Tag Archives: packaging

UK packaging recycling obligations met from 2014 results

UK packaging recycling, the Environment Agency has confirmed that the annual obligation for the amount of packaging waste recycled in 2015 has been met with the help of carry from 2014.

UK packaging recycling

UK packaging recycling Carry it refers to recycling that has taken place in December of the previous year but held against the current years recycling target.

Recycling figures (excl. carry in) show that 8,476, 729 tonnes of packaging waste was either reprocessed in the UK or exported against a target of 7,487,312 tonnes.

The final total for the year for paper was 3,667,387 tonnes against a net requirement of 2,715,816 tonnes, while wood came in at 374,991 tonnes and thus reaching above its 254,836 obligation.

Glass achieved its overall target with a 40,483 tonne surplus in glass remelt against a target of 1,035,167. Glass aggregate however only managed to produce 501,162 tonne return with a requirement of 537,080 tonnes.

Plastic which experienced an incredibly volatile year only met the obligation target with the help of a 65,444 tonne carry in from 2014, coming in at 891,141 tonnes against a 916,451 tonne target in year.

Steel fell agonisingly short in what was again very difficult trading conditions, achieving 363,927 tonnes on a target of 364,477 tonnes all be it with 23,948 tonne carry in acting as a buffer.

Aluminium registered 76, 027 tonnes, falling slightly short of its 76,252 tonne target with a 4,186 carry in taking it over the line.

Speaking on the 2015 Q4 supply figures Andrew Letham, sales and marketing manager at The Environment Exchange, told, the most notable returns was in plastic, where despite tough trading conditions there was a 23% increase on Q3 at 263,055 tonnes, the largest return ever seen in plastic. He said the 2015 figures brought some ‘staggering’ results in what were very difficult trading conditions.

The Environment Exchange said as new targets were confirmed alongside the budget, the agency recognised difficulties in plastic and reduced the increase from an intended 5% to a 2% increase until 2020. However, demand is still going to be higher than 2015 with a 35,000 tonne reduction in carry in.

Letham said: “If we continue to produce returns as seen in Q4 then we will ease past the revised targets but one would suggest that it should be taken as the exception rather than the rule,”. “Glass will be frozen at 77% with a 1% increase per year up to 80% which should see us achieve target this year but we will get further information on the 22 April with the release of the Q1 supply figures for 2016 when we will see if the current feeling of relative comfort in the market across all materials is to continue.”

Ikea considers mushroom-based packaging

Ikea is considering packaging some of its products with biodegradable fungus-based packaging to replace polystyrene.

Ikea
Ikea, the new biodegradable fungus-based packaging will be more easy to recycle and help reduce wastage.

Joanna Yarrow, head of sustainability for Ikea in the UK, said polystyrene is very difficult to recycle.

“We are looking for innovative alternatives to materials, such as replacing our polystyrene packaging with mycelium – fungi packaging.”

Mycelium is the part of a fungus that grows in a mass of branched fibres, and US firm Ecovative developed the mushroom packaging product, by letting the mycelium grow around clean agricultural waste, such as corn stalks or husks.

Mycelium packaging can be disposed of by throwing it in the garden where it will biodegrade naturally within a few weeks.

Speaking at an event this week, Yarrow added: “The great thing about mycelium is you can grow it into a mould that then fits exactly. You can create bespoke packaging.”

Ikea reelased a statement saying: “IKEA wants to have a positive impact on people and planet, which includes taking a lead in turning waste into resources, developing reverse material flows for waste materials and ensuring key parts of our range are easily recycled. IKEA has committed to take a lead in reducing its use of fossil –based materials while increasing its use of renewable and recycled materials.

“Mycelium is one of the materials IKEA is looking into, but it is currently not used in production.”

Ecovative supplies packaging to computer giant Dell, and there are s a few companies that use the product in the UK.

Tesa develops new packs to tackle food waste

Adhesive tapes manufacturer Tesa has developed new flexible packaging, which it claims will help reduce food waste.

Tesa

The Tesa Lift & Reseal pack can be used with a wide range of products and pack sizes, from small, high value snacks to economy budget products.

Peter Spencer, Tesa’s specialist segment manager, manufacturing said, the Lift & Reseal is designed to efficiently close packs more than 20 times, allowing consumers to reseal film-based food packs for the product’s lifetime. The tape strip remains adhesive all the way down as the packaging reduces in size.

It remains effective even if the adhesive face becomes dusty, retaining the freshness of the food items and reducing food wastage, said the company.

Spencer added: “The issue of food waste is obviously not just confined to the UK; European Parliament has established its own targets and the EU Commission has set out a resource efficiency roadmap, which foresees a 50% reduction in food waste, to be achieved by 2025. With our Tesa Lift & Reseal product being fast adopted worldwide, we are hoping that we can play a part in helping to deliver these targets.”

Waste recycling and waste management service ReFood said 7.2 million tonnes of food and drink thrown away every year and the national food industry waste costing an estimated £5bn per year, the UK has topped a poll of the highest waste of food in Europe.

Luxury Packaging MW recognised for Jack Daniel’s and Johnnie Walker designs

Luxury Packaging MW

Luxury Packaging MW has won two awards for the redesign of Jack Daniel’s Sinatra and Johnnie Walker Blue Gift Pack.

Luxury Packaging MW

The Luxury Packaging MW was awarded Silver at the PAC Global Leadership Awards in a brand marketing category for Jack Daniel’s Sinatra, a limited edition whisky created to celebrate Frank Sinatra’s centenary year and his special relationship with Jack Daniel’s.

Each bottle is individually numbered and presented in an elegant, leather lined, midnight blue wooden box.

The second silver award, in the same category, was received for the Johnnie Walker Blue Gift Pack.

The outer packaging consists of rigid board, lined with premium paper that has been dyed and embossed, while the windows on the front and rear allow light to illuminate the whisky inside.

The inner packaging contains an injection moulded, mirror finished fitment, which suspends the bottle.

The reflective surface causes the light passing through the whisky to be projected onto the bottle and box interior. The pack is held shut using a magnetic clip, featuring the famous Johnnie Walker ‘Striding Man’ logo, attached to the side of the pack.

These redesigns were carried out last year.

Sainsburys recalls chicken meals featuring misleading labeling

Sainsburys recalls chicken.

Sainsburys recalls chicken. A selection of chicken meals from its stores as a result of misleading packaging.

Sainsburys recalls chicken

The supermarket giant Sainsburys said a number of products labelled as “Just Cook Chicken Breasts with Piri Piri sauce” actually contained chicken and bacon lattice instead – which includes milk and wheat in the ingredients.

The pork, milk and wheat were not mentioned on the label.

The food could be fatal for those with wheat or milk allergies, and could offend people who do not eat pig meat because of their faith.

A Sainsburys spokesman said: “It has been brought to our attention a small number of packs labelled Chicken Breasts with Piri Piri Sauce contain chicken and bacon lattice which has cheese, wheat and pork that are not declared on the label.

“As a precautionary measure, we are asking customers who have purchased this product to return it to their nearest Sainsburys store, where they will receive a full refund

“No other products or date codes are affected by this issue, and we apologise for the inconvenience this may cause.”

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) issued an ‘allergy alert’ over the packs – which come in a 326g size with a ‘use by’ date of 24 January 2016.

It warned: “The product is a possible health risk for anyone with an allergy or intolerance to milk or milk constituents and/or an allergy to wheat or intolerance to gluten.”