer spending, which in turn has taken its toll on demand for paper packaging.

This has led on to a secondary factor. Money-conscious consumers are switching from branded to own-label supermarket products, as well as putting less in their basket of goods as a total. At the same time, shoppers are moving towards limited list discounters like Aldi and Lidl, who have different packaging needs. As mentioned, for cartons this has led to the overstocking of packaging for products that are no longer shifting.

Thirdly, the ongoing war in Ukraine continues to affect the supply chain. For example, both Ukraine and Russia play key roles in the automotive supply chain and vehicle production. Chemicals, fertilisers, food and grain are similarly affected.

Finally, there has been an increase in the use of returnable plastic containers (RPCs). For example, fruit and veg are more frequently being displayed in RPCs than in previous years, reflecting a growing uncertainty over government policy regarding packaging. This has also taken away a share of the market for corrugated.

So, why this move to RPCs? Let’s look again at the introduction of carton multipacks. This didn’t happen overnight. Brand owners were making plans to introduce these as far back as 2019, but it takes time to develop a new product, adapt manufacturing equipment and switch production lines.

While brand owners have been allying themselves with paper-based packaging, retailers have been taking a different route. In the face of the new Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulations (PPWR) across Europe, retailers are looking more towards reusable plastic – hence the recent growth in popularity of RPCs. And there’s another reason why retailers are opting for RPCs; they work very closely with the companies that hire them to packers and also collect them in for cleaning.

Two different groups, with two different drivers. Brand owners favour paper-based packaging, which can be recycled; retailers prefer to reuse. Recycling versus reuse? It’s a debate that could go on for years. It could herald a seismic change for the sector.

And this change is happening across Europe. Germany, Italy, France and the Netherlands, just like the UK, are major users of corrugated and folding cartons.

In Germany demand for corrugated fell back by 7.3% in 2022 compared to 2021, by 4.8% in Italy, -3.4% in France and 3.7% in the Benelux. These were all eclipsed by what happened in the UK last year with a drop of 9.3% year on year for corrugated production output.

Things in Europe are still looking very lack-lustre in 2023, with most countries showing yet another drop off in volumes for corrugated. Folding carton output fared a little better with growth carrying on until Q3, 2022; however, after that (because all stages of the supply chain were now full of stock), demand has started to head towards negative growth in 2023 as well.

Interestingly, the nosedive in demand isn’t being replicated in the Far East or North America – not yet anyway. Demand in these markets has stayed positive, but of course they don’t have the Ukraine war to deal with and the subsequent commercial fallout, the cost-of-living crisis is less severe, and they are not experiencing the same push and pull between brand owners and retailers. But it may be that where Europe leads, the rest of the world will follow.

So, what will happen to demand for corrugated and folding cartons for the rest of 2023? We believe it will be a year of flux, tension and limited growth. PPWR, which comes into force in June 2024, may mean next year remains equally uncertain, leading to a further delay in recovery. But we also believe recovery will come back in 2025 and for the subsequent years, once PPWR is bedded in. Watch this space.

And as for recycled versus reuse? We’ve pointed out before that fibre for paper is a farmed product, and can be replaced, while plastic is mined and is finite. Our money is on paper.

Source:

https://packagingeurope.com/comment/why-has-demand-for-corrugated-and-folding-cartons-fallen

AdvanSix has developed a new nylon claiming to use 100% recycled content and now hopes to provide a comparable material performance to virgin nylon while cutting down on carbon emissions.

Both the Capran BOPA Films and Aegis Resins are said to contain post-industrial recycled content, although the latter also incorporates post-consumer recycled grade, the company explains. These materials, said to be 100% recycled, produce nylon 6 products that apparently offer the same processability, formability, and durability as virgin nylon.

As such, the resultant products are expected to meet customer needs and replicate the physical and mechanical properties of their conventional nylon counterparts without requiring trade-offs with alternative recycled sources.

AdvanSix also claims that no re-qualifications are needed for the new nylon to lower customers’ carbon footprints. It has reportedly been certified by a third-party organisation for recycled content using a mass balance and allocation approach and is said to meet food-contact regulations.

“There is a growing demand among plastic and film manufacturers for a reliable, cost-effective supply of 100% recycled materials,” said Kori Anderson, vice president and GM, Nylon Solutions at AdvanSix. “We are pleased to bring products to the market with the potential to help customers reduce carbon footprint, lessen the impact on landfills, and provide a drop-in solution to support a wide variety of end markets and applications that touch people’s lives in a more sustainable way.”

According to a previous report from PreScouter, Nurel offers the only nylon 6 yarn made entirely from pre-consumer waste, currently utilised in product manufacturing.

Kao Corporation’s film-to-film recycling technology aims to recycle used refill packs into new packaging for its Attack ZERO liquid laundry detergent. A compatabilising agent used in the mixing and dispersal process for the multi-layers of polyethylene, PET, nylon, and other materials is said to prevent the formation of holes.

On the other hand, a new mono-PE air capsule developed by Dow and Procter & Gamble China aims to offer high gas barrier performance and phase out the conventional use of protective nylon in e-commerce packaging.

Source:

https://packagingeurope.com/news/nylon-utilising-100-post-consumer-recyclate-revealed-by-advansix

Robinson Paperbox Packaging has produced a range of wedding cake boxes for Betty’s of Harrogate.

Ranging in size from 8-16 inches in diameter, Robinson produced a litho laminated corrugated box and lid. The boxes are finished with a foiled logo on the lid.

Claire Louise Armitt, packaging technologist for Betty’s says: “It was great to finally get this project over the line, changing the logo from a printed black one to gold foiled has really lifted the packaging for these boxes that contain highly decorated wedding cakes.”

Robinson are involved in several other projects for Betty’s in both confectionery and bakery-based products.

Jon Walker, new business development manager for Robinson, said: “Securing work with this high-profile customer is great for our business and shows exactly why BRC accreditation is so important.”

Source:

https://www.packagingnews.co.uk/news/robinson-behind-new-wedding-cake-boxes-for-bettys-of-harrogate

London brand design agency bluemarlin has refreshed Maltese beer Cisk.

Cisk, which is owned by Simonds Farsons, is a 90-year-old brand and the redesign is aimed at connected with emerging consumer groups.

Bluemarlin’s lead brand designer on the project, Guy Robertson, said: “After immersive meetings at the impressive Farsons Brewery in Malta, it was clear we needed to harness the loud and proud spirit of the Mediterranean. We wanted to add a sense of unconstrained spontaneity, so we designed a progressive, fresh brand livery that speaks of Malta today.”

According to the agency, the Cisk word marque has been crafted for character, with the ‘C’ referencing a horseshoe and the ‘K’ the brand’s rearing stallion. That stallion, previously contained within a shield, has been redrawn and inverted.

Bluemarlin has also introduced a new faceted pattern based on the Maltese Cross that serves as a foundation for the whole brand and encapsulates pride in Cisk’s Maltese heritage.

Susan Weenink Camilleri, head of sales and marketing at Simonds Farsons Cisk, said: “The modernised Cisk brand identity comprises many elements, working together to create something greater. The upgraded iconic assets will work beautifully in any environment – events, points of sale, communication touchpoints, still and animated campaigns.

“We have worked with bluemarlin since 2018 and have, over the years, established a level of trust that allows for open collaboration. By explaining the value of every change, bluemarlin has taken us on an enlightening brand journey with every project. We’re incredibly proud of what Cisk has achieved to date and equally excited about what the future holds.”

Source:

https://www.packagingnews.co.uk/design/bluemarlin-works-on-redesign-for-beer-brand-cisk