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O-I eyes best in class title for beer bottle
Packaging News, 27 February 2007
O-I Glass is waiting for confirmation that bottles it has designed for Adnams brewery, the first in the UK to use narrow-neck press and blow technology, will be the new best in class for 500ml beer bottles.
At 299g, the amber glass bottles are 40g lighter than the current UK best in class, the 500ml Guinness bottle, but maintain the brand¡¯s recognisable bullet-shaped profile.
Adnams has been using the new bottles since January, and expects that reducing the weight will cut the amount of glass going into the waste stream by 500 tonnes a year.
O-I Glass is starting to talk to other companies interested in the technology and hopes this line, which is one-third lighter than the line it replaces, will become a benchmark for glass bottles.
Sales manager Paul McLavin said: ¡°Given the supermarkets¡¯ well-publicised commitment to reduce packaging waste, Adnams¡¯ initiative could act as a significant step change in the industry.¡±
Nicola Jenkin of the Waste and Resources Action Programme¡¯s retail innovation team said: ¡°Alongside reducing weight, brands also need to preserve their identity. ¡®Right-weighting¡¯ of glass products addresses both of these concerns.¡± |
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SAUCE OF INSPIRATION
One jar of tomato pasta sauce can look much like another. Unilever was using the same ¡®egg¡¯ shaped jar for many of its sauce ranges across Europe ¨C which was cost effective but meant the different brands lacked identity. Unilever wanted to raise the profile and quality perceptions of its Knorr Ragu sauce.
Design Bridge decided to focus its structural design around the tomato. The London-based design consultancy created a trademarked shaped jar that helps Knorr Ragu stand out on shelf and communicates that the sauce is packed with tomatoes. Head of 3D structural branding and packaging Nick Verebelyi says that Design Bridge considered plastic and glass for the jar, but decided to stick with glass because of its superior potential to create a unique shape and its quality cues.
However, he says there can be resistance to creating such a challenging shape for a high volume item. With high volume FMCG price is key. With a shape like the Ragu jar it is going to be more expensive; you do need to use more material, he says.
Verebelyi adds that there can be other constraints. You need to put a label on the jar, which means it can only curve in one direction. You can¡¯t put a label on a ball. For this reason, the ¡®tomato¡¯ in the middle of the Ragu jar is not spherical.
The bottom of the jar is also embellished with embossed tomatoes. Sales and brand recognition increased significantly after the redesign.
O-I returns to baby bottle production
Simeon Goldstein, packagingnews.co.uk, 26 November 2008
Glass packaging firm O-I has started manufacturing baby's bottles in the US for the first time in 20 years.
O-I said that concerns over the impact of Bisphenol A (BPA) in some plastic bottles had led to increased demand for glass bottles in North America and that a similar trend was being seen in Europe.
The sector has been keen to promote glass as packaging that makes food "taste the way nature intended" and O-I said the trend towards organic and natural foods had led some manufacturers to turn back to glass.
Dominique Tombeur, O-I Europe vice president for marketing and communication, said: "While we support breastfeeding as undoubtedly the best option, many mothers are not able to feed their baby in this way. Glass has been trusted by generations of mothers and can be safe for generations to come."
UK childcare retailer Mothercare told Packaging News that glass baby bottle sales were low ¨C about 1% of sales ¨C but that it had taken the view to offer choice enabling customers to make informed decisions.
Mothercare said that all its polycarbonate-based bottles comply with the current UK and European legislation on BPA levels, and it also sells polypropylene bottles that were free from BPA.
Next year, it is set to launch a wide-neck bottle made from PP, while Tommee Tippee and Avent are also due to introduce BPA-free bottles.
Mothercare has published information about baby's feeding bottles to address parents' concerns surrounding BPA via its website and a leaflet. |
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The traditional milk bottle is the ultimate in practical glass packaging. The height-to-diameter ratio and gently curving shape mean the bottle is light, cost effective to produce and can withstand being reused 20-30 times. The bottles reach customers unadorned except for the name of the dairy embossed into the glass.
David Workman, director general at trade body British Glass, explains that the embossed logos were introduced as a practical measure, to ensure the bottles were returned to the correct dairy. A label would have washed off when the bottles were reused.
Embossing is now used for branding rather than functional purposes. Stamping a brand¡¯s name into the fabric of the packaging sends out strong quality cues to the consumer as well as reassuring them of the product¡¯s authenticity. Once the moulds have been made, the branded bottles or jars can be produced in their millions at the same speed and cost as a plain version. Embossing reduces the need for secondary processes such as labelling, which can add cost and time as well as another material to sort during recycling. However, the actual process of embossing is more complex than simply deciding to put a pattern into the glass. Certain areas of a container need to be avoided, the embossing will need to line up with any labels and the complexity of the design to be embossed needs to be taken into consideration.
The recent trend towards lightweighting has proved a boon for embossing. O-I innovation project manager Steffi Lenz explains that because there is less molten glass to push into the mould of a lightweighted bottle it is easier to achieve finer details. The narrow neck press and blow method is much more precise for embossing than previous blow-blow technology, she says. Vacuum bores can also be added to the mould, which suck against the molten glass to sharpen embossed details.
Embossed areas are normally raised 0.3-0.5mm. Fine details become more difficult to achieve as moulds get older. A mould wears out the more you use it. If you are embossing very small details, the mould won¡¯t last as long and the embossing won¡¯t be as clear towards the end of the mould¡¯s life, says Beatson Clark marketing manager Charlotte Taylor.
The same is true of debossing ¨C where the details are sunk into the glass rather than standing out from it. The mould is the reverse of the finished product and so it has raised surfaces to create debossing. These surfaces wear down faster than the engraved details used to create embossing. Taylor says each mould will generally produce 13 million units, depending on the design. However, it can be as many as 18 million. We clean and maintain the moulds for customers to get as much life out of them as we can, she adds.
Drawing the line
Moulds open like a book on one side. This creates a parting line, or seam, down one side of the bottle. If the parting line runs through an embossed area it can wipe the detail off as the mould is opened, as well as looking unsightly. You need to think about where to put the parting line so it won¡¯t go over the embossing. If you have a square-shaped bottle or an unusual shape like Gordon¡¯s gin it can be difficult to work out where to put the parting line, says Lenz. She adds that square and asymmetric shapes can also make it more difficult to open the mould, so careful planning is required to ensure it opens without catching on the bottle.
The parting line can also cause challenges for labelling. Lenz explains that if a clear film label is applied over the parting line, air bubbles can form behind the label.
Of course, if you¡¯ve gone to the effort of embossing a container, you want to be sure the label won¡¯t cover it up. If you have a square jar with embossing on the sides and want a label on the front and back you need a machine that can spot the sides that are embossed. If you haven¡¯t got a machine, you would have to turn the jars to face the right direction by hand, says Taylor.
There are two mechanical methods of ensuring the bottle or jar is facing the correct direction for labelling. A spotter bar uses a notch at the bottom of the bottle. A metal bar is inserted into the notch, mechanically turning the bottle to face the right way. Alternatively, a row of dots can be embossed near the base of the bottle. An optical reader spins the bottle so the label is placed in the correct spot relative to the dots. The method used will be determined by the equipment of the company doing the filling and labelling. Taylor adds that some brands will choose to emboss all the way round, to avoid the need to align the label to the embossing.
When bottles are on a filling line they rattle along at impressive speeds, one pressed up against the next. Quinn Glass sales manager Gillian Walters says most bottles are designed to have two points, one upper and one lower, that will be in contact with the bottles on either side. These will be the widest points and need to be tough. On reusable bottles, such as glass Coca-Cola bottles in some countries, a scuffed ring will be visible at the contact points.
On the Carlsberg beer bottle the contact points are at the shoulder and the heel. The middle is slightly recessed, so this doesn¡¯t touch anything, which makes it a secure spot for embossing, explains Walters. If a bottle were embossed over the contact points, the embossing would be at risk of chipping or cracking as it is bashed into the bottle next to it. The two contact points also need to be the same width, otherwise the bottles might tip over on the conveyor belt.
Adding value
Making a custom mould is expensive. But there are other options. Tim Croxson, operations manager at glass packaging supplier Croxsons, says bespoke runs of as few as 40,000 units are possible. Using a blank mould from an existing design coupled with a new finish mould allows brands to dream up a new bottle for a lower cost than making a full custom mould.
He adds that embossing is not confined to the glass ¨C caps and closures can be embossed, while other effects such as photo-quality digital printing are also available for caps. Many clients use closures as a different method of adding value and shelf presence, he says.
To ensure that customers are pleased with the results after splashing out on a custom mould, Ardagh Glass has invested in technology to provide a mock-up of the final product. We use Perspex blocks, which are cut and engraved on a lathe. Then we create a mould. When you take off the mould, you have a model of what the embossed bottle will look like, says head of marketing Sharon Crayton. She says the Perspex trial helps to get the embossing right. Sometimes designs will be too intricate to emboss clearly and customers will be disappointed with sharpness or clarity. Crayton says that working with customers on the design of their embossing and making samples ensures the finished product is something the brand can be proud of.
Embossing was once the preserve of premium spirits and perfumes. Now, growing numbers of beers and FMCG products are using it to add panache. The flexibility of glass to create unusual shapes and intricately embossed designs is one of its selling points as a packaging material. However, is there a danger that embossing will lose its impact as it becomes more ubiquitous? Design Bridge head of 3D structural branding and packaging Nick Verebelyi says not. Every bit of embossing is different. Everyone wears clothes, but you still notice different fashions. |
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Packaging inventor to star in tonight's Dragons' Den
Josh Brooks, packagingnews.co.uk, 26 August 2009
A packaging inventor is due to appear on BBC's Dragons' Den tonight seeking investment to develop a pump spray that works at any angle.
Michael Pritchard, an inventor from Ipswich, Suffolk, will pitch to the millionaire entrepreneurs for cash to bring his Anyway dip tube to market.
According to Pritchard, the dip tube differs from others on the market because it allows a consistent spray when the pack is held at any angle..
Rather than having a single hole, the tube has millions of tiny holes along its length, meaning that as long as the liquid is in contact with any part of the tube it will work. It also promises to cut product wastage.
Pritchard described the Anyway, which he invented in his kitchen, as "a simple solution".
"[It] will give consumers more for their money and a product, packaged in a user-friendly spray, and manufacturers can help the environmental credentials, with products that create significantly less waste," he said.
Pritchard's appearance on Dragons' Den comes almost a year after recycled box firm The Tiny Box Company secured a £60,000 investment from Theo Paphitis and Peter Jones.
The show will be screened on BBC2 at 9pm tonight. For more, see tomorrow's packagingnews.co.uk Daily Bulletin. |
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Rexam predicts Prodigio growth
Jill Park, packagingnews.co.uk, 22 January 2009
Rexam expects demand for its Prodigio lotion pump to grow over coming months following its adoption by two leading European skincare brands.
Bottega Verde and Kelemata have launched Uomo Energy Power anti-wrinkle, anti-stress formula and Victor, an anti-fatigue cold cream, in the pack respectively.
Rexam customised the actuator tank for both customers.
Prodigio is fitted with polypropylene and polyethylene components. It incorporates a 100% recyclable pump designed using Rexam's proprietary CleanPoint technology.
CleanPoint incorporates a mechanically-closed actuator channel that keeps the lotion exit clear of build up from even the most viscous formulations.
Product manager of lotion for Rexam personal care Virginie Lemeunier highlighted the fact that the Prodigio has a large decoration area.
"We expect worldwide usage of Prodigio to grow in the months ahead, in men's and women's products ranging from mass market to prestige," she added.
Rexam personal care serves the fragrance, beauty, personal care and home products markets and falls under Rexam's plastics division. |
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Rieke pumps picked to battle MRSA and swine flu
Josh Brooks, packagingnews.co.uk, 15 March 2010
Cleaning products group JohnsonDiversey UK has turned to Rieke Dispensing to provide the closures for a new range of hospital hygiene products that fight diseases such as MRSA.
The industrial hygiene company has incorporated the RS3 pump on the bottles for its Soft Care Triple C range of skincare products that are designed to stop the spread of infections in hospitals.
Soft Care Med, the top-of-the-range product, is an alcohol gel that is based on propanols rather than the usual choice of ethanol and is effective in killing MRSA, Norovirus and the swine flu virus among other types of flu viruses.
It, and the other products in the range, have been fitted with Rieke's RS3 pump which delivers a 1ml dose and can be used with liquids at a range of viscosities.
JohnsonDiversey UK product manager Emma Philips said that the pump's "versatility enabled us to use the same design across several products to maintain uniformity of branding and efficiency in logistics". |
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CASE STUDIES
Pumping paste
Although Guala Dispensing's toothpaste pump hasn't fundamentally changed in around 15 years, the company is still confident it can see off the competition. The Italian company has been keeping a close eye on the launch of Aquafresh in an aerosol can, but argues the traditional pump dispenser still has advantages.
"It dispenses almost perfect toothbrush-sized amounts of toothpaste. Then you take your finger off the actuator and the overcap cuts off the flow of toothpaste with no mess," says UK, Ireland and Scandinavia sales manager Matt Lucas. He adds that toothpaste can build up around the mouth of the pack on aerosol dispensers. The Guala pump seals with a vacuum, meaning any toothpaste left on the outside of the tube can be rinsed off without risk of getting water into the container. The vacuum also ensures there is no loss of flavour.
The Guala toothpaste dispenser uses a plastic tamper tear strip to secure the opening. "Ours is one of the few that have a tamper. A lot just use a sticky label on the overcap," says Lucas. He adds that this removes the need for an overcap. "The cap can be thrown away or dispensed with altogether. Once open it is designed to be a one-hand action."
As well as holding strong in the toothpaste category, Guala's pump is also finding other applications, says Lucas. "It's used a lot more for haircare, like gels. We also have some automotive clients that are using the pumps for coloured paste to paint over scratches on cars."
Quantex
If your bottle of hand lotion dispenses too much cream, it can be annoying. If a hospital machine dispenses too much medicated cream, it can be much more serious. Current peristaltic pumps use a flexible tube, which is squeezed by a motor to push the fluid out. Quantex licensing director Peter Ross says it can be difficult to get accurate dispensing at different temperatures and pressures. The London-based product design agency wanted to create a pump that could dispense exact quantities. Ross explains the Quantex pump has a hard shell with a central rotor. The rotor has indents that pick up fluid from the input side and transport it to the output port. Because the indents hold a fixed volume, and the emptying is very efficient, high accuracy is achieved.
"We set out looking at medical uses, but it fits into a very wide range of applications, from dispensing detergents into washing machines through to hand soap dispensers or even food and drink, such as bag-in-box," says Ross. The pump can be made air-tight, which is important to protect food from contamination. The company also had to make it from entirely non-chlorinated materials, because for medical applications pumps need to be able to be incinerated.
"The Quantex pump can also generate enough pressure to drive a spray head, which surprised us," he adds. The pump can be manufactured to fit diameters as small as 12mm and can be produced at costs roughly equivalent to a sports cap on a soft drink bottle. |
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How do you find out if a face cream is going to react with the pack it is sold in? You bake it in an oven at 40¡ãC for 56 days.
While the basic technology behind pump and spray dispensers for toiletries and fragrance hasn't changed for years, manufacturers are always looking for new ways to add value, from innovative finishes to anti-counterfeiting devices and improved recyclability. And of course, the pump has to work flawlessly.
RPC Bramlage-Wiko manufactures airless pump dispensers for the cosmetics industry. An airless pump uses either a piston or a collapsible bag inside the bottle to force the lotion out. A standard pump uses air to evacuate the liquid, which can cause creams to degrade. The trend towards reducing the preservatives in cosmetics has boosted demand for airless dispensers. Airless pumps can also evacuate as much as 99% of a lotion, while a non-airless pump achieves around 90%. RPC Bramlage-Wiko sales manager Ian Smith explains that it is like drinking a thick milkshake through a straw. "You have to move the straw around, otherwise there is lots of milkshake left around the edges, whereas a piston forces the cream out. For viscous liquids that don't flow well, a standard lotion pump will miss lots."
Tough tests
The pump employed needs to be suitable for the viscosity of the liquid. It also needs to be compatible with any chemicals that are used. Certain cosmetics can leach into the material of the pump or cause the pump to leach into the cosmetic. Tests need to be carried out to prevent this from happening. "If a product is air freighted it can be subjected to extremely cold temperatures; if it is shipped to Latin America it can be very warm and humid. So we subject our pump dispensers to extremes," says Smith.
RPC offers its pumps in a range of materials to ensure compatibility with the lotion inside, as well as two spring strengths - a standard spring with a force of 14 Newtons and a 23-Newton spring for particularly viscous liquids.
The metal spring, too, could react with cosmetics and fragrances. "Aggressive cosmetics can be easily discoloured or tainted by stainless steel and there is the possibility of metal affecting the natural raw materials in fragrances," explains David Higgins, sales manager at Valois, which makes pump, spray and aerosol dispensers for the beauty and pharmaceutical markets. Valois' Elixir fragrance pump and Alpha technology for cosmetics use an external spring that does not come into contact with the liquid at any point, to avoid contamination.
Missing metal
Some manufacturers, RPC included, have taken the decision to offer pump dispensers without metal springs. RPC's CD range employs a plastic item instead, which gives a more rubbery feel to the actuation, says Smith. MeadWestvaco's (MWV) Pearl Airless uses rolling bellow technology in a single-component engine made of silicone. "The main benefit is that the whole container can be recycled as one, because it is all made of plastic," explains MWV marketing manager personal care Europe Eva Martin.
Valois has been promoting the improved recyclability of its screw-on, as opposed to crimp-on, sprays for fragrance. Higgins highlights that if the dispenser can be unscrewed, then it can be easily removed before the glass body of the container is recycled. However, fragrances destined for Saudi Arabia must have a crimp-on spray. "You are not allowed to sell fragrances with a screw-on spray, because people can take them off and drink the alcoholic perfume," explains Higgins.
Plastics manufacturer Promens has been working to make its airless lotion dispenser recycled rather than recyclable. It has produced an airless bottle made from post-consumer recycled material. The company says that previously it was difficult to use recycled material for cosmetics due to odour migration into the formula. Promens has circumvented this problem using an internal multilayer pouch containing a barrier material, which avoids odour migration and prevents air from coming into contact with the lotion. The external bottle is made from recycled PE, which represents 70-80% of the raw material weight of the bottle. The bottle is also cheaper than a comparable virgin material bottle.
MWV has been investigating the performance potential of plastic in the fragrance sector. Last year, the company unveiled Clikit IP, a resin-injected version of the company's Melodie Clikit fragrance spray. IP stands for injection plastic, although this isn't something MWV wanted to market extensively. "Plastic has negative connotations," says fragrance division marketing manager Sandy Gregory. Using plastic for a fragrance actuator means that it can be customised with a customer's patterns or logos and it can be produced in an array of colours. It can also be made in-house by MWV, which is quicker and cheaper.
"We had to ensure that Clikit IP didn't compromise on function. It has to look the same as a metal actuator, there couldn't be any rough edges or injection points," says Gregory. She adds that the only difference a user might notice is that a metal actuator is cold to the touch, whereas a plastic one is not.
As well as enhancing the actuator; the humble dip tube has also come in for attention. MWV and Valois have created ¡®invisible' dip tubes. MWV's NoC dip tube and Valois' Ultimate dip tube use a light refracting material to make the tube invisible when filled with an alcoholic substance, such as perfume. Fragrance adverts will often have had the dip tube artificially removed using Photoshop. Gregory adds that while the NoC dip tube was designed for aesthetic purposes, it also helps identify counterfeit perfumes. "The NoC tube is not readily available to just anyone, which means it is not possible for counterfeiters to use it in their perfumes. With fragrances that use NoC, it is easy to identify and avoid a counterfeit with a visible tube," she explains.
While a lotion pump designed 15 years ago will still function, dispenser manufacturers must ensure their products continue to live up to the aesthetic demands and high price tags of the beauty industry. Because, in the words of L'Or¨¦al, they're worth it. |
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Pushing innovation in pumps
Catherine Dawes, Packaging News, 01 July 2009
Dispensing caps may not appear to have changed since they first put the squeeze on traditional bottles, but with a host of challenges to overcome ideas are rife |
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Practice the perfect way to tame the Dragons, says pump inventor
Simeon Goldstein, packagingnews.co.uk, 28 August 2009
Dragons' Den victor Michael Pritchard has revealed getting friends to role-play the Dragons was key to his walking away with a £125,000 investment, in an exclusive interview with Packaging News.
Pritchard secured the money from investors Theo Paphitis and Peter Jones in return for just a 20% stake in the Anyway pump spray, which works at any angle, on Wednesday's show.
He said it was a great experience and that, despite his pitch being much longer than the footage that appeared on TV, he felt it had "gone very quickly".
Pritchard added he had done a lot of preparation for the show, including persuading five friends to act as Dragons, allowing him to think about the kind of information they would be looking for.
"I think too many people don't give the Dragons enough respect. If I had not shown them respect by preparing, they would have torn me to pieces," he said.
He said had he was confident on getting the patents for the Anyway, despite it proving a sticking point for some of the Dragons. "They ask genuine questions as they need to understand about things like that."
Anyway is a dip tube with millions of tiny holes that allows a constant spray to be maintained if any part of the tube is in contact with any of the liquid in the pack. This ensures that the spray does not need to be held upright in order to work.
The response to the product had been impressive, said Pritchard. Since filming the show in July there had been "some very good feedback" from one of the largest trigger manufacturers. "The morning after the show went out, we had a call from a valve manufacturer. Hopefully, we're getting the message out there," he said.
"It was a good experience for me. I'm proud of it and delighted Peter and Theo are on board. I got the impression they knew it was a good investment," he added. |
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Materials: Standout designs for glass
Catherine Dawes, Packaging News, 03 June 2009
Once the preserve of high-end spirits and perfumes, embossed bottles could now be a boon for any brand wanting to raise its profile. By Catherine Dawes |
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Wrap reveals major glass savings
Jill Park, packagingnews.co.uk, 19 May 2008
The Waste and Resources Action Programme (Wrap) has claimed that its GlassRite scheme has kick-started a "major change in the wine industry" by making lightweight bottles a "regular feature" on UK supermarket shelves.
Presenting the results of the first phase of the GlassRite scheme at the London International Wine Fair at Excel today (20 May), Wrap will reveal that bulk importing and lighter-weight bottles have cut CO2 emissions by 28,000 tonnes per year.
More than 350 different wine labels have moved to lighter-weight bottles during the project, resulting in a saving of 11,400 tonnes of glass per year.
The amount of wine imported in bulk into the UK and bottled over here has increased by 79 million glass bottles each year.
The first phase of the GlassRite programme was undertaken from summer 2006 to March 2008 under the management of British Glass and backed by the Wine & Spirit Trade Association (WSTA).
Wrap has worked with retailers Asda, Co-op, Morrisons and Tesco, as well as brand owners such as Constellation Europe, on 10 separate bulk importing and lightweighting initiatives.
Glass manufacturers such as Quinn Glass, wine fillers including Kingsland Wine & Spirits and logistics specialist Trans Ocean Distribution have also been involved in the scheme.
Nicola Jenkin, Wrap's beverages category manager, said GlassRite "has worked with the industry to illustrate that sustainable business practices do not have to compromise commercial values or quality".
The second phase of the scheme will run until November 2009 and will assess the viability of sub-300g wine bottles and lighter-weight champagne and sparkling wine bottles.
Wrap is on stand F94 at the London International Wine Fair, which takes place at Excel on 20-22 May.
Glass recycling rates rise as Friends of Glass campaign gathers pace
Jill Park, packagingnews.co.uk, 05 January 2010
European glass recycling rates rose to 65% in 2008, according to new research by The European Container Glass Association (Feve).
An estimated 25.5 billion glass bottles and jars were recycled in Europe in 2008, Feve has revealed.
Feve president Dominique Tombeur said the data confirmed that a number of EU countries had "reached the ambitious 60% collective target fixed by the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive".
According to Feve, Belgium and Sweden are close to recycling 100% of glass bottles and jars put on the market.
In May 2009, Feve launched a campaign featuring a cartoon called Hank 'the singing bottle' to promote glass recycling using the 'I'll be back' line made famous by Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1980s movie, The Terminator.
Feve communications and operations manager Michael Delle Selve told Packaging News that the campaign had had a positive effect on consumers and that the organisation was launching a new online campaign.
Feve is contacting its online network of Friends of Glass, which includes Facebook members, to ask them to make a new year's resolution to buy a particular product in glass for the year.
Glass devotees can even sign a petition to mark their commitment. |
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Singing bottle takes on Arnie in glass recycling cartoon
Simeon Goldstein, packagingnews.co.uk, 13 May 2009
The glass sector has a new foot soldier in the battle to promote recycling in the form of Hank, 'the singing bottle'.
The European Container Glass Association (Feve) has developed Hank to appear in cartoon adventures about glass recycling using the 'I'll be back' line made famous by Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1980s movie, The Terminator.
The cartoons will form part of a Friends of Glass marketing and social networking campaign used across the continent and will be translated into 14 European languages.
Nearly eleven million tonnes, or 62%, of container glass was collected for recycling in 2007, and Feve hopes the campaign will help focus on the remaining 38%.
Feve president Dominique Tombeur said: "We hope Hank will help raise greater awareness about the importance of glass recycling."
Hank can be viewed via the YouTube video below. |
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RPC adds to airless pump range
Packaging News, 01 November 2006
RPC Bramlage-Wiko has added another dispenser to its Magic pump system for airless dispensing of lotions, creams and gels.
The Magic Oval widget comes in three sizes ¨C 50, 100 and 150ml ¨C and is shaped to give ¡°comfortable handling¡± for the consumer and a ¡°wide area for decoration¡± with silk screen, hot stamping or labelled artwork for the brand owner, said the firm.
The pack¡¯s cap can also be hot stamped for additional branding, while a new design would provide consistent dosing and clean application, said sales and marketing director G¨¹nter Pohlmann.
¡°Products in the cosmetics and personal care markets have two fundamental needs: consistency of function and individuality of appearance,¡± he said. ¡°Our latest Magic technology and oval design meet these criteria.¡±
The Oval complements Magic Star and Magic SL dispensing systems. |
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Asda packs milk in cardboard bottle
Jane Ellis, packagingnews.co.uk, 11 August 2008
Asda will this week start selling milk in a recycled cardboard bottle created by Suffolk-based GreenBottle at stores in East Anglia.
The GreenBottle, which retails at £1.41, has an outer shell made from recycled waste office paper that can be thrown into a compost bin. The milk is held in a low-density plastic inner liner to prevent it from contaminating the cardboard.
Lifecycle analysis carried out by Pira found the two-litre GreenBottle had a 48% lower carbon footprint than the equivalent plastic bottle.
Asda head of ethical and sustainable sourcing Chris Brown said: "Unlike other products such as the pouch, this milk bottle is robust, practical and fit for purpose, meaning there is no danger of spilled milk at breakfast time."
GreenBottle said the liner would take up 0.5% of the space of a traditional HDPE milk bottle when put into landfill. The closure is made from the same cardboard as the bottle and has a zip-lock inside the plastic spout to prevent spillage.
Chief executive Simon King said: "We are testing demand, making hundreds of bottles, and expect to gradually increase production over the next few weeks."
The bottle is being introduced at Asda¡¯s Lowestoft store, which sells around 300,000 bottles of own-brand milk a year, and the retailer plans to extend it to other stores in the region by the end of the year.
The milk is being supplied by Suffolk dairy Marybelle. |
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Canadian city to ban single-use plastic water bottles
Liz Wells, packagingnews.co.uk, 19 August 2008
London, Ontario is set to become one of the first cities in the world to partially ban single-use plastic water bottles in all city-run facilities after its councillors voted overwhelmingly to halt sales.
The phased-in ban would take full effect by next spring and would be applied to facilities such as golf courses, arenas and parks which are equipped with water fountains.
The move stems from a bid by councillors to promote the city's tap water as a healthy choice and to cut down on the estimated 20 million plastic bottles that end up in the city's landfill each year.
Similar measures are being considered in Vancouver, Ottawa and Kitchener, Ontario.
Aaron Freeman, policy director at Environmental Defence - a national advocacy group, told The Globe and Mail: "I think other municipalities will be very encouraged by London's leadership," said. "Already many are looking at this issue, and I'm sure many others will."
Vancouver city council has voted in favour of bottled water restrictions and officials are in the process of determining how they can be implemented.
Tim Stevenson, a Vancouver city councillor, said: "Bottled-water companies have had a fabulous ride on an unnecessary fad."
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Tesco swaps glass bottles for plastic on own-brand spirits
Jill Park, packagingnews.co.uk, 04 March 2010
Tesco is trialling plastic bottles for its own-brand spirits to replace glass containers as part of a raft of measures aimed at cutting its carbon footprint.
The supermarket giant, which has signed up to the second phase of the Courtauld Commitment, has moved its own-brand brandy into plastic bottles, which it said reduced packaging by 86% and saving 200,000kg of material.
Tesco added that using plastic bottles also meant a reduction in outer packaging as "plastic is more durable than glass and needs less protection".
"Tesco is always breaking new ground with innovative approaches to packaging," said Tesco executive director Lucy Neville-Rolfe.
"However, more significantly we're working with our suppliers so that we reach our target of a 30% reduction in the carbon impact of the products in our supply chain by 2020."
Tesco already supplies wine in Tetra Paks and PET bottles and has recently launched a 300g glass wine bottle, which is 30% lighter than its previous best.
Britain's largest retailer has also revealed that packaging accounts for 2% of the carbon footprint of its Jaffa oranges, which have become the latest products to be carbon footprinted.
So far the retailer has carbon footprinted 500 products. The result of which has been to show that packaging accounts for only a small part of the overall footprint.
Some 28 retailers and brands have signed up to the second generation of the Courtauld Commitment. Click here for more. |
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Cartons lose to pouches and plastic bottles as aseptic market grows
Simeon Goldstein, packagingnews.co.uk, 19 June 2009
Cartons are starting to lose their share of the aseptic packaging market in favour of pouches and plastic bottles, new research has claimed.
Cartons currently account for around three quarters of the 86 billion litres sold in aseptic packs worldwide, but other formats are beginning to make inroads, according to the study by Warrick Research.
Warrick Research managing director David Warrick said: "Pouches and PET bottles are becoming more popular and that is a trend that will continue for the next five years."
Warrick and food and drink consultancy Zenith International forecast aseptic packaging use to grow by 30% to 113 billion litres by 2013.
During that time Asia-Pacific will overtake Western Europe as the largest consumer. Zenith highlighted Western European growth for beverages in PET bottles.
Milk is the biggest user of aseptic packaging, accounting for more than 45% of the market, followed by drinks at 40%.
"Aseptic filling has yet to make a significant impact in food markets, but there are some established niche applications and baby food is an important new area of development," said Zenith in a statement. |
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Rose Plastic launches innovative water bottle for gym goers
Packaging News, 17 May 2007
Water bottles are not fulfilling their potential, according to German plastic packaging company Rose Plastic, which has chosen Total to launch its RoseBottle secure storage system to the UK market.
The two-piece RoseBottle has a detachable storage compartment designed for storing keys or mobile phones.
UK sales manager Craig North said: ¡°It¡¯s something you do not see on the market at the moment. It means you do not need to take a separate bag into the gym.¡±
The concept was initially developed in 2001 for mainland Europe, but has not been launched in the UK until now.
Due to the nature of the blow-moulded bottle, the RoseBottle can be adapted for a series of different promotional purposes.
Rose Plastics already has tooling in place for the production of the bottle and has the capability to customise designs from its German manufacturing plant.
¡°These products offer huge opportunities for a wide variety of industries ¨C there really are no limits to the colours or applications for which they can be used,¡± added North. |
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Lib Dem MP takes on non-bottle plastics recycling
Simeon Goldstein, packagingnews.co.uk, 29 January 2008
A Liberal Democrat MP wants the government to do more to help the reprocessing of non-bottle plastic packaging in the waste stream.
Mike Hancock, MP for Portsmouth South, last week raised the issue of non-bottle plastics with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in the hope that it would "prompt the government to do something" about it.
His parliamentary assistant said that, given the public's willingness to recycle, it "seemed a nonsense" that non-bottle plastic waste went to landfill or was sent overseas.
Hancock wants the government to help "generate demand" for recycled plastics, but said consumers could also play their part by making sure they put plastics in the recycling bin.
"Industry has to respond by avoiding excesses in the first place, and using materials that are easily recycled in the UK."
Hancock was among the MPs who backed the Early Day Motion in February 2007 that called on supermarkets to reduce packaging and supported The Independent's "excessive" packaging campaign. |
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