Sustainability

"With plastics in the ocean playing a major role in the health of many fisheries around the world, we're taking the lead in bringing an alternative to poly bags to the market," says Grundéns CEO David Mellon. "Sustainability is a journey, and we are constantly striving to improve the environmental performance of our own products, packaging, and operations. This new compostable packaging will allow customers to drop it into their own home or municipal compost stream, confident they aren't adding plastic waste into the environment."

The founders of WaWaah Water were determined to launch a healthy water drink for children and even got their own kids involved in the development process. Adding essential vitamins for kids, B5, B12 and C to water, which does not include any sugar or preservatives, the new drinks focus only on the good – and this also includes the packaging.

This step change on packaging will commence on a 12-week trial basis in 100 stores, with plans to roll out the changes to more products if successful. As one of Ireland’s favourite grocery items this change will have a significant impact on reducing plastic waste.

Those bits that come inside your packages are called peanuts, but of course they are made from polystyrene, not anything natural. But what if we could send things packaged in popcorn—the actual food, not another plastic-derived counterpart—instead?

The trio are joined by other major food brands including PepsiCo and Unilever in the scheme – which is though to the first of its kind in the region, to help deliver faster progress on environmental protection measures.

Known as the Flexible Plastic Fund, it is being led by producer compliance scheme, Ecosurety, with support from environmental charity, Hubbub.

Founded by Franco/U.S.-based recycling company TerraCycle, Loop has partnered with Aeon to encourage refillable packaging systems in their retail outlets. The alliance has garnered the support of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government that wants to promote the “three Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle)” to create better sustainable foundations for consumers across the city.

US-based food products manufacturer Mars Wrigley has partnered with standardised labelling system provider How2Recycle to develop a more sustainable packaging option for its Orbit Gum.

The 30-piece Orbit Mega Pack features an outer plastic package that can be recycled in around 50% of recycling streams in the US, with more locations to be made available in future.

Intended for on-the-go durability, the product is available on shelves for purchase at retailers across the nation and offered in Peppermint and Spearmint flavours.