Mars Food has announced the launch of the initial roll out of its mono polypropylene (PP) packaging for its microwavable rice pouch range which is designed for recyclability. Launching as a pilot, the roll out will begin on Uncle Ben’s Ready to Heat Wholegrain rice, soon to be re-branded as Ben’s Original, available in Tesco stores from the middle of April. Learnings about how the material run through Mars’ supply chain will inform a wider roll out in the year ahead. Develope

Saica Flex, the flexible packaging division of Saica Group, has developed a new range of ready for recycling mono-material pouch laminates that offers for the first time the possibility of using over 50% recycled materials in its production for non-food contact applications. This development represents a new step in Saica group’s goal of supporting the circular economy goals within the flexible plastic packaging sector. The new pouch laminate is 100% based on PE and therefore

There are more and more reasons to replace the plastic Bag for Life with one in paper when you go shopping. BillerudKorsnäs and AB Group Packaging have launched the reusable paper bag, one of the world’s strongest paper bags now available in UK supermarkets. The secret behind the power of the reusable paper bag is the raw material called FibreForm. ‘RPET, fabric or PP reusable bags have long been available for consumers but can now be replaced by a reusable bag made of FibreF

London based global luxury brand Burberry is committed to building a more sustainable future so is adjusting its value chain to move towards a more circular business model. In partnership with James Cropper's CupCycling initiative they have recycled more than 58 million coffee cups into packaging for boxes and bags so far. The luxury brand has committed to ensuring all of its consumer packaging is reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025. So far 40% of Burberry’s new paper

Wipak has won a sustainability award at a recent German Packaging Awards. Green Haven, an innovative packaging solution for veggi-wurst vegetarian sausages, was recognised in the Sustainability category for balancing recyclability with protection and production efficiency. The newly developed vacuum packaging is composed of two adhesive-free, unprinted PE films, forming a mono-material. It also supports Wipak’s invisible watermark barcode, Digimarc, which can be quickly scann

WaveGrip, a brand of Berry Global, has launched a new style of multi-pack carrier for cans which contains over 50% recycled plastic and delivers the latest on-pack marketing messages direct into consumers hands. Recyclable with polyethylene (PE) film collection schemes and weighing less than 4g for a standard six pack, WaveGrip is already one of the lightest and multi-packing solutions available. Now, by incorporating over 50% Sustane NXG post consumer recycled (PCR) polymer,

Coca-Cola European Partners, the world's largest independent Coca-Cola bottler, has announced the introduction of CanCollar, an innovative paperboard packaging solution, for multipack cans in Spain. The move supports its work, in partnership with Coca-Cola, to remove all unnecessary or hard to recycle plastic from its portfolio, avoiding the use of more than 11,000 tonnes of virgin plastic a year across Western Europe. Initially, Coca-Cola European Partners will launch the ne

Transcend sees the importance of environmental leadership – so much so that it has just initiated a £10 million eco packaging investment. Transcend Packaging is a relatively young company, but its environmental ideas and ethics are mature. The company was established in 2017 to provide sustainable packaging solutions to customers in the food service, food and beverage and health and beauty industries. It has a manufacturing facility in South Wales that began production in 201

New packaging recycling recommendations have been set in place to help climate efforts. In the UK new recommendations allow paperboard packaging to contain up to 15% plastic and still be considered recyclable. This may sound bad, but opens up many more options in food packaging in particular, and this mainly paperboard packaging can have 80% less climate impact than fully plastic packaging. Paperboard packaging with a thin plastic barrier is an ideal compromise - it combines

A British company, Polymateria, has developed a new masterbatch technology called biotransformation that ensures true biodegradation for plastic that escapes into the natural environment. Polymateria have announced that Planet First Partners has invested £15 million and the company also welcomes a number of new high profile board members. Marc Bolland, former Marks & Spencer CEO, joins the company as chairman. Marc who won the accolade of World Sustainable Retailer of the yea

Robinson Packaging has won Cult Beauty business, supplying rigid boxes for the company’s online bi-monthly subscription boxes containing all the latest trending miniature make up and skin care products. Sustainability and recyclability have been a key factor in winning this business. Initially the boxes sourced from the Far East had a plastic film on the outside making them hard to recycle. Robinson immediately changed this film for a soft touch varnish making the product ful

Terracycle's Loop will be working with Tesco to launch the UK's first major online shopping service for groceries in reusable packaging. With over 150 major branded products, including Coca Cola, Heinz, Persil, Nivea and Danone, customers will be able to place orders online for goods that normally come in single-use plastic packaging. They will be delivered instead in durable, refillable containers that can be collected from the doorstep and cleaned for reuse up to 100 times.

Around 100 billion packages are sent each year and that number is increasing. Many of these are wrapped in plastic that goes to landfill or ends up in the ocean, so how to reduce the footprint of our online shopping? Woola, this year's winners of EIT InnoEnergy's annual PowerUp! challenge have been awarded €50,000 cash and a place on EIT's investment programme to develop its eco-friendly bubble wrap solution made from sheep’s wool. Woola is an Estonian start-up established at

L'Oreal is looking to make it's beauty product packaging more sustainable, starting with new cardboard based packaging for it's Garnier Organic Hemp range. By replacing almost half of the plastic used in the tubes with a new bio-based and certified paper-like material, and featuring a lighter cap, and a tube made with 49% less plastic. As part of the recent ‘Green Beauty’ initiative, L’Oreal are addressing the social impact of plastic pollution with its 'Plastics For Change'

A new packaging deal with an ethical skincare manufacturer signals the start of an exciting new partnership for Teysha Technologies. The company, which has pioneered a naturally derived ‘second generation bioplastic’, has signed up to work with the Kind Planet Company in a move that supports the global empowerment of women and minorities in marginalised African communities and its desire to purge the oceans of plastic waste. Teysha, currently in negotiations with several larg

Luna Yu, founder of Genecis Bioindustries, has been awarded $50,000 and 12 months mentoring by Mondi as part of Lead2030. Mondi partnered with One Young World for a second consecutive year as a sponsor of Lead2030, which was launched by One Young World, the global forum for young leaders, in November 2018 to support youth led innovation to contribute to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Lead2030 aims to find, fund and accelerate solutions proposed by y

FrugalPac have launched their new Frugal Bottle as a sustainable, eco-friendly alternative to plastic or glass. Made from recycled paperboard with a food grade liner, the Frugal Bottle is one fifth of the weight of a glass wine bottle, with just one sixth of the carbon footprint. (Based on analysis by the Intertek Group). The first customer for the Frugal Bottle is Cantina Goccia, with 3Q, an Italian Sangiovese, Merlot and Cabernet blend red wine, (pictured below) and FrugalP

Leading spring water and beverage producer Radnor Hills has moved its shrink wrapping of bottled water to RPC bpi protec’s latest X-EnviroShrink film which contains up to 51% recycled content, with a minimum of 31% PCR as well as being 100% recyclable itself. This follows its recent move to bottles with 51% recycled plastic (RPET) and ensures it is fully in line with the latest government proposals for plastic packaging by utilising one of the most sustainable solutions for t

The Body Shop recently turned to colour polymer specialist Broadway Colours to ensure consistency for its new 250 ml Ginger anti-dandruff shampoo bottle. Taking advantage of Broadway’s dedicated Colour Suite, based at its manufacturing facility in Suffolk, Body Shop was able to carry out exact colour matching on-site with on-hand expertise and guidance. The new packs contain 100% post consumer recycled content, 15% of which comes via Body Shop’s Community Trade Recycled Plast

Finnish wood based plastic is generating international interest – Woodly’s innovation is a carbon neutral alternative to plastic. You don’t often hear us say ‘plastic is fantastic’. You do hear us talk about the fact that growing trees is sustainable and that paper based boards are very eco friendly. But what If you could make plastic from wood based materials too? All of a sudden, it becomes an environmental option. That is exactly what is happening at Finnish company, Woodl