INCPEN
Members (not including Trade Association Group colleagues) have access
to view the full legislation library. Please contact Alison Skuse
for access.
|
|
France - Comprehensive 3R Strategy proposed in view of phasing out SUP packaging by 2040 - 17 Feb 2022
The draft of a comprehensive “3R Strategy for Plastic Packaging”
was released for public consultation until 25-Feb-22. It notably
identifies key challenges to overcome and investments needed to meet
France’s 2025 targets, and explores opportunities and constraints
towards meeting France’s 2040 objective to phase out single-use plastic
(SUP) packaging. Moreover, it assesses the potential for SUP packaging
reduction, re-use and use of recycled content in 42 sectors as a
starting point for professional organisations to develop sectoral
roadmaps.
In Feb-20, the AGEC Law France had set itself the objective "to achieve the end of the marketing of single-use plastic packaging by 2040".
As a starting point, the Apr-21 “3R Decree” was issued, which sets
targets for 2025: SUP packaging must be reduced by 20% compared to 2018
and at least half the reduction must be obtained through re-use. All
packaging must be recyclable. All unnecessary SUP packaging is to be
eliminated.
The 356-pages (incl. annexes) 3R Strategy for Plastic Packaging, developed with the various stakeholders,
- lays out concrete measures for reaching the 2025 targets of the 3R Decree, and
- explores opportunities and constraints towards meeting the 2040 objective to phase out single-use plastic packaging.
The 3R Strategy comprises 3 main parts:
- Part 1 - Context And Objective – summarises key issues associated with SUP packaging, regulatory tools and existing initiatives.
- Part 2 - Strategic Vision
– provides an inventory of SUP packaging and investigates alternatives
and their implementation, including investments needed to meet the 2025
objectives.
- Part 3 - Action Plans
– lays out priority actions along 10 thematic axes under which actions
until 2025, pilot projects and stakeholders are identified and described
– with Sectoral Roadmaps playing the key role in working towards
achieving the targets.
As a starting point for these sectoral roadmaps, Annex 6 provides a preliminary quantitative
assessment of the potential for reduction, re-use and use of recycled
plastics for packaging applications in 42 sectors.
Key challenges to overcome and investments needed to meet the 2025 targets
The 3R Strategy states that 4.8 million tonnes of plastic are used
annually in France, of which 2.4 million tons (46%, 35 kg per capita) is
packaging. Half of these are “household” packaging (of which 20% are
consumed outside of the home), the other half “industrial and
commercial” packaging. The recycling rate for all plastic packaging was
around 27% in 2018.
The Strategy says the following challenges need to be overcome:
- To reach the EU mandated 50% recycling target for plastic packaging in 2025,
a) the development of separate collection (in particular dense housing,
public space and businesses) needs to be accelerated, b) the sorting
infrastructure modernized and adapted, c) recycling capacities need to
be ensured in France by providing transparency about the collected
materials available to secure investments and by clarifying the
potential of chemical recycling, and d) the incorporation of recycled
material needs to be encouraged by continuing work on standardisation,
quality control and traceability of recycled plastics, in particular to
enable recycled materials for food contact applications.
- To ensure all plastic packaging is recyclable by 2025, 15% of SUP packaging will have to be substituted:
Recycling channels currently operate for around 70% of household
plastic packaging. For another 15%, channels are being developed
(PS/PSE, flexible PP, multilayer PET). The remaining 15% will not be
recyclable by 2025 and thus will have to be substituted by recyclable
alternatives.
The Strategy also includes a preliminary estimate of investments needed to reach the 2025 objectives:
- To meet the 50% recycling target in 2025, collection, sorting and recycling capacity need to be increased by 0.5 million tons. This is estimated to require investments of EUR 0.9 - 1.6 billion.
- To reduce plastic packaging by 10% through re-use (as mandated in the 3R Decree), return systems for reusable packaging need to be established. These are estimated to require investments of EUR 1 - 2.3 billion, mainly for reverse vending machines and washing installations for a system of reusable beverage bottles.
- Modifying filling lines to accommodate substitutes for the 16% of non-recyclable SUP packaging:
To handle the packaging replacing the 16% non-recyclable plastic
packaging, as well as the new reusable packaging and another 5% of
plastic packaging estimated to be substitutable by other materials,
around 20% of all packaging and filling lines will need to be modified.
The 3R Strategy estimates the minimum investments at EUR 600 million.
This amount alone is required in the context of replacing plastic milk
bottles with for example beverage cartons. The switch from PS to PET
yoghurt pots would require investments in line modifications of EUR 250
to 400 million.
The implementation of the action plan relies heavily on the initiative and support of sectoral organisations
The implementation of the 3R Strategy’s action plan - broken down into
10 thematic axes** - relies on various levers: The most important are sectoral roadmaps to be developed by professional organisations, who “have
a major role to play in continuing the diagnosis of their packaging
(needs, functionalities, value chain, tools, industrial elements, etc.);
unite players around common issues (common reuse pilots, choice of
preferred resins, R&D on substitute materials); and launch
structured collective actions to scale up for the benefit of the
environment and economic rationale.”
Another important lever are the ‘cahiers des charges’ (specifications) of the PROs for household packaging and catering.
The Government will use their upcoming revisions to introduce support
and incentive instruments that the PROs must provide tp packers/fillers
to encourage change. For industrial and commercial packaging - which will be subject to EPR from 2025 only - the strategy calls for voluntary commitments.
Potential for reduction, re-use and use of recycled plastics laid out for 42 sectors, as starting point for sectoral roadmaps
The 3R Strategy is accompanied by Annex 6, a preliminary but systematic
assessment of the potential for reduction, reuse, recycling, and
incorporation of recycled material in 42 packaged goods sectors. While
these assessments were developed in cooperation with ‘as many industry
federations and stakeholders as possible’, they are meant only as a first working document that each sector is to adapt and develop into its sectoral roadmap.
As an example, the assessment of the EEE sector i.a. notes that
- 20,420 tonnes of plastic household packaging are placed on the market. Only 19% of blister packaging is currently recycled.
- the sector’s plastic packaging reduction potential is estimated at 25-30%, while over 25% recycled content could be used. The reuse potential, on the other hand, is estimated to be small (<5%).
The assessment of the hygiene/beauty sector i.a. notes that
- 77,740
tonnes of plastic household packaging are placed on the market. The
current collection rate of bottles containing personal care products is
61% and their recycling rate 48%. The collection rate of tubes is 18%,
their recycling rates 14%.
- the sector’s plastic packaging reduction potential and its potential for re-use applications are both estimated at 15-20%. The potential recycled content is estimated at 10-25%.
- the sector was the first sector to commit to a collective action plan –“Le Plastics Act” – which already sets packaging targets for 2025: reduction 15%, re-use 20%, recycled content 10-25%, Recyclability 100%.
- recycling disruptors, in particular dispenser pumps, need to be eliminated – as recommended by COTREP, the technical Committee for the Recycling of Plastic Packaging.
The sums by weight of the estimated potentials of the 42 sectors achieve
the objectives of the 3R Decree for 2025 (notably the 20% SUP
reduction, of which at least from re-use). The data suggests that
meeting the
- reduction (non-reuse) objectives will largely be driven by consumer durables (incl. EEE and DIY) and some groceries,
- re-use objectives will be led by rigid industrial and commercial packaging, and to a lesser degree beverages,
- the use of recycled content will be driven by industrial and commercial packaging, and to a lesser degree consumer durables and beverage packaging.
*
Axis 1: Limit unnecessary and excessive packaging
Axis 2: Supporting the rise of reuse
Axis 3: Develop alternative solutions
Axis 4: Ensure the recyclability of packaging placed on the market
Axis 5: Accelerate the increase in collection
Axis 6: Sorting - modernising, innovating and adapting
Axis 7: Ensure recycling capacities in France and encourage the incorporation of recycled materials
Axis 8: Other transversal actions
Axis 9: Sectoral roadmaps
Axis 10: Organize the transition - Governance, monitoring and evaluation of the strategy
** "Le Plastics Act"
Reduce plastic packaging volumes by 15%
Reduce the amount of plastic by generalizing eco-design
Reduce by substituting materials by launching R&D programs
Reuse 20% of packaging
Generalize 100% recyclable refills
Allow all companies to develop a bulk offer
Develop deposit pilot experiments
Reincorporate 10% to 25% recycled plastic
Securing access for all companies to recycled plastic suitable for cosmetic use
Recycle 100% of packaging
Raise awareness of sorting in the bathroom to improve collection
Improve the effective recyclability of cosmetic packaging
|
|
International - Alternative proposals for a Global Pollution Treaty - 11 Feb 2022
Momentum continues to build for a global plastic pollution
treaty as 3 Draft Resolutions are tabled to be discussed at the Feb-22
meeting of the UN Environment Assembly.
On 28-Feb-22, the Fifth Session of the United Nations Environment
Assembly (UNEA-5.2) will convene in Nairobi, where nations will debate resolutions that set the scope and mandate of a future global treaty to address plastic pollution. A resolution must be adopted as a framework before any specific negotiations can begin.
The idea for a global treaty gained traction in Sep-21 when a Draft Resolution put forward by Peru and Rwanda
- which calls for the establishment of an Intergovernmental Negotiating
Committee (INC) with a mandate to negotiate a legally binding global
agreement – was supported by the EU and 7 other nations*.
This original resolution proposes an open mandate whereby negotiators
would work on a variety of issues pertaining to plastic pollution via a
full life cycle approach, covering ‘upstream’ (production), ‘midstream’
(product design), and ‘downstream’ (waste management). Critically, the
Draft would cover plastic pollution in any environment.
In Dec-21, Japan submitted an alternative Draft Resolution on an “International Legal Instrument on Marine Plastic Pollution”, with support from Antigua and Barbuda, Cambodia, Palau and Sri Lanka.
While both resolutions call for quick negotiations ahead of UNEA-6, and
fundamentally agree on the need for a legal binding instrument, there
are some key differences: The Japanese draft - which focuses only on
marine plastic pollution – mentions the ‘lifecycle’ of plastics but only
emphasizes downstream interventions. It also proposes a closed mandate,
which would not allow the INC to consider other relevant aspects at a
later date. Details around the institutional framework, including any
financing mechanisms, are not included.
On 28-Jan-22, India posted another Draft Resolution
titled “Framework for addressing plastic product pollution including
single-use plastic product pollution”. As the title suggests the draft
focuses on SUPs and most notably does not mention any legally binding
obligations, preferring a voluntary framework instead. The Indian draft
does not have official support from any other nations.
The world’s two largest plastic producing countries – the USA and China
respectively – have not formally backed any proposal, but have both
publicly backed a global agreement. On 18-Nov-21, the USA announced it
will join talks on a new global treaty to curb plastic pollution. The
Secretary of State said “it's crucial that the agreement call on
countries to develop and enforce strong national action plans to address
this problem at its source”. On 3-Feb-22, China stated it would “engage actively and constructively in the negotiation of the different tabled resolutions”, while calling for ambitious goals and equally ambitious implementation.
*co-sponsored by Costa Rica, Ecuador, the EU, Guinea, Norway, Philippines, Senegal and Switzerland.
|
|
EU - Consultation for a policy framework for biobased, biodegradable, and compostable plastics - 9 Feb 2022
The 8 week consultation seeks views on various policy approaches
to deal with increasing use – and consumer uncertainty – of
‘bioplastics’ as part of the EU’s Green Deal and Circular Economy Action
Plan.
On 18-Jan-22 the European Commission (EC) opened an eight-week consultation (until 15-Mar-22) on a policy framework for three groups of plastics:
- Biobased:
“fully or partially made from biological resources, rather than fossil
raw materials. They are not necessarily compostable or biodegradable”.
- Biodegradable: “biodegrade in certain conditions only (e.g. biodegradable in soil or in the marine environment)”.
- Compostable:
“a subset of biodegradable plastics that only biodegrade in perfectly
controlled conditions e.g. industrial composting facilities”.
At present, the EC says these plastics make up 1% of the European
plastics market, but forecasts growth of between 5 to 8% up to 2025.
The upcoming policy framework – a key deliverable of the Mar-20 Circular Economy Action Plan and the Dec-19 European Green Deal
– aims to address the emerging sustainability challenges related to
their use, and clear up consumer confusion with a view to increasing
investment certainty and environmental protection. The Commission plans
to adopt this initiative by means of a non-legislative communication on
30-Jul-22 as part of its second Circular Economy package.
There are three key aspects of the policy which are up for consultation
- The sustainability of feedstocks used to create bio-based plastics:
No sustainability criteria currently apply to them, and while the use
of biological feedstocks is seen as better than fossil based
alternatives, other environmental impacts – such as the effects of
land-use change on biodiversity – need to be considered;
- Material degradation and compostability: Biodegradation must be verified by standards, but no standards exist for most processes (other than industrial composting)
- “Widespread confusion”:
Consumers do not have access to clear and trustworthy information
regarding these plastics and their safe disposal. A uniform labelling
system may be required as cross-contamination of plastic waste streams
can reduce plastic circularity.
The consultation seeks views on various policy measures including
labelling (based on biobased content thresholds), minimum sustainability
requirements, limiting the use of biodegradable plastics that are
difficult to collect, limiting the use of compostable plastics that are
difficult to separate from food waste, banning use of bioplastics that
aren’t properly labelled, and launching awareness-raising campaigns.
The full set of consultation questions is available here.
|
|
- £30 million boost for plastic packaging reuse and recycling innovations; UK
Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging
(SSPP) Challenge has today announced £30 million in funding for 18
groundbreaking collaborative projects that support the achievement of
the UK Plastics Pact and have the potential to alter the UK’s
relationship with, and management of, plastic packaging.
- Veolia trials single line recycling to boost the circular economy in Wales; As
recycling saves between 30 and 80% of the energy used to extract and
process virgin resources this approach will also cut the carbon
emissions and make a valuable contribution to the net-zero carbon
target. By targeting single line separation for all non-domestic
producers of waste, the company will be able to optimise operational
efficiency ahead of imminent legislation.
- Coors Light to eliminate plastic rings with $85m investment; It
is set to become the largest beer brand in North America to move away
from plastic rings. To support the move to more sustainable packaging,
Molson Coors Beverage Company will invest $85m (£63m), enabling Coors
Light to begin the transition to fully recyclable and sustainably
sourced cardboard-wrap carriers later this year.
- Report: Mechanical plastics recycling grows despite feedstock slowdown; European
mechanical plastics recycling exceeded 8 million tonnes in 2021 despite
feedstock insecurities caused by Covid-19 slowdown, AMI report
shows. European plastics recyclate production was 8.2 million
tonnes in 2021 and is forecast to grow at a rate of 5.6%/year to 2030,
according to the report.
- Alupro appoints new Exec Director; Alupro,
the aluminium packaging recycling organisation, has announced the
appointment of Tom Giddings as executive director.
- Plastic packaging increases fresh food waste, study finds; Research by sustainability charity Wrap debunks idea single-use plastic on fruit and veg helps prevent waste
- Sell fresh uncut produce loose to reduce food and plastic waste, says WRAP report; WRAP
calls for removal of more ‘unnecessary and problematic’ single use
plastic items under The UK Plastics Pact, including wrapping on
multi-packs of tinned food and sauce sachets in restaurants.
- Reverse Logistics Group wins IT contract for Scottish DRS; Circularity
Scotland, Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) administrator, has
selected Reverse Logistics Group (RLG) to deliver IT systems to manage
the upcoming DRS.
- Kraft Heinz agrees to set virgin plastic reduction target; The
Kraft Heinz Co., the third-largest food and beverage company in North
America, has agreed to set a goal to reduce total virgin plastic use.
- ‘Bad bed habits’ contribute to 2.9m UK mattresses thrown out each year; New
research suggests we could reduce the 7 million mattresses we throw
away in the UK each year if we cut out our ‘bad bed habits’ and take
better care of our mattresses. A quarter (25%) of UK residents
regularly allow a pet to sleep in their bed according to the research
commissioned by North London Waste Authority (NLWA). The survey of over
2,000 adults also revealed 13% regularly smoke in their bed, 1 in 5
regularly eat in their bed (8% every day), and over a quarter regularly
consume drinks other than water in their beds. One in 10 even brush
their teeth in bed!
- Survey finds concern over e-commerce packaging; New
research shows 87% of UK consumers consider the recyclability of the
packaging of fashion bought online or by mail order is important when
making their purchasing decision.
- Heriot-Watt project could increase recycled content in plastic bottles; Scientists
from Heriot-Watt University have been funded by Innovate UK to develop
additives and processing methods that will drastically increase the
recycled content of plastic bottles.
- Innocent Drinks TV advert banned in UK over ‘greenwashing’ Coca-Cola
subsidiary, Innocent Drinks, has had its ‘Little Drinks, Big Dreams’
advert banned after the Advertising Standards Authority ruled it
breeched the advertising code. The ruling comes after a campaign by
Plastics Rebellion, an affiliation group of Extinction Rebellion,
against the advert made by Mother Advertising Ltd in May
2021. Plastics Rebellion labelled the advert ‘greenwashing’ and
took issue with the fact the advertising campaign to sell drinks in
plastic bottles that claimed to ‘fix up the planet’, it said in a
statement.
- 9% of global plastic waste is recycled while 22% is ‘mismanaged’ – OECD; The
world is producing twice as much plastic waste as two decades ago, with
only 9% successfully recycled, according to a new OECD report. Ahead of
UN talks on international action to reduce plastic waste, the
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) first
Global Plastics Outlook suggests that as rising populations and incomes
drive a ‘relentless increase’ in the amount of plastic being used and
thrown away, policies to curb its leakage into the environment are
‘falling short’.
- FPA pushes for pan liners exemption from Plastic Packaging Tax; The
Foodservice Packaging Association conducted a survey asking whether pan
liners should be considered as packaging and, therefore, within PPT
scope.
- New Pilgrims Choice pack boasts 49% carbon reduction; Ornua
Foods UK is making a further step in sustainability with the transfer
of its Pilgrims Choice grated cheese into more environmentally friendly
and fully recyclable packaging.
- Global survey suggests three in four want single-use plastics ‘banned’; An
average of three-quarters of people across 28 countries have said that
single-use plastic should be ‘banned as soon as possible’, the
‘Attitudes towards single-use plastic’ survey by Ipsos in conjunction
with Plastic Free July suggests.
- Smurfit Kappa ESG performance recognised by Sustainalytics; Following
analysis of more than 4,000 European-based companies, Smurfit Kappa was
named a Regional Top Rated company and is ranked in the top 5 of the
Paper Packaging category globally.
- Project to ‘transform’ municipal waste-derived CO2 into aviation fuels in Portugal; One
of the first synthetic eFuel production units in Europe could be
implemented at LIPOR’s Energy Recovery Plant, nearby Porto,
Portugal. An interdisciplinary consortium, formed by LIPOR
(Intermunicipal Waste Management of Greater Porto), P2X Europe and
Veolia is launching feasibility studies for a fully integrated
industrial-scale Power-to-Liquid (PtL) facility at the Maia Energy
Recovery Plant (Waste-to-Energy, WtE).
- New Vision Packaging warns of carton sector ‘chaos’; Stephen
Shortland, managing director, said falling domestic production is
affecting the sector’s supply chain performance. New Vision Packaging
produces cartons, sleeves and boxes for the food, beverage, cosmetics,
and confectionery markets. It has recently confirmed that it continues
to maintain nine-week lead times on standard materials despite current
market conditions.
- Over 100,000 used nappies repurposed for road resurfacing in Wales; An
innovation from Pura NappiCycle, with support from the Welsh
Government, means that discarded nappies are being repurposed for a road
resurfacing trial in Wales. From late February this year (2022),
parents and other drivers using a stretch of road on the A487 between
Cardigan to Aberystwyth in Wales may be unaware that they’re driving
over 1.4 miles of roadway containing recovered fibres from over 100,000
used nappies.
- McLaren Packaging invests £150k in carbon offsetting project; Port
Glasgow based McLaren Packaging, a specialist supplier to the Scotch
Whisky industry, has invested £150,000 in a carbon offsetting project in
Argyllshire.
- Pollution causing more deaths than COVID – UN report; The
report called for ‘immediate and ambitious action’ to ban some toxic
chemicals, according to reports by Reuters news agency. The report
stated that pollution from pesticides, plastics and electronic waste is
causing ‘widespread human rights violations’ and at least 9 million
premature deaths a year, and that the issue is ‘largely being
overlooked’, Reuters said.
- Morrisons launches toilet and kitchen rolls in paper packaging; Both
items are amongst the most common house-hold essentials bought by
shoppers, and the paper packaging is FSC-certified, while the toilet
paper and kitchen sheets themselves are also made using 100% recycled
paper.
- Smart Water used to tackle waste crime in Wales; A
site in Barry has been used to test the use of Smart Water in Natural
Resources Wales’ fight against illegal waste crime. The site in
question has an exemption permit for the treatment and storage of waste
tyres but has exceeded the quantity permitted by the exemption,
estimated to be in excess of 2000 waste tyres.
- BASF develops label adhesives to help ease paper recycling; BASF
has announced it has developed new adhesives for labels that no longer
interfere with paper and paperboard recycling.
- Virgin and Agilyx partner to produce ‘lower carbon fuel’ from plastic waste; Virgin
Group and chemical conversion technology company Agilyx have announced a
strategic partnership to research and develop lower-carbon fuel
facilities with an aim of helping to address plastic pollution and the
global transition to net-zero. Virgin Group and Agilyx aim to reuse
plastic waste to produce synthetic crude oil that will then be refined
into a ‘lower carbon fuel’.
- Cassava Bags Australia creates ‘truly biodegradable’ film for bags & liners; The
non-toxic products are said to be 100% plastic-free, won’t break down
into microplastics and in theory should not leave behind any plastic
footprint. Cassava is a hardy drought tolerant root vegetable native to
South America which is now grown in many countries across the world.
- Aberdeen City Council adds UK’s first hydrogen fuel cell waste truck to fleet; The
UK’s first hydrogen-fuelled waste collection vehicle was revealed in
Aberdeen, in a move aimed at accelerating the city’s ‘thriving hydrogen
economy’. While typical waste trucks are powered by diesel and
petrol, the new waste truck will use hydrogen from existing refuelling
infrastructure in Aberdeen.
- Southgate launches PET tape made from 85% recycled plastic; With
the Plastic Packaging Tax due to take effect from April, which will
apply to plastic packaging produced in or imported into the UK which
does not contain at least 30% recycled plastic, Southgate said the new
PET Tape provides an alternative to businesses who may not want to make
the switch from plastic entirely.
- Phones left unused in drawers across the UK could be worth £3.4 billion; New
research commissioned by giffgaff suggests unused and recyclable mobile
phones across the UK could be worth an estimated £3.4 billion. The
research suggests that almost half (45%) of the UK – nearly 30 million
people – keep old and working mobile phones, despite using a brand new
model day-to-day.
- UK government reviewing the potential of recycling PPE waste; Medical
face masks could be recycled into items such as curtains or bedsheets,
the government has said as it reviews the potential of reusable Type IIR
medical grade masks in acute settings. According to reports by BBC
news, Health minister Edward Argar said the Department of Health and
Social Care was also considering how to recycle materials in Covid test
kits.
- New Coveris films aim to meet plastic tax requirements; The
films are said to be the thinnest recycled stretch films currently
available and contain a minimum 30% recycled content. The UK Plastics
Packaging Tax comes into force in April and requires all plastic
packaging to contain a minimum of 30% recycled content, which will
otherwise be subject to taxation of £200 per tonne.
- Over 40 brands have signed up to initiative to tackle ‘date label confusion’; Last
year, an initiative was launched to tackle ‘date label confusion’. Now,
one year on, Too Good To Go is celebrating having over 40 food and
drink brands signed up to the initiative. The ‘Look, Smell, Taste,
Don’t Waste’ campaign was launched last year in an attempt to educate
consumers to use their senses instead of purely following Best Before
labels.
- Colpac launches single portion platters as buffet alternative; Colpac has extended its platters range to offer hygienic alternatives to the shared buffet experience.
- New ‘supercritical water’ approach to recycling plastic packaging waste; The
University of Birmingham has licensed the rights to a ‘supercritical
water’ technology to Stopford, to develop a novel process for recycling
mixed plastic packaging that it says delivers ‘a greater proportion of
high value recycled plastic with less emissions’. The University
says it also has fewer processing steps than current recycling methods,
and no solvent residues.
- Robinson creates 100% PCR packs for chocolate maker Holdsworth; The
value-added custom packaging specialist produced a range of 160g
chocolate boxes: Dark Heaven, Milk Heaven and Assorted Heaven. The
packaging was carefully crafted using 100% post-consumer recycled (PCR)
material and is fully recyclable. The clear viewing window is produced
from recycled UK water bottles adding to the sustainable appeal.
- Eco Flexibles highlights commercial momentum of sustainable packaging; UK
headquartered sustainable flexible packaging business, Eco Flexibles,
has shared perspective on the growing importance of ‘green’ statements
in FMCG retail strategy.
- Amcor launches high-barrier recyclable paper confectionery packaging; LifeSpan
Performance Paper is the first product to launch on its global AmFiber
platform, announced last week. It is a high-barrier, grease resistant
FSC-certified paper-based solution, with more than 80% paper fiber
content and PVDC-free and is recyclable across most European countries.
- £8.1bn to support green infrastructure in Wales; Welsh
finance minister Rebecca Evans has said tackling the climate and nature
emergency is the “overarching ambition” of Wales’ new Infrastructure
Investment Strategy which is set to be underpinned by investment of more
than £8.1bn over the next three years.
- Roberts Mart supplies compostable packs to major Icelandic coffee brand; As
the drive towards more sustainable solutions for the food and drink
sector gathers pace, the specialist printed flexible packaging company
said it is responding with greener alternatives to mixed plastics.
- Braskem invests in Nexus Circular to accelerate advanced plastics recycling; Braskem’s
investment supports the goal of a circular economy where
hard-to-recycle plastic waste is captured as a valuable feedstock for
new materials.
- Turkish dumpsites contaminated with toxic chemicals from UK waste, says Greenpeace; Greenpeace
UK is calling on the government to enact the Environment Bill and use
the powers within it to ban all plastic waste exports, not just to
non-OECD members. A report released by Greenpeace Mediterranean
today (9 February), Game of Waste, suggests five sites in southern
Turkey are ‘extensively contaminated’ with hazardous chemical
pollutants, following what Greenpeace calls the ‘illegal dumping and
open burning’ of imported plastic waste.
- Green apprenticeships and jobs for north London; North
London Waste Authority (NLWA) is creating hundreds of green jobs for
north London residents as part of a £1.2 billion project to transform
Edmonton EcoPark in Enfield into a new sustainable waste hub and divert
waste from landfill.
- Lidl and Waitrose top Which? ‘green supermarket’ ranking; New
research that analyses data from the UK’s supermarkets on greenhouse
gas emissions, plastic usage and food waste, ranks Lidl and Waitrose as
the UK’s ‘greenest’. Which? collected supermarket data from
published reports and gathering information from the companies directly.
It then analysed them all together to compare the sustainability of the
UK’s eleven biggest supermarket chains. According to Which? Lidl
scored highly for its low greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and targets,
while Waitrose did ‘consistently well’ across all the categories: GHG
emissions, plastic use, and food waste.Lidl and Waitrose came in the
joint top position with a score of 74%.
- Indonesian plastic recycling project launched to address infrastructure gap; UK-based
distributor of recycled bottle materials Bantam Materials is working
with Far East investment firm Circulate Capital after receiving
investment for a plastic recycling project
in Indonesia. Prevented Ocean Plastic Southeast Asia is a
plastic waste collection and recycling company developing and testing a
supply chain model for the management of plastic waste in the Far
East. Through a partnership between recycled PET flakes
manufacturer PT Polindo Utama, Bantam Materials, and Circulate Capital,
Prevented Ocean Plastic Southeast Asia is planning to expand recycling
infrastructure to underserved communities across Indonesia to prevent
plastic leakage and support local livelihoods.
- Cadbury changes chocolate bar packaging in bid to help dieters; Cadbury
has launched twist-and-seal wrappers to encourage chocolate fans not to
wolf down a whole bar in one sitting. The innovative packaging for
favourites including Dairy Milk, Wispa, Double Decker and Boost in the
brand’s Duo range is seen as a move to help Brits ration treats and cut
down on calories.
- Value chain synergy and aligned messaging ‘essential’ to increase plastic recycling; Plastics
recycling and resources charity, RECOUP, conducted a Pledge2Recyle
Citizen Plastics Recycling Behaviours Insights Study.
The survey has been hosted on the Pledge2Recyle website receiving over
6,500 responses from across the UK including devolved nations, resulting
in one of the largest and most comprehensive studies of its kind, it
says. The results indicate that 95% of citizens claim they recycle
plastic drinks bottles every time. This drops to 83% with shampoo
and conditioner bottles and 80% for cleaning products and sauce bottles.
Claimed recycling rates drop considerably once the packs become more
complicated for example when the packs are more difficult to clean or
less likely to be collected kerbside.
- HP puts focus on packaging with acquisition of paper bottle firm Choose; Digital
print giant HP has ventured directly into the packaging market with the
acquisition of Scottish paper bottle manufacturer Choose Packaging, for
an undisclosed fee.
- Sector not ready for Plastics Tax warns FPA; Following
a survey amongst its members, the FPA (Foodservice Packaging
Association) is warning that the sector is not ready for the Plastics
Tax, due come into effect on 1 April. The survey, conducted week
commencing 17 January on the administration of the Plastics Packaging
Tax (PPT), shows that almost 80% of FPA member companies who sell
plastic packaging and products are not yet prepared to administer the
tax. This is despite three quarters of respondents having attended an
HMRC PPT webinar and/or read the tax guidance notes. Indeed 85% of those
attending a HMRC webinar found it to be unhelpful, with too many
questions unanswered, with a similar percentage finding the guidance
notes unhelpful.
- Consumer knowledge ‘essential’ to fuel the circular economy; A
recent survey by risk management experts, DNV, suggests consumer
knowledge of circular economy is growing and their attitude towards it
is generally positive. However, trust in companies requires
‘strengthening’ while more ‘innovation and legislation’ is needed to
drive increased engagement and action, it says.
- Whole Earth supports rainforest conservation with special edition jar; Whole
Earth, the UK peanut butter brand owned by Ecotone UK, has unveiled a
new Golden Rainforest edition as the brand aims to more than double its
contribution last year to the Sumatran Orangutan Society (SOS).
- Tonnes of COVID-19 healthcare waste exposes ‘dire need’ to improve waste management systems – WHO; Tens
of thousands of tonnes of extra medical waste from the response to the
COVID-19 pandemic has put tremendous strain on health care waste
management systems around the world, threatening human and environmental
health and exposing a dire need to improve waste management practices,
according to a new WHO report. The WHO ‘Global analysis of health
care waste in the context of COVID-19: status, impacts and
recommendations’ bases its estimates on the approximately 87,000 tonnes
of personal protective equipment (PPE) that was procured between March
2020- November 2021 and shipped to support countries’ urgent COVID-19
response needs through a joint UN emergency initiative. Most of this
equipment is expected to have ended up as waste.
- Exeter City FC can recycling scheme wins national award; Exeter
City Council and Exeter City Football Club (ECFC) have won an Every Can
Counts national recycling award for an innovative scheme. Cans 4 City
encourages Exeter football fans to recycle used drink cans while also
raising money for charity. Since 2020, the initiative has collected
nearly seven tonnes of aluminium packaging to raise more than £6,000
for projects and initiatives run both by the club and its partner
charity, Exeter City Community Trust (ECCT).
- Tetra Pak repeats call for cartons to be included in DRS; Tetra
Pak has welcomed a discussion in the House of Commons on the possible
inclusion of juice and milk cartons in the UK’s planned deposit return
recycling scheme. Alex Henriksen, managing director, North Europe, Tetra
Pak said the carton giant has been calling for the inclusion of
beverage cartons in the UK DRS from its launch. “The limited model
proposed by the Government risks confusing consumers who are used to
recycling a wider range of materials via other routes, and therefore
risks undermining the UK’s ambitions to create a truly circular economy
and tackle climate change.”
- 10kg of plastic PPE waste to be recycled every hour in ‘world-first’ collaboration; Plastic
PPE waste is to be given another life in a recycling collaboration
between Heriot-Watt University and Britain’s largest PPE manufacturer,
Globus Group. The increasing quantities of plastic PPE, including
respirators and masks, that have been discarded during the pandemic has
been widely reported as the world strives to reach Net Zero
goals. Since the start of the pandemic, an estimated 8.4m tonnes of
plastic waste has been generated from 193 countries, according to a
study published in the journal PNAS, the majority of which ends up in
landfill or, in some areas, in the ocean, the study suggests. A new
Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) project is set to ‘revolutionise’
how used plastic PPE is treated to turn the waste into a secondary raw
material called pyrolysis oil, which can then be refined into new
commercial products like new PPE products or fuels. The project,
which aims to create a ‘robust circular economy’ approach for plastics,
will run for two years.
|
|
|
|
