plastic recycling

Eastman has announced an agreement with Ethicon, a Johnson & Johnson MedTech Company, to source Eastman Renew materials for its medical device sterile-barrier packaging. This is an important step to help reduce waste in the healthcare system and contribute to a more circular future. With this agreement, Ethicon becomes the first healthcare company to use medical-grade Eastman Renew materials in its product packaging.

The brand said the pilot reward scheme, part of its longer-term commitment to become a 100% circular brand by 2025, will also explore how a digital Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) can be successful in engaging consumers and encouraging recycling.

Deposit Return Schemes are due to be introduced across the UK, starting with Scotland in 2023.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Monday announced a 60-million-Australian dollar (44.4-million-U.S. dollar) boost for the Recycling Modernisation Fund (RMF), which is driving the transformation of the waste and recycling sector, taking its total funding to 250 million AUD (185.2 million USD).

The five fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies made the commitment on Tuesday (1 March) as they launched a new Europe-based scheme called the Flexible Packaging Initiative.

Alto Packaging’s plant in Albany, New Zealand, now processes 100 percent washed postconsumer flakes into 100 percent food-contact grade monolayer thermoforming sheet.

According to a news release from Amut Ecotech, Alto, which is a division of Pact Group, invested in the new food-grade PET sheet extrusion line as a part of Pact Group’s vision to lead a circular economy through packaging in Australia and New Zealand.

Using advanced recycling technologies, the site will have the capacity to recycle any plastic used in Sweden using entirely renewable energy, making the country’s plastic economy completely circular. 

Located in the city of Molata, construction is expected to conclude in 2023. It will expand an existing facility, which the company says is already the “most efficient on earth.”