Category: News & Updates

Employee-owned packaging business, Kite Packaging, has expanded its range of packaging for the food industry by adding wax-lined boxes to its b2b ecommerce website

Wax lined boxes, also commonly referred to as ‘meat boxes’ are suitable for direct contact with food thanks to their PE (wax lining) and are strong, robust, fibre-based, solid board boxes ideal for packing moist and chilled solutions, even in humid environments.

One of their added benefits is that food can be directly frozen or stored in the box without the need for additional bags, however, if additional bags are favourable, they can be used in conjunction with Kite‘s range of blue tint gusseted bags.

Commonly used within the food industry to transport or store raw meat, poultry, cakes, vegetables and much more, they are available in two sizes, both of which are easy and simple to erect.

Source

Kite launches range of wax-lined boxes for food

A newly-formed group comprising leading companies including Procter & Gamble, Mondelēz, Unilever, SIG, Tetra Pak, and Amcor has committed to a new set of design principles with the aim of improving the recyclability of plastic packaging.

The Plastic Waste Coalition of Action, whose members have a shared revenue of more than 1 trillion euros and represent more than 10% of the global plastic packaging market, has pledged to adopt these rules wherever possible by 2025.

The first design rule aims to improve the economic viability of PET bottle recycling by removing colouring pigments and labelling methods that impact recycling rates.

The second design rule will remove materials that, the group argues, are problematic for recyclers from all forms of plastic packaging – such as carbon black, PVC (polyvinyl chloride) and EPS (expanded polystyrene).

By implementing these rules, the group hopes that recycling will become easier, cheaper, more efficient, and quicker to scale – resulting in less waste leaking into the environment.

The members have also committed to reporting on their implementation of the rules through a process aligned with Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics Economy Global Commitment reporting.

Alan Jope, CEO of Unilever, said: “We must urgently take action to stop plastic waste and move to a circular model. This is the number one priority for us as a Coalition. No one business can achieve this on its own, which is why we’ve joined forces to drive change across our own industry and to hopefully set an example for other sectors.”

Peter Konieczny, Amcor’s CCO, added: ” Our business has achieved consistent success in using our innovation capabilities to eliminate materials that hamper recycling and we continue to use more recycled content in our packaging. We are keen to use our expertise alongside the Plastic Waste Coalition of Action to help consumers make a positive contribution to protecting the environment.”

Source

https://packagingeurope.com/leading-names-in-consumer-goods-commit-to-new-sustainable-design-principles/

A group comprising leading companies operating across the polyester packaging value chain – including businesses involved in the manufacture, use, collection and recycling of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic packaging – is aiming to help to address the problem of plastic waste by accelerating the commercialisation of BP Infinia enhanced recycling technology.

BP Infinia is designed to turn opaque and difficult-to-recycle PET plastic waste, that can degrade in quality each time it is recycled using conventional methods, into recycled feedstocks that can be used to make new high-quality PET plastic packaging again and again, with no loss in quality.

The consortium intends to combine the capabilities and experience of its members – packaging and recycling specialist ALPLA; food, drink and consumer goods producers Britvic, Danone and Unilever; waste management and recycling specialist REMONDIS; and energy and petrochemicals producer BP – to develop a new circular approach to dealing with PET plastic waste.

According to BP, of the total number of PET plastic bottles collected globally, more than 75% are recycled, but only 12% of those collected make it back into new bottles. The remainder is apparently currently lost from the bottle-to-bottle loop, as it is used for other applications which are usually disposed of directly after use to landfills or incinerators due to lack of separate collection.

The consortium members believe by joining forces they can speed up the commercialisation of the technology, infrastructure and demand needed to process billions of opaque and difficult-to-recycle PET bottles and food trays that are currently disposed of each year, including those that are difficult to recycle by current conventional recycling methods.

Rita Griffin, BP Chief Operating Officer, Petrochemicals said: “This is an exciting step towards a circular economy for the polyester industry. BP is experienced in developing and scaling up technology and we’ll do this again with our innovative BP Infinia process. But we know we cannot create circularity on our own. That’s why we are thrilled to be working together with industry leaders to develop and prove a practical business model that can hopefully contribute to making all types of polyester waste infinitely recyclable.”

It is intended that each member of the consortium will contribute resources and distinctive capabilities and experience in areas such as waste management and recycling, technology development, intermediate processing and product design to develop a business model that takes into consideration the infrastructure, supply chain and demand requirements of all parties that will be involved in creating a circular economy for polyester and PET plastic.

Unilever’s Chief Supply Chain Officer, Marc Engel commented: “Joining this consortium is an investment in the future of recycling technology which is critical to keeping plastic in the loop. By working together, we can help accelerate the industry towards a circular economy.”

“We are very happy with this development by important players in the PET industry,” said Wim Hoenderdaal of the PETcore Special Industry Group PET Monomer Recycling. “It underlines the recycling opportunities of PET resin and polyester articles, in addition to mechanical recycling, it can also be recycled via de-polymerization and the re-use of its monomers. Both technologies together will bring 100% circularity of PET without any decrease of properties.”

Source

https://packagingeurope.com/pet-consortium/

Unilever’s Ben & Jerry’s subsidiary is set to package the brand-new on-stick version of its Cookie Dough product in a recyclable, paper-based wrapper.

The ice cream producer has reimagined its best-selling Cookie Dough flavour so that customers can enjoy it on the move. Combining a vanilla ice cream with chocolate chips, a peace shaped, cookie-dough-inspired centre and dipped in a thick chocolatey coating, like the full Ben & Jerry’s line up – the new product is also Fairtrade certified.  

In addition, the Cookie Dough Peace Pops will be fixed onto a wooden stick and nestled into what the company describes as a “first of its kind tie-dye wrapper”. Made with 88% paper, Ben and Jerry’s also says that the wrapper is widely recyclable.

Elsewhere for the brand, Ben & Jerry’s tubs now reportedly contain 40% less plastic than was previously used, and the plastic that is used is now apparently made from a renewable plant source.

Madeleine Boulton, UK brand manager for Ben & Jerry’s, said: “We love to invent new ways for flavour fans to enjoy the ice cream they know and love. We can’t wait to bring a cookie dough inspired treat to retailers on a stick, which ice cream fans can enjoy on the go, anywhere and everywhere. 

“We’re happy that each Cookie Dough Peace Pop is on a wooden stick, and with an all-new, recyclable wrapper made with 88% paper. This means that our fans can dispose of all packaging responsibly (only after they have enjoyed every-last-chocolatey-bite).”

This move is part of Unilever’s wider global packaging commitment to halve the company’s use of virgin plastic, as well as to ensure all its packaging is reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025.

source

https://packagingeurope.com/ben-jerrys-goes-paper-based-with-packaging-for-new-on-stick-ice-cream/

UK-based biotech company, Toraphene, has unveiled what it claims is the world’s “first” truly biodegradable, compostable and commercially viable alternative to plastic packaging, and which contains graphene.

The firm has developed a new material, also called Toraphene, that uses biopolymers that compost naturally and biodegrade without human intervention. These are then combined with Nobel Prize-winning graphene, which is derived from carbon and is stronger than diamond at an atomic level.

While biodegradable plastics currently exist, they rely on commercial composting, which uses energy to heat the compost and can present other logistical challenges. In addition, some bioplastics produce methane gas when they decompose, a compound with a global warming potential 25 times that of CO2.

Toraphene founder and CEO, Gaute Juliussen, says: “Amidst a climate crisis, plastic waste is known to be a huge, global problem and many plastic alternatives now exist, so why don’t we see them everywhere?

“It’s because they need specific manmade conditions to biodegrade, and many degrade into microplastics, which contaminate our oceans and food chain for centuries.”

Julussen believes such bioplastics have “effectively been ‘greenwashed’ and mis-sold to environmentally responsible consumers and companies”.

He adds: “They also tear easily, shorten the shelf-life of the contents they contain and cannot be produced economically at scale.”

Due to the addition of graphene, the company says Toraphene has been shown to be stronger, thinner, and less permeable than alternatives, improving food safety and shelf-life.

More about Toraphene

Juliussen founded Toraphene in 2018 with the initial aim of creating a green alternative to carrier bags and food and drink containers, with such plastics making up 23% of marine waste.

Ahead of the launch of Toraphene, Juliussen has launched an equity crowdfunding campaign on Crowdcube.

In addition to this, Toraphene is renting production equipment from plastic bag manufacturers and plugging directly into existing supply chains, with the company in talks with major consumer brands, retailers and food packaging suppliers.

Ultimately, the firm aims to render plastic packaging obsolete and disrupt the $4tn plastics industry. See more here on the Toraphene website: www.toraphene.com

Source: www.nspackaging.com

Greiner Packaging has teamed up with SABIC and Unilever in a pilot project to produce 100% polypropylene (PP) tubs and lids for Knorr bouillon powder using post-consumer recycled plastic material.

SABIC’s “certified circular” PP material uses post-consumer mixed plastic as a feedstock, which is broken down into its molecular building blocks to create what the company describes as “virgin plastics”, which are then used to produce these new recyclable tubs and lids.

The resulting PP polymer is verified and authenticated under the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC PLUS) scheme, which uses a mass balance approach.

Knorr bouillon powder has now been marketed in the same cardboard-plastic combination for many years. According to Greiner, the outer appearance, functionality, and safety of the new packaging are exactly the same, and the quality is likewise as high as ever.

From the consumer’s perspective, they can still simply remove the cardboard sleeve from the tub itself when the packaging is empty before disposing of the two components as usual.

“By producing some of the tubs from certified circular polypropylene, we want to set a new standard on the market together with our partners and demonstrate what is possible with recycled materials in the food segment. We also want to keep pushing forward with this development.

“Here at Greiner Packaging, we are not only focusing on certified recycled PP – we are also working on our first projects and tests with mechanically recycled PS,” explains Jens Krause, sales director at the Greiner Packaging site in Diepoldsau, Switzerland.

“Our goal is to continue making our packaging more environmentally friendly together with partners like Greiner Packaging and SABIC – especially in the food segment – without consumers having to lower their standards in terms of design, performance, quality, user-friendliness, and food safety.

“We are now testing this using material produced from 100% circular polymer, with the goal of expanding across our portfolio by 2025,” adds Mike Ross, senior packaging manager at Unilever.

Supermarket giant Tesco has revealed it has removed over 20 million pieces of plastic from its Christmas range.

Tesco, which won two awards at this year’s UK Packaging Awards, has made changes to its packaging. Its own label crackers will be sold in cardboard packaging while 312,000 Christmas light will be packaged in recyclable cardboard packs.

It has also removed a layer of plastic in Christmas puddings and sponges, which is said to cut 1.78 million pieces of plastic. Tesco has also stopped using glitter for its single-use products and packaging.

Tesco quality director Sarah Bradbury said: “It is an absolute priority of ours to remove and reduce the amount of plastic in our stores to the minimum and ensure everything we use is recycled and kept out of the environment – Christmas time is no exception and we want to do our bit to help customers have more sustainable celebrations.”

Tesco removes plastic across own label Christmas range