Sustainability

• Nestlé announced Friday that by June it will begin using a new recyclable shrink sleeve label on its line of seven ready-to-drink Nesquik flavored milk products. The company says the cap, bottle and sleeve can all be recycled together in the U.S.
• The crystallized PET sleeves were designed with “light-blocking print technology” to preserve shelf life – an important feature for protecting these drinks, whose taste, color and vitamin levels can be susceptible to being impacted by light, the company said.

The owners ARA, Bernegger and GreenDot/Der Grüne Punkt hosted the grand opening of the new sorting plant for lightweight packaging in Ennshafen on Friday.

Dozens of grower associations from across North America convened to discuss the current state of produce packaging and outline goals for the Sustainable Produce Packaging Alignment for North America (SPPA). SPPA will develop unified guidelines for use across the North American fresh produce supply chain, with a target completion date of December 2025.

On World Environment Day, rePurpose Global, a leading sustainability action platform, celebrates the impact of its inaugural clean-up initiative across waste hotspots in the Himalayan region of India. In collaboration with nearly 50 brand partners, including Grove Collaborative, Amperna Retail, Vital Pet Life, V-dog, Summit Supplements, CleanCult, Safe Catch, rePurpose Global, in partnership with its Impact Partner, Waste Warriors, spearheaded efforts to remove over 10,000 lbs of waste across eight natural sites, including a national park with an endangered elephant population.

Parliament initially passed legislation to implement a tax on single-use plastic packaging during the 2020 financial year. However, it has been a contentious and complex political issue, facing resistance from the industry, which has led to its introduction being postponed seven times.

The proposed tax is expected to follow a model similar to Spain's existing plastic tax, with the rate set at €0.45 per kilogram of virgin plastic in Italy's legislation.

UK foodservice specialist Fresh Direct has launched new, plastic-free packaging for its best-selling avocado twin-pack.

Fresh Direct said it marked the first time that the new packaging, developed by its avocado supply partner Westfalia Fruit, had been used in foodservice.

It replaces the current plastic packaging with a paper-based pack, which is made from actively managed, FSC-approved sources, where forests are regenerated as trees are replanted and is fully recyclable.

The meeting of the ministers, held in Sydney on 21 June, considered the growing challenge of soft plastics, and industry’s slow progress to re-establish in-store collection since the collapse of the REDcycle scheme. 

Ministers discussed progress on the Commonwealth’s new National Circular Economy Framework, due to be finalised by December 2024, and which will drive a faster transition to a circular economy and ensure efficient use of key resources and materials in Australia.

Pact Collective and Eastman today announce they have qualified the use of clean, multicolor PET waste from Pact members and consumers as feedstock for Eastman’s methanolysis technology. This process addresses the challenge of multicolored PET received at material recovery facilities (MRF), which ​in some instances is​ unlikely to be mechanically recycled due to color variations. Eastman’s methanolysis process enables the upcycling of this material into Eastman Renew materials — high-quality copolyesters and PET for the beauty industry that offer a quality on par with virgin materials. 

The new Slim rechargeable glass jar in 50ml format, has recently joined Lumson’s REPLACE line, that already includes Unique, DeLuxe, and Japa refillable glass jars.

This new solution, designed for prestige skincare products, has a minimal captivating profile, and is perfectly aligned with the three key concept of REPLACE sustainable design:

The launch also marks the introduction of SIG DomeMini to the Southeast Asian market. The transition to a bottle-shaped carton pack is said to provide a better plastic-to-product ratio and stand out to consumers with a “sleek and distinctive design.”