The Thermal Glue Inspection solution is designed to help minimise product damage during transport caused by not using the right amounts of hot melt adhesive on cartons and product cases.

The solution integrates thermal and vision technologies to make inspections more accurate and precise.

It identifies and rejects non-compliant cartons and cases, sorting defect patterns for reporting and maintenance.

The Thermal Glue Inspection solution will help businesses avoid case ruptures and reduce the costs of carton rework labour and materials on product packaging.

The solution also features an automated inspection camera that can be changed for new cartons and can also scan for dates and lot codes. According to FILTEC, this makes production lines more efficient and delivers a return on investment with every use.

FILTEC president and CEO Jim James Kearbey said: “FILTEC has an ongoing commitment to innovation, service and quality in the inspection industry.

“Our new Thermal Glue Inspection technology is designed to help businesses in a wide range of industries maintain highly efficient and cost-effective production lines.”

The Thermal Glue Inspection solution has a compact footprint and can easily fit on most production lines.

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?

That’s the hope of researchers at the University of Göttingen in Germany, who have developed the plant-based packaging and are already in talks for its commercial use. Whereas polystyrene-based packaging like Styrofoam takes centuries to break down and is made from nonrenewable fossil fuels, popcorn is easily renewable, biodegradable, and could even be composted at home.

The idea to use popcorn as packaging first came to Alireza Kharazipour, head of the research group that developed the packaging and a professor at the university’s Faculty of Forest Sciences and Forest Ecology, when he was at the movies. “In the dark, the popcorn felt just as light as styropol foam balls,” he says. “The next day I bought corn and made popcorn at home in a pot.” Eventually, those experiments moved into the lab at the University of Göttingen.

Styrofoam is such good packaging material and insulation because it’s made of 95% air, but it’s still especially harmful to the environment. Foam polystyrene is made from petroleum, is difficult to recycle and often not even accepted by recycling programs, and can take centuries to decompose, breaking down into microplastics that threaten wildlife and environments along the way.

But just like polystyrene, popcorn is filled with air too. Kharazipour and his research group use crushed corn, made from the inedible by-products of cornflakes production, and use a steam process to expand that crushed corn into what the researchers call “granulated” popcorn. “The products are very light because popcorn granules are filled with air like honeycombs,” Kharazipour says. “When grain maize expands into popcorn, the volume increases by 15% to 20%.”

The popcorn packaging can be made with these by-products, or from corn grown anywhere. Using different molds, the popcorn can be turned into various packaging shapes. The researchers also coated the expanded popcorn in a thin layer of bioplastic so that the packaging is water-repellent. The result, Kharazipour says, is a packaging material that is just as strong as polystyrene but can be easily cut with a circular saw and can be reused, shredded down, or composted at home.

Each year, the U.S. alone produces about 3 million tons of polystyrene, mainly for packaging and food service items, according to environmental consultant Green Dining Alliance. Across the world, packaging is the biggest purchaser of plastics, accounting for about 40% of total plastic usage. Not all of that is polystyrene or Styrofoam-like packaging, but Kharazipour and his research team hope they can make a dent in what is. The university has already entered a licensing agreement with a grain and cereal company called Nordgetreide for commercial use of the popcorn-packaging making process, and is working on manufacturing various popcorn packaging products. It’s a step toward creating, as Kharazipour says, “a clean environment free of plastic-based products.”

Last year, Magnum was the first ice cream brand to pioneer a new recycling technology and the first to use recycled plastic within the ice cream industry.

Designed to tackle the impact plastic has on the environment, Magnum’s new tubs and lids for its pints range are fully recyclable and made with recycled polypropylene plastic (rPP).

The advanced recycling technology that makes this possible transforms previously unrecyclable plastic waste into a valuable resource. The rPP waste can be re-processed infinitely, as the closed-loop recycling method preserves the quality of the material, thus reducing the need for virgin plastic.

Initially, 600,000 of the new tubs were launched in Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain in 2019. This year, more than 7 million will be introduced across other European countries. And from 2021 onwards, the new packs will be rolled out globally.

By the end of 2020, all Magnum Pints tubs in Europe will be produced with rPP, which means over 160,000 kilograms of recycled plastic. Our goal is that, by 2025, all Magnum tubs will be made with recycled plastic. The full roll-out across all European countries is another exciting step towards a more sustainable future.

As Julien Barraux, Global VP for Magnum, says, “We are proud to be one of the world’s first ice cream brands to pioneer this ground-breaking technology. Through this new approach, we hope to lead the food and refreshment industry towards a more sustainable future, paving the way to a circular economy.

These days, consumers – rightly – expect all packaging to be sustainable. By keeping our plastic material in the loop, we are contributing to a healthier planet and preventing plastic pollution.

With more in-home consumption due to Covid-19, the introduction of these tubs and their reduced impact on the environment becomes even more relevant as the world prepares for a new future.”

A process didn’t exist, so we helped develop one

Although there have been rPP options available for beauty and personal care products for some time, there were previously no solutions approved for use in food-grade packaging. So, we collaborated with SABIC – a global leader in diversified chemicals – to develop one.

The rPP used in Magnum is not obtained by traditional mechanical recycling, as this is not suitable for food contact packaging. We use an innovative recycling process that transforms the plastic waste into a resin with the same characteristics as virgin food-grade resin.

This new technology allows us to recycle low quality, mixed plastic waste that would otherwise most likely be destined for incineration or landfill. It is not currently possible to produce food-grade rPP with any other form of recycling system.

The move is part of Unilever’s wider global packaging commitment to halve the company’s use of virgin plastic by reducing its absolute use of plastic packaging by more than 100,000 tonnes and accelerating its use of recycled plastic by 2025.

In the UK, we want to significantly accelerate progress towards these commitments. To do this and to drive progress in tackling plastic waste, we’ve created our five-point plastic plan, ‘#GetPlasticWise'.

Plastic has its place, but that place is not in the environment

The rate at which we are currently using the world’s resources means that, before long, they will simply run out. We need to not only build recycling into our everyday routine, but also focus on new technology, to reduce the use of plastics as a matter of urgency.

The circular economy aims to change how we make, use and ultimately dispose of materials. It ensures that the world can continue to support the needs of a growing population while, at the same time, reversing our current unsustainable levels of pollution.

Plastic is a valuable material. It is crucial for the safe and efficient distribution of products, and it has a lower carbon footprint than many alternative materials. So, it has its place. That place is inside the circular economy – where it is reused, recycled or composted. And where it is kept in a loop, to stop it from ever finding its way into the environment.

Professional painters and do-it-yourselfers appreciate it equally: The quality wallpapers of the traditional brand ERFURT. It all started with woodchip wallpaper. Today, the family business ERFURT & SOHN KG, managed in the seventh generation, sells a diverse product portfolio all around the world for contemporary wall design in addition to its sales classics: from non-woven, smooth non-woven and embossed paper wallpapers to individually designable digital print wallpapers.

Modern non-woven woodchip and non-woven wallpapers are very much in vogue, as they enable a particularly convenient and clean method of renovation with the wall-pasting technique. ERFURT & SOHN now offers an extra plus in convenience with the wallpaper box developed by DS Smith. The special highlight: The innovative solution for the professional and do-it-yourselfer saves the wallpaper table. The wallpaper strip can be attached directly from the wallpapering box to the pre-glued wall from the running roll. The integrated wall spacer, the positioning tabs for the ladder and the cut edge marked on the packaging ensure that the strips are always the right length. Waste of wallpaper material can be reduced considerably in this way. At the same time, the wallpaper box protects the wallpaper roll against soiling.

Thanks to the printed assembly instructions, DS Smith's wallpaper box can be set up in no time at all and can be easily adjusted to the size of the wallpaper roll by means of reduction tabs inside the box. And it is just as easy to use

his renewable plant material that can be continually replenished and that absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. It also helps Nestlé reduce its use of fossil-based plastics. Nestlé Nutrition’s NAN infant formula packed in the new packaging materials was introduced in Hong Kong in 2020 and will be available in other markets globally from 2021, including for other brands such as BEBA and GUIGOZ.

Wyeth Nutrition is launching the new bio-based packaging for its brands SMA, LITTLE STEPS, S-26 and ILLUMA.

Nestlé Health Science is also introducing the new packaging material for its Althéra, Alfaré, Alfamino, Modulen and Peptamen Junior brands, which are part of its global range of pediatric food for special medical purposes.

The lids and scoops are made from 66% and 95% sugar cane respectively. They are certified as plant-based packaging and are recyclable in countries that have recycling facilities for polyethylene (PE). They have the same properties and functionalities as conventional plastic ones, without compromising the high level of hygiene and freshness required. The bio-based lids and scoops complement the tin can which is metal-based and is the most recycled material in the world. This innovation is one of the many solutions Nestlé is working on to address the issue of packaging waste.

Ryan Carvalho, Head of R&D and Chief Medical Officer for Nestlé Nutrition said, “The development of innovative sustainable packaging solutions plays an important role in our journey to net-zero. Bio-based packaging from sugar cane is an excellent example of how we can make good use of plant-based raw materials that are renewable to develop better alternatives to traditional plastic while ensuring that our products maintain a high level of safety and quality.”

Nestlé is a founding member of the Bioplastics Feedstock Alliance that aims to encourage production of bioplastics feedstocks in an environmentally responsible, socially beneficial and economically viable manner.

The drive to minimise the use of plastics in packaging is a main topic for retailers and food producer. Solid plastic trays are commonly used for fresh vegetables and fruits, and even if trays made of renewable plastics have been introduced, recyclable fibre trays are requested. AR Packaging has therefore introduced a one-piece tray with a thin barrier coating. The tray is based on cartonboard made of fibres from certified sustainably managed sources and a fibre content of up to 95% makes it recyclable in the paper stream in most countries.

The majority of our product developments are focused on packaging solutions made of renewable materials and which are recyclable. The switch to fibre-based trays for fresh vegetables can be pretty easy with no investments in new production equipment needed”, said Philipp Eissner, Business Development Manager at AR Packaging. “These new trays are already in use in Germany and they are well suited for a wide range of products such as fresh vegetables & fruits, herbs, mushrooms, seeds and much more.”

The unbleached paper look and feel of the tray makes it easy for brand owners to communicate the environmental benefits to the end consumer. Both the outside and inside of the tray can be printed.

In addition to providing the requested product protection, the tray can be combined with a lidding film which provides consumer convenience such as easy peel opening and reclosure. The reclosure feature can prolong the shelf life of the product and minimise food waste when the consumer uses parts of the content at different occasions.

The fibre-based tray for fresh vegetables and fruit is one example of many sustainable tray solutions offered by AR Packaging