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The new furnace, called Furnace 83, is the 12th for the group in Italy and will give new impetus to the Tuscan plant in the province of Pistoia from 2024.

Verallia Group CEO Michel Giannuzzi announced the green light for the construction of a new furnace in October. The choice was made for the southernmost plant in Italy, one of six Italian plants of the group.

Marco Ravasi, CEO of Verallia Italia, said, “With this latest furnace, our group has invested, in the Italian market alone, an amount exceeding € 300 million.

Dr. Rick Michelman, currently Chief Technology Officer & Executive Vice President (EVP), Americas and Printing & Packaging, will become President & CEO. He has been with the company for more than 25 years, acquiring broad operation and market knowledge by serving in many organizational roles, including product development, technology management, business development, regional leadership, and business segment leadership. Furthermore, his background as a chemist gives him an understanding of the sustainable solutions Michelman continues to innovate globally.

‘We are investing continuously in the research and use of alternative, bio-based packaging materials to complement our product portfolio,’ stated Christian Zmölnig, Director Corporate Research, Development and Innovation at ALPLA. ‘Now we are looking forward to bringing our expertise into the new cooperation with Glatfelter and BOC.’

• Syntegon develops new paper-based packaging concept for “PACK4SENSE” project
• Optimized recyclability thanks to easier separation of all packaging components

Together with partners from industry and research, namely Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging in Dresden, Colruyt Group, Strauss Group and the University of Reading, Syntegon is implementing the EIT project “PACK4SENSE” (Paper packaging for SENSitive foods) to develop a sustainable packaging concept.

A new type of recyclable meat packaging tray designed by a Swansea University student could save thousands of tonnes in plastic waste.

Alaa Alaizoki, who is studying for an engineering doctorate, has created a meat tray without a separate piece of absorbent plastic padding underneath.

Mr Alaizoki said the technology could be used in other areas, like nappies.

Meat Promotion Wales said consumers wanted to know that food was made in an "environmentally responsible way".

About 800,000 tonnes of UK meat packaging plastic waste is produced each year,

Mondi, a global leader in packaging and paper, received nine awards in six categories at this year's WorldStar Packaging awards. Open to packaging companies around the world, the WorldStar awards recognise the best ideas, innovations and technologies on the market, with a focus on sustainability, product protection and end-user convenience.

In-depth research is being co-funded with Innovate UK and will closely follow consumers as they plan at home, engage in-store, and decant and sore products back at home.

• The UK’s leading frozen food specialist has partnered with Mondi to package its products more sustainably
• Mondi’s functional barrier paper solutions will reduce the amount of plastic used by 80%
• New approach supports Iceland in its ambitious goal to eliminate plastic packaging by the end of 2023

Iceland is replacing its previous packaging with Mondi’s versatile functional barrier paper across a number of its ranges.

The launch marks a major step change in the packaging of cheese, which has moved from a mixed, triple-ply nylon laminate - one of the hardest to recycle materials - to a fully recyclable polyethylene (PE) monolaminate structure with built-in barrier properties.

Providing a direct replacement for current non-recyclable alternatives, the new MonoFlexBE format matches current shelf-life requirements, as well as maintaining packing line efficiencies. The film also delivers a significant plastic weight reduction of 680mg of plastic per bag to offer further carbon savings.

Plastic packaging is not completely banned
In recent years, environmental organizations have accused Amazon of producing too much plastic waste with its packaging and of being jointly responsible for the pollution of the oceans. According to an analysis by the Cologne retail institute EHI 2020, the company was by far the market leader in German online mail order – ahead of Otto and Zalando.