Sustainability

Leading European thermoforming packaging specialist Waddington® Europe, a division of Novolex®, has become the first to supply a full range of soft-fruit punnets to the UK market that are easier to recycle and use less plastic than conventional punnets.

Made with Waddington's revolutionary MONOAIR™ cushion technology, the new 100% mono-material punnets are now available in large rectangular (WE80), square (WE62) and standard rectangular (WE37) versions.

Successful collaboration as an important step in terms of sustainability
From now on, only CO2 reduced packaging steel will be used for Sika GmbH's tinplate pails. This is a result of the successful cooperation between the only German tinplate manufacturer thyssenkrupp Rasselstein in Andernach, the metal packaging manufacturer Muhr & Söhne based in Attendorn, as well as Sika, the international specialty chemicals company based in Stuttgart.

With tens of thousands of merchants across the country, alongside thousands of delivery people, Uber Eats has a unique opportunity to help deliver a greener future. Recently, Uber announced new goals to eliminate emissions on all Uber Eats deliveries globally by 2040, along with a focus on helping merchants eliminate plastic waste from deliveries by 2030.

The Singolo 2cc dispensing pump is made solely from polypropylene material, providing consumers with excellent dispensing performance, while also allowing it to be ready for recycling after use. This innovative product has received a Class “A” rating by RecyClass, a cross-industry initiative dedicated to advancing the recyclability and traceability of plastic packaging in Europe. In addition to being sustainable, Singolo is e-commerce compliant and has successfully passed rigorous ISTA 6 testing, providing reliable shipping for consumer use applications.

As Flexible Packaging reports, the packaging innovation will see Mitolo Family Farms’ premium Gourmandine potatoes sold in new paper bags – delivering a 64% reduction in plastic (when compared to the previous packaging for this product). 

The new Gourmandine paper packaging extends on previous sustainability steps taken by Mitolo Family Farms, as the company previously cut its use of plastic packaging in 2022 by reducing the thickness of plastic used to bag potatoes. 

While their commitment to sustainability was commended, the transition would introduce a few headaches for fans. Zero plastic meant removing the window film, meaning there was no way to look at the figure before buying. Instead, being presented with merely an image of the toy printed on the box. This seemed to turn off some mint on the card collectors while also raising concerns regarding unsatisfactory paint apps. There were also reports of dishonest customers swapping out the figures, replacing some of the more sought-after collectibles with less desirable releases.

Amcor, a global leader in developing and producing responsible packaging solutions, has announced the expansion of its AmFiber™ Performance Paper packaging range in Europe to include heat seal sachets for dry culinary and beverage applications, such as instant coffee, drink powders, spices, seasonings, and dried soups.