Plastic

Every year, an estimated 350 million tennis balls are sold worldwide, mostly in pressurized plastic containers that are designed to preserve their bounce. As soon as a container is opened, tennis balls start to lose their pressure. Tennis balls have short lives, compared to their refillable cousins in football, basketball and soccer.

This investment marks the first of its kind from Dow on the continent and expects to enable approximately 90 kilotons (kt) of plastic waste to be recovered over four years and recycled into new packaging applications. With the support from Dow and other investors, Mr. Green Africa plans to expand its operations in Kenya where it is headquartered as well as in other countries in Africa, further extending the capabilities of its recycling efforts across the continent. 

Feneberg Lebensmittel GmbH, a successful retail chain from Southern Germany, demonstrates in an impressing manner the opportunities that arise from questioning existing concepts and breaking new ground. This family business, based in the Allgäu region of Germany, now uses an innovative packaging solution by Schur Flexibles for its self-service minced meat products by the Feneberg in-house butcher’s: the recyclable and sustainable flow-wrap film MonoFlowre . The results have been impressive: By switching from tray to flow wrap, the two companies have managed to save 70% of plastic.

Recycled packaging contributes significantly to greater resource efficiency and waste avoidance: All contained products that reach the user undamaged do not have to be produced and transported again. Precisely fitting protective packaging made of plastic accomplishes this task like hardly any other material and this with low weight and optimized reusability. 

Recycling saves resources

They are optimally tailored to the respective product and interfere with the environment as little as possible. At the same time, they fulfill their purpose of protection, extended shelf life and the clear separation of conventional goods in mixed retail, where in addition to organic goods, non-organic products are also offered. It is precisely there that it is important to use printed packaging to label organic goods so clearly that the consumer can find the organic food he is looking for without a doubt and without the risk of confusion.

In particular, Proseal will highlight how its machines are able to ensure seal quality and maintain product freshness while using the minimum amount of plastic necessary.

In the UK, Europe and North America, Proseal has been the driving force behind the replacement of traditional clam-shell punnets with top film tray sealed varieties, which reduces plastic consumption by up to 45%. With the introduction of non-plastic materials for trays, such as cardboard and the latest recyclable or home compostable materials, plastic usage can be further reduced by as much as 96%.

It combines fast, high-quality operation with maximum flexibility and uptime. Apart from producing premium quality D-ZIP bags, this easy-to-use machine can produce more than 10 different bag styles for a wide variety of applications such as candy, nuts, frozen fruits and grated cheese.

The GEA SmartPacker CX400 D-Zip design reduces the amount of plastic required for the zipper by approximately 15 percent by eliminating the zipper-material in the cross seal. Additional plastic waste is avoided given no punching is required in making the zipper.