Jane Ellis, packagingnews.co.uk, 01 September 2008
The BBC journalist who said she was going to give up buying or accepting plastic for the whole of August has not been able to lead a life free of plastic.
Before her month of abstinence, Christine Jeavans kept a month's worth of plastic waste, which totalled 603 items, of which 120 were disposable nappies and most of the rest were food and drink packaging.
Her challenge was to find out whether it was possible to lead a normal life without adding to her own plastic waste pile at all.
"The short answer was no," she said.
She did not manage to eliminate plastic waste, but she did cut it by 80% to 116 items.
Of these, 63 were nappies, with the other 53 pieces of plastic ranging from a "couple of milk bottles to some beer widgets to a stick for a balloon".
Although Packaging Federation chief executive Dick Searle warned Jeavans that she was likely to throw away more food, this proved not to be the case.
But Jeavans said this was probably because food shopping became "such a tricky task" that she was keen to ensure every last scrap of food was used up before venturing out to buy some more.
Jeavans and her family had to forego yoghurt, biscuits, crisps, celery and soft fruits such as strawberries and raspberries. Cheese was also out unless wrapped in wax or paper, as were takeaway meals.
"Living for a month without plastic has changed the way that I think about disposable items, no matter what material they are made from," she said.
"I have got into the habit of taking a reusable water bottle with me wherever I go and I now keep a mug at work – both were easy changes to make and I'm sure I'll keep them up."
The big pile of plastic collected in the previous month will be recycled as far as Jeavans is able to.
This is something that should become easier in the next few years as Britain's first mixed plastics recycling plants start up.
Netherlands to bring in separate recycling system for plastic packs
Jill Park, packagingnews.co.uk, 16 August 2007
Dutch local authorities are to introduce a separate collection system for plastic packaging waste from households as part of a drive to double recycling rates by 2012.
Environment minister Jacqueline Cramer reached an accord with local authorities and business users of plastic packaging this week to increase packaging recycling rates to 42% from the 22.5% rate required under EU law.
A survey commissioned by the Netherlands environment ministry earlier this year highlighted that 91% of citizens would prefer a collection system for plastic bottles rather than a take-it yourself system.
Companies that package their products will be taxed to finance a new £78m (€115m) annual waste fund to refund costs incurred by local authorities.
This is extra to the £169m packaging tax the Netherlands government promised when it gained power earlier in the year.
Interested parties from local authorities and businesses will confirm the accord by vote in autumn.
The UK recovered and recycled 21.9% of plastic packaging waste in 2006, according to Defra.
Begg launches additive to make plastics biodegradable
Tess Raine, packagingnews.co.uk, 25 June 2007
Begg and Co Thermoplastics in Kent is marketing a masterbatch that can be added to any plastic material to make it biodegrade.
Begg and Co sales executive David Watmore said Bio-Batch was a protein-based additive that worked by allowing bacteria to attack the polymer structure and break it down.
He said 1% of Bio-Batch would make common packaging plastics including PP, PE and PET - in formats like films, caps, trays and bottles - 100% degradable within one to five years if it came in contact with high levels of bacteria commonly found in landfill sites or composting facilities.
Producers of refuse sacks and disposable nappies have expressed interest in the additive.
Bio-Batch has been marketed in the US for the last two years and is used in ready-meal trays and disposable knives and forks, according to Watmore.
Marks & Spencer has already said it will send PET waste from its London stores to the plant
Plastics sector hits back at cancer charity's BPA campaign
Simeon Goldstein, packagingnews.co.uk, 02 December 2009
The British Plastics Federation has again been forced to defend the use of Bisphenol A (BPA) in consumer products after a cancer charity launched a campaign to ban its use in babies' bottles.
Breast Cancer UK this week called on the government to instigate a ban on the use of BPA citing "clear and compelling scientific evidence" that even low-level exposure could lead to increased risk of breast cancer and other chronic conditions.
But the BPF said the campaign was misleading and sought to reassure the public that using the controversial chemical was safe. Philip Law, BPF public and industrial affairs director, said products using BPA had made a significant contribution to everyday life for the past 50 years.
"BPA is one of the most widely studied compounds in the world," he said. "Consumer products made with BPA are safe for their intended uses and pose no known risks to human health. This is confirmed by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and other regulatory bodies," he said.
Breast Cancer UK also cites a YouGov survey that showed 79% of people wanted the government to act on this issue.
Clare Dimmer, Chair of Trustees at Breast Cancer UK, said: "Most parents don't have a degree in chemistry or biology. Do we really expect them to weigh up the evidence in the latest scientific journals on the risks of exposure to a chemical that manufacturers won't even label on their products?
"It should be very simple, if there is serious scientific evidence that a chemical in baby bottles could increase the risk of life-limiting illness, it shouldn't be used. It is time government stepped in to ban the bottle."
BPA is a key building block in a number of plastics but debate over its safety for human consumption has been raging for a number of years.
85% of milk bottles hit 2010 recycled content target
Simeon Goldstein, packagingnews.co.uk, 20 May 2010
UK milk producers are on course to meet packaging targets in the Milk Roadmap after revealing that 85% of plastic bottles sold contain 10% recycled material.
The Roadmap was launched in 2008 and set a target of 10% recycled material in milk packaging by this year rising to 30% and 50% by 2015 and 2020 respectively.
After a review last week, DairyCo chairman Tim Bennet, who also chairs the Milk Roadmap Taskforce, said he was extremely impressed by the response to the targets that "make economic and environmental sense".
Jim Begg, director general of sector trade body Dairy UK, said: "Processors have clearly prioritised the environmental agenda and are well on their way to meeting or beating the 2010 targets.
"Already 85% of plastic milk bottles are meeting the 10% recycled material target while processors have continued to improve energy efficiency."
Last month, Sainsbury's revealed that it had met the 10% recycled content target for this year.
Earlier this year HDPE bottle-producer Nampak hit the 10% target for its own output.
Milk and dairy products account for less than 3% of English greenhouse gas emissions. About half of production is for drinking milk with the rest destined for products such as butter, cheese and yoghurts.
Nampak links with Closed Loop to boost milk bottles' recycled content
Simeon Goldstein, packagingnews.co.uk, 02 August 2007
More recycled material could be used in milk bottles following an agreement between Nampak Plastics and recycling and reprocessing company Closed Loop London (CLL).
From summer 2008, CLL has committed to supply the packaging group with up to 6,000 tonnes of recycled HDPE per year for use in its UK operations.
Nampak has been involved in a Marks & Spencer trial to test customer acceptance of recycled material in milk bottles in conjunction with the Waste and Resources Action Programme.
It currently supplies bottles with 10% recycled content, but hopes that the agreement with CLL will enable it to reach 30% by 2009.
Nampak commercial director James Crick said the agreement made HDPE bottles with recycled content "widely available" for the first time.
"This contract allows us to improve the green credentials of a product that is already a firm consumer favourite," he added.
CLL's £12m recycling and reprocessing plant in Dagenham is due to open in December.
Simeon Goldstein, packagingnews.co.uk, 31 July 2008
Around 40% of all used PET bottles in Europe were collected for recycling in 2007, according to trade association Petcore.
Petcore (PET containers recycling Europe) today (31 July) announced that post-sorting PET collection increased by 20% in 2007 to 1.13m tonnes, or 40% of the total amount on the market.
The amount of recycled PET used for blowmoulding increased by 18%, compared with 2006, by 24% for the sheet market and 32% for strapping.
Petcore chairman Roberto Bertaggia welcomed the increase and called for recognition of PET as "the most important polymer" helping to meet European plastics recycling targets.
According to the Packaging and Packaging Waste directive, EU member states have to recycle a minimum 22.8% of plastic packaging from the household waste stream this year. It rises to 50% by 2010.
PET bottles are as ubiquitous as the mineral water they contain. But with brands looking for differentiation and keen to address consumers’ environmental concerns, the delivery format of choice may have to change.
They used to call it “Adam’s Ale” – what you drank if you couldn’t afford anything more interesting. How times change. From being a precautionary measure resorted to during long-haul holidays, bottled water now occupies an entire aisle at the local supermarket, and most rosette-winning restaurants are likely to employ their own dedicated water sommeliers.
Water out of a bottle rather than from the tap has evolved from yuppie status symbol to convenient necessity; in 500ml size, it is just another essential appendage for Joe Public on the go. Thus, PET has proved a popular material. It’s lightweight, easily portable and simple to dispose of.
According to figures published by Mintel, sales of bottled water via the retail trade hit 2,158m litres last year, up by 41.5 per cent since 2001. Still water represents 85 per cent of that £1,700m business and, no doubt, both total and percentage share will have soared to new levels following this summer’s spate of 30°C and above temperatures.
PET preference
While glass remains the preferred option in the on-trade and in restaurants and hotels, elsewhere consumers prefer the weight advantage of PET when purchasing in bulk, and the handiness of smaller sports-cap bottles – accounting for 21 per cent of sales from convenience outlets – for drinking on the go.
Britvic is the latest soft drinks brand owner to extend its product range into the still water category with Drench. PET-bottled in 500ml size and targeted directly at the impulse channel, its on-shelf marketing pitch represents a break from established design, says Andy Knowles, managing director of Jones Knowles Ritchie, the design agency responsible for the brand.
“Drench is looking to break the design mould by eschewing all that stuff about mountains and provenance, which is what most mineral water positioning is created around. Rather than drone on about its Yorkshire borehole origins, we’ve gone for one very straightforward message. It delivers exactly what it says on the bottle: 100 per cent spring water.
“The PET format is very light, portable, robust and comfortable in the hand,” he adds. “It has got lots of good things about it and is becoming the de facto standard format because it’s so cost-effective. Also, people are starting to heed the advice to drink a couple of litres during the day, and are more confident in walking about with a bottle of water in their hand. It’s not always practical to get to a tap.”
Practicality isn’t necessarily a consideration with bottled water. Icelandic Glacial is launching a new bottled water into the UK this autumn, with sales clearly targeted outside the commodity sector. “In the UK, brands such as Evian, Volvic, Vittel and Highland Spring are all priced around the same point, whereas in the US, there’s a higher priced category that we’d term as ‘super-premium’ and where Icelandic Glacial is growing very quickly,” says Icelandic COO Patrick Racz.
“In the US we’re aiming to have a market share of one per cent by the end of 2008. That equates to about 1m litres, and we’re looking to emulate that rate of penetration in the UK within two years of launch.”
Growing restaurant presence
Upmarket though its pretensions might be, Icelandic Glacial will still be bottled in PET confirms Racz. “It’s undoubtedly the carrier of choice. Even in the food service sector, which used to be predominantly glass, a growing number of restaurants are now selling PET bottled water.”
Shape, however, will provide on-shelf differentiation. “If you look at the profile of our bottle, each of the four sides differs from the other three,” says Racz. “We also have four different label backgrounds. So when the bottle goes through the filling line, it can be at any one of four different angles and using those four different labels. This creates a very subtle landscaped effect on-shelf, where the likelihood of there being six identical bottles in a row is 1,048,000 to one. The consumer wouldn’t necessarily notice that, but in the time estimated to select a product the subconscious will pick it up. It all goes to direct the split-second differentiation needed to separate a product out from the shelf noise and clutter of competing brands.”
Glass may have retreated to the higher ground, but other formats are lining up to challenge PET’s supremacy in the still water category.
Having already made some impact within The Netherlands by providing branded containers for promotional events staged by the likes of MTV and Virgin, Tetra Pak UK Prisma Aseptic 500ml cartons were selected for a Topman press and industry event during last November’s London Fashion Week.
The carton was well enough received for Topman to commission further quantities in a modified design, branded as Topman Spring Water, to be distributed at an ongoing programme of student events to advertise discounts available at the group’s UK stores.
Amcor Flexibles has also been sufficiently encouraged by the adoption, across Europe, of its AquaFlexCan ‘tear ’n sip’ pouch to look for UK sales. Offering a comparable shelf-life to rigid PET bottles and incorporating barrier properties to ensure content freshness, the pouch is targeted at the out-of-home portion controlled sector.
Unlike the PET bottle format, which is dependent upon incorporating a sleeve, both solutions also allow for direct on-pack print and graphics to carry branding.
“One of our biggest applications is feminine hygiene products. These require a high-moisture-barrier plastic wrapping with good machineability, good heat seal and anti-static characteristics. An unexpected plus point with NatureFlex is that it naturally degrades through a waste water stream, so if the pack is thrown down the loo it will decompose.” This application won Innovia the best non-food award at the December 2006 Bioplastics Awards.
Sweetman agrees that the market for degradable flexible plastics is still developing and NatureFlex still accounts for a “reasonably small proportion” of Innovia’s sales. “But interest levels are very high and it’s certainly one of the fastest growing areas,” he adds. “The quest for us is how to include greater levels of moisture barrier in a degradable matrix.”
Sweetman says there are challenges to overcome with the structural properties of degradable materials. “Biodegradable materials inherently have a structure that allows biological elements to get in and break them down. We have to work on them to make them tougher. Cellulose is naturally absorbent in a chilled environment, so we have had to develop production techniques and get the right raw materials from our suppliers to make sure it remains clear and fresh for as long as possible in the chiller cabinet.”
Major changes have taken place and continue to take place today as newer and older materials compete for prominence in the flexible plastic packaging market. Flexible plastic is adapting to more packaging jobs than ever and nanotechnology, natural antioxidants, biodegradable materials and active structures should keep it even busier in the future.
Some futuristic ideas for flexible plastic
Producers don’t just think about the materials that make up the film when it comes to flexible plastics, says Plastic and Industrial Films Association (PIFA) chief executive David Tyson: “There are new ink technologies, and new uses for 2D barcodes that are beginning to make the pack do more than just its primary function of protect and deliver.”
Utilising nature and nanotechnology are just a couple of the ways flexible films producers might carve a niche for themselves in the future.
Active ingredients
Researchers at Spain’s University of Zaragoza Department of Analytical Chemistry and Laboratory of Food Technology last year published a report in the American Chemical Society’s Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry investigating the organoleptic properties and colour, texture and physical characteristics of fresh meat which was packed in active flexible plastic containing rosemary extract.
A new active film was developed from a polypropylene film – polyethylene is also now being considered for this purpose – in which some of the rosemary’s natural antioxidants had been immobilised.
Results showed that, compared to normal polypropylene, the active film containing natural antioxidants efficiently enhanced the stability of fresh meat against oxidation processes.
Slovenian firm Vitiva, which produces rosemary extract, plans to test the effect of the extract when added to packaging sometime in 2007. The UK distributor of Vitiva rosemary extract is Food Ingredient Technology (FIT) and managing director David Gray says the ability to include rosemary extract in a clear plastic film has been a recent development. “Rosemary extract used to be dark, thick and smelly, but in recent times there’s been much more work done on the extract so that is doesn’t impart colour, odour or smell.”
A small breakthrough
Professor Andrew Mills, of the Pure and Applied Chemistry Department at the University of Strathclyde, has been thinking small when it comes to flexible plastic finishes.
With other scientists at the university, Mills has developed a smart technology that could put an end to consumers paying for spoiled food.
An intelligent ink which changes colour when it detects the presence of oxygen in food packages if the package seal is broken could be used to warn consumers that the food is no longer safe to eat.
Professor Mills says: “Leaking food packages are not uncommon, and they’re more than just a nuisance. If the seal on the packaging is broken, then it means that oxygen is getting in, drastically reducing the freshness of the food so it may no longer be safe to eat.”
The ink was created with light-sensitive nanoparticles, which only detect oxygen when they are ‘switched on’ with UV light. Mills says producing the ink is inexpensive, making it suitable for use in large numbers of labels.
This nanotechnology could be included in a laminated, multi-layer film, says Mills, with a permeable coating on the side of the film in contact with food and an impermeable layer on the outside to prevent oxygen from the environment contaminating the results.
Flexible packaging has come a long way in the last five years and is branching out to use different materials and methods.
As recently as five years ago, predictions on the market and uses for flexible plastic in packaging in 2007 focused primarily on polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).
But manufacturers now find the choice is no longer that simple. Consumers are aware that packaging can salve their environmental conscience if it’s produced from renewable resources, so the production of PLA in a flexible form has proved popular with brands wanting to help consumers feel good about themselves. (PLA stands for polylactic acid, a polymer derived from renewable agricultural resources like maize or sugar beet that can be processed to make a plastic which will biodegrade under the right conditions to water and carbon dioxide.)
Five years ago PLA was only really thought of as a packaging material for rigid plastic trays or bottles, because of its supposedly brittle nature. Despite high transparency, 100% PLA had limitations as a flexible packaging material, but the right mixture of additives and manufacturing processes has extended the use of PLA into flexible applications.
Indeed, in some cases, there are benefits to using PLA over other flexible plastic materials, says Andy Sweetman, Innovia’s market development manager for sustainable technologies.
“Although in the overall scheme of things biodegradables are still a baby, there’s major potential for them – especially in the fresh food market. In that area, their moisture permeability can be a real technical advantage,” he says.
Flexible friend
Flexible PLA can now be used for a variety of packaging applications, including folding carton windows, bag windows, bag laminations, container lidding, twist wraps and floral wraps, as well as shrink film.
German film producer Treofan makes biaxially-oriented polypropylene film (BOPP) and cast PP film as well as bio-degradable PLA film under the brand name Biophan. Made from NatureWorks PLA, the production process of Biophan requires 30-50% less fossil fuel than conventional plastic materials.
Biophan is a biaxially-oriented film, stretched in both a longitudinal and transverse direction to increase its strength. It can be thermo-laminated to paper or board and may be used in direct contact with all kinds of food. It is suitable for flexographic and rotogravure printing with recommended nitrocellulose-based or water-based inks.
Sales of single- and three-layer Biophan films more than doubled in 2005 and 2006 and UK sales manager Carey Ashworth expects similar growth in 2007.
The NatureWorks PLA polymer is also used to produce films with shrink properties. Decorative Sleeves was the first European shrink-sleeve manufacturer to use PLA. Multinational packaging producer Alcan is also looking to use PLA in future applications. It has developed a very-high-barrier film, Ceramis PLA, targeted at the modified atmosphere fresh food markets. This uses a very thin transparent barrier layer to impart high moisture and gas barriers to PLA film without affecting the compostability of the base film.
Using materials made from renewable resources isn’t the only way to entice users to flexible plastics. Degradability is also key to ensuring media and public attention, but using materials that will eventually break down can make it difficult to produce packaging tough enough to do the job.
National Flexible is offering its SuperEco made from PP with an additive to make it degradable and biodegradable. Marketing manager Andy Smith says: “What we’re hoping for this bio-film is that customers don’t have to do different jobs with a biodegradable film. We want them to know we’re not offering a different material. It’s just a different version.” This different version offers the same performance levels as standard OPP but it breaks down to CO2, water and biomass when composted.
Unlimited possibilities
National Flexible feels it is still at the start of producing and marketing this relative newcomer to the flexible plastic market. Smith says degradable films have big potential, but stresses that compostable films are still relative newcomers and haven’t, as yet, taken as much market share as you might expect.
“Regular polyester and laminate films still dominate our business,” says Smith. “But there has been so much demand from our customers for degradable films.”
“It’s still generally slightly more expensive than traditional plastic films,” admits Smith. But he says the cost in mass production of PLA or other degradable plastic films is estimated to be similar to that of petrochemical plastics.
“The uses for flexible plastic packaging are pretty much unlimited,” says Smith. “Generally it uses fewer raw materials than other types of packaging and producers and retailers are constantly looking at ways to produce even less waste from flexible packaging.”
There are many other flexible plastic materials that are degradable, but they are not made from PLA. Innovia offers NatureFlex, a transparent, compostable packaging film, which was first produced in 2003 and is made up of a cellulose base layer with compostable plastic coatings to give it heat sealability and moisture barrier properties.
Sweetman says the firm has two “families” of NatureFlex film: those with barrier properties and those with permeable layers. “For fruit and veg you need a permeable film that evacuates the excess moisture,” he says. “But for sugar confectionery we might formulate in moisture barrier properties.
Faraday investigates future of plastic electronics on packaging
Jill Park, packagingnews.co.uk, 22 June 2009
Ketchup bottles that dispense ketchup at the touch of a sensor could be the packaging of the future, according to a new report from Faraday.
The report, titled 'Plastic Electronics and the FMCG Consumer' by Dr Laurence Hogg of Faraday, investigates the possibilities of using plastic electronics on packaging.
According to the report, in the future RFID tags may be developed and applied to cereal packs that can send nutritional and recycling information to your mobile phone.
Hogg uses Stora Enso's Controlled Delamination Material (CDM), a form of electronic glue, to illustrate what is currently possible in terms of intelligent materials.
In the report, he encourages manufacturers to consider the benefits to consumers when using printed electronics on packaging.
"The research we've done shows how brand owners can get to grips with this in a structured, consumer-led way, rather than trying to use the technology in a pack or on the product just for the sake of it," said Hogg.
This is particularly important in light of the increasing popularity of online forums to discuss products, such as Amazon's frustration-free packaging website, he argues.
Hogg points out that at the time of writing the report, 39 separate discussion topics were active on the Amazon website.
Rising costs and recycling pressures mean the rigid plastics sector has not had the easiest of times lately, but co-operation and flexibility are the watchwords for future success.
The rigid plastics sector is having a tough time. Rising energy costs, challenging recycling targets and supplier hole-in-the-wall operations are blocking the sector’s road to prosperity. To succeed, firms must now make co-operation their keyword.
According to Dr Ben Punchard of Euromonitor International’s packaging research team, the continuing instability in the Middle East is increasing the cost of crude oil. Additionally, rising gas and energy costs are further impacting on resin producers, who will be looking to pass these costs on to the packaging industry. But the small margins seen in the packaging world are unlikely to be able to take the significant increases that this will entail.
Further challenges come in the form of UK packaging legislation, such as The Packaging (Essential Requirements) (Amendment) Regulations 2006 which came into effect on 1 July 2006 in order to meet waste recovery targets set by the EU. As a consequence, the rigid plastic packaging industry must encourage consumers to recycle plastic packaging and ensure that suitable collection and recycling facilities exist so that these targets can be met.
Another challenge for the industry is to incorporate recycled materials into rigid plastic packaging formats without loss of quality, such as reduced clarity or the migration of contaminants.
Due to the increased resin price, there is a growing focus on added-value polymers, which can offer more functionality than traditional resin formulations – and hence demand a higher price. This includes such functionality as improved barrier properties, increased clarity, anti-fogging properties and greater temperature range stability. Using these for increased consumer benefit or brand value brings the opportunity to pass costs on to the consumer.
Fragmented market
Unlike the market for other packaging materials, the plastic packaging market is quite fragmented, with many suppliers operating only in selected sub-sectors, such as rigid plastics. It is interesting to note that many of the leading British-based companies have successfully expanded into Europe and beyond.
Fortunately, the trade body European Plastic Converters (EuPC), which has lobbying power in Brussels, looks after the interests of the EU’s plastics converting industry. It has committed itself to helping companies reposition themselves in the face of increasing competition, decreasing sales prices, increasing production costs and increasing customer requirements.
EuPC managing director Alexandre Dangis says: “A total of 37,000 firms in our industry are either small or medium-sized. They do not have the economies of scale to ward off competition. EuPC’s programme, therefore, puts the major emphasis on the crucial connection between ‘competitiveness’ and ‘innovation’.
“To succeed in developing sophisticated products demanded by the modern consumer, firms must make co-operation – with other converters, their customers and academic institutions – the cornerstone of their approach,” he adds.
EuPC plans to prepare European terms and conditions of sale for plastic products that will regularise buying and selling and strengthen the position of member companies in their negotiations with major customers. A network of trade specialists will be set up across Europe to monitor the dumping of products on the EU market and escalations in raw material and energy costs.
Growth of in-house operations
Hole-in-the-wall operation poses yet another threat to the independent rigid plastics sector. In common with other suppliers, Britvic now operates this way. It says bottle-blowing has become increasingly important, as it significantly increases the density of materials transported to its factories, reducing cost and minimising the environmental impact through reduced vehicle movements.
Other advantages include improving space utilisation within Britvic’s factories, as storage requirements are condensed, as well as a dramatically reduced time cycle from raw material to finished packaging, which improves the consistency of packaging quality and reduces waste and waste potential.
Over the last 18 months, Britvic has invested £8m in expanding its in-line bottle-blowing capacity in a range of packaging sizes across its manufacturing estate for brands such as Pepsi, Tango, Robinsons and Fruit Shoot. The equipment enables injection-moulded pre-forms to be transformed into finished product containers through a process of closely controlled heating and expansion, using high pressure compressed air at speeds of up to 36, 000 bottles/hr.
“The enabler for these developments has been the progressive improvement in bottle-blowing technology, reliability and efficiency,” says Britvic's factory manager Matt Thewlis. “Britvic has been at the leading edge of this technology for the last six years and has seen progressive improvements in both yield and, perhaps more importantly, energy efficiency for conversion.”
Polimoon Packaging managing director David Taylor is pragmatic about this trend. “Bringing production in-house has come back into fashion as more and more brands look at other cost and efficiency savings ideas due to the external factors influencing their businesses,” he says. “Moving production in-house is just one of their considerations and is probably more relevant to those with medium to high volumes of single designed products.
“The plastics industry is going through a tough time at the moment. Retailers are certainly getting more aggressive with their purchasing due to consumer demand for constant innovation and cost reduction,” adds Taylor. “Far Eastern countries, such as China and India, are also increasing competition within the smaller components markets, with larger components, such as bottles, being developed in Eastern Bloc countries like Poland. I believe this competition intensity will level out as the developing countries go through their growth periods and will then start to catch up in costs and wages as their economies become stronger.”
Polimoon has taken advantage of this trend with an aggressive acquisition programme, growing from five sites in nine countries to 29 sites in 13 countries since 2000, with further acquisitions planned. “As with any business, especially in the current climate, Polimoon has been through fluctuations at sites resulting from macro and micro influences. It has the support of a group network, purchasing power and potential capital investment, coupled with the ability to identify and satisfy customers’ needs,” says Taylor.
Smaller companies, he believes, may feel the environmental pressures more – particularly where their economies of scale for purchasing are not too strong or the size of their customer base is small.
Covering the ground
The RPC Group is another of Europe’s leading manufacturers of rigid plastics packaging, with products covering all three major processes – blow-moulding, injection-moulding and thermoforming. The company has nearly 50 sites in operation in 12 countries following the acquisition of the Crown Risdon plants. Its overall annual growth rate year-on-year since 2000 [excluding acquisitions] is six per cent.
“With such a wide spread of factories, employing different technologies, using different materials and supplying different end markets, it is inevitable that some will perform better than others at certain times,” says chief executive Ron Marsh. “This is one of the main strengths of RPC, as under-performing sites can be offset by the sites that are doing well. Equally important, RPC has demonstrated the ability to turn around loss-making factories. For example, of the 12 Continental Plastics Europe factories acquired from Schmalbach-Lubeca in 1997, three of the most significant loss-makers are now among the most profitable within the RPC Group.
“Our decentralised structure, with sites specialising in particular technologies and supplying specific market sectors, is key to our success. Flexibles have a good story to tell in terms of light-weighting, but rigid plastics also perform well in this area, particularly when compared to metal and, more specifically, glass.”
As for the future of rigid plastics, Marsh says PLA is the way forward for RPC. “The arrival of new resins will make an important and growing contribution over the years. As concern grows over the diminishing of natural resources, such as oil, the arrival of these alternative resins will mean that consumers will still be able to enjoy the benefits of rigid plastics packaging.”
Recycling plastics is far from straightforward as the different polymer types and uses, not to mention food contamination and other packaging materials, make sorting individual polymers a difficult task. That said, a lot of work has gone into recovering these valuable materials, and as a consequence, the UK plastics recycling rate is on the up.
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET)
PET is among the best-recycled polymers in the UK. Its barrier properties make it material of choice for mineral waters and fizzy drinks and it can be recycled a number of times. A high proportion of mixed bottles, typically with HDPE or of a range of colours, are exported and when it is separated there is recycling capacity in Europe. The material is used to make food trays, and is commonly found as a laminate in films, again for its barrier properties.
High-density polyethylene (HDPE)
HDPE is most commonly used for milk. As such, investment in recycling seems assured to help meet the government road map target of 50% recycled material in milk bottles by 2020. It is also used for bleach and cleaning products. As with PET, price is dictated by quality and there are markets that offer a range of prices according to the level of contamination. A versatile polymer that can be manipulated, for example, to control transparency, HDPE is also found in films and some thin-gauge carrier and fresh produce bags. Film and carrier bag recycling is possible, but usually for low-value applications, so collections are limited.
Polyvinyl chloride (PVC)
PVC is a popular polymer for a range of applications, including packaging, where it is found in some thermoformed trays and also used in household wrapping films. However, part of the problem with PVC is that it can contaminate some PET collections. Through the introduction of reclamation facilities, that only focus on plastics, more colour and polymer separation is possible, which would help develop end markets.
Low-density polyethylene (LDPE)
LDPE is used in trays, but more commonly in films and bags. Recoup currently advises against the collection of films, although it is working with Wrap to develop collection facilities. It is a particular challenge given the relatively low value of the end product, although domestic film collection has been shown to be possible in trials. Another issue is the increased use of bioplastics and other materials in carrier bags that can contaminate the source.
Polypropylene (PP)
PP is probably the next big thing in plastics recycling, given that PP comprises a large proportion of mixed plastics collections, when bottles are taken out. PP is widely used in packaging in pots and trays, screw tops and as a film. It works as well in the freezer as it does in the microwave. It can be recovered and turned into a range of applications. However, black trays, whether PP or another material, are a problem as they are difficult to recover using existing sorting technology.
Polystyrene (PS)
PS is found in yoghurt pots and trays, and in its expanded form as protective packaging and hot drinks cups. Research has shown it to be quite a small part of the waste stream, but as with other rigid packaging it is likely to form part of future mixed plastics recycling trials.
One problem, however, is the the remnants of food that can get stuck to the inside of the container to consider. Contamination, both from food and other polymers, is one of the reasons that energy-from-waste (EfW) facilities could be a good destination for some plastics waste. This process is widely considered as preferable to landfill and seems to be garnering support in the corridors of power. Philip Law, public and industrial affairs director at the British Plastics Federation (BPF), says the number of planning applications for EfW facilities is increasing. "The UK has been slow to recognise the value of energy from waste compared to other European countries. As a net importer of energy, EfW certainly has its attractions as a means of helping the deficit," he says.
The value of recycling
EfW might be a good route for some plastic waste. But, as the BPF says, the best way to recover the value of the materials is through recycling. Environmental benefits aside, recycled plastics can be some 40% cheaper than virgin polymers, and research by Wrap has shown it is commercially feasible to collect and recycle mixed plastics, providing a factory is built to process at least 80,000 tonnes of material each year.
Improving plastics recycling rates is at the heart of the Plastics 2020 Challenge, launched by the BPF, together with Plastics Europe and the Packaging and Films Association, in July. "Not only are landfill sites filling up, but used plastics are too valuable a resource to be landfilled," says Law. No one in the supply chain would dispute the scheme's goals, but plastics charity Recoup has highlighted the importance of getting all stakeholders involved. "It will be interesting to see whether the Plastics 2020 Challenge can succeed in gaining enough multi-sector support to turn debates and discussions into tangible actions that deliver real results," says Recoup's business development director Stuart Foster.
The consumer is a key link in the chain and differences between local authority collections remain a hurdle to getting them to put different materials in the correct containers. On-pack information needs to reflect the recycling taking place on the consumer's street, and having 450 different labels is clearly impossible. Recoup suggests that using polymer number codes (see box, right) would confuse rather than encourage recycling and says more work needs to be done in this field. "Ultimately, the information should be based solely on what the plastics reprocessors can accept, rather than what local authorities collect," says Foster.
Chris Dow, managing director of Dagenham-based Closed Loop Recycling, which recycles PET and HDPE bottles, echoes this view. "It's going to be a tough job to have complete consistency to collections, but having a lot of different systems doesn't help anybody," he says.
New frontier
Dow is keen to expand the range of materials he can process, but admits that each material presents a different challenge. "There's no doubt the next exciting frontier will be other non-bottle plastics, like polypropylene (PP). But each polymer requires a different sorting and recycling process," he says. PET, for example, melts at 260°C while HDPE melts at 120°C.
Another of the leading lights in plastics recycling is Greenstar WES. The Redcar-based firm has been involved in recycling HDPE and heavily contaminated films. Managing director James Donaldson says the key to good recycling is cleaning the product. Films can be more contaminated than bottles, but it is still possible to recycle them, although businesses and consumers would need to think differently. "Carrier bags are mostly LDPE, but lots of films could be used. A supermarket could say the consumer can have a recycled grey one for free, but pay if they want a brightly-coloured one," says Donaldson.
Donaldson agrees the next big thing in recycling will be PP. As a popular packaging material, for example for ready-meal trays, PP has a solid end market, which is clearly important for a successful recycling business. "To make recycling work you've got to be good at manufacturing, find the high market value and you get a quality product," he says.
Despite targeting particular materials, recyclers are likely to need to continue to handle all plastic types because of the range of plastics in packaging. Indeed, some welcome it if it helps boost recycling across the board. "Recycling has to become the easiest thing to do," says Donaldson. "If it is easier to just throw it in the bin, then that's what people
Simeon Goldstein, Packaging News, 03 September 2009
With around 450 local authorities in the UK collecting a tricky mix of polymers, it's no secret there's work to be done in plastics recycling. Simeon Goldstein looks at the sector's progress
The problem with getting consumers to recycle plastic is there's no such thing as plastic. Or rather plastic is more than one thing. The large range of materials to suit individual requirements is, of course, one of the great strengths of polymers, as is the fact they can be sandwiched together for even more applications, but it's a difficult message to convey to the consumer who has to separate them for the recycling bin.
More than a million tonnes of non-bottle plastic packaging enters the UK waste stream each year. Wrap has been at the forefront of developing plastics recycling in the UK and understands ‘mixed plastics' as all non-bottle plastics packaging in the domestic waste stream. "We recognise the term ‘mixed plastics' means different things to different people in the recycling and packaging industries, so we needed a consistent definition for our research," says Paul Davidson, the Waste and Resources Action Programme's (Wrap) plastics advisor. In part thanks to Wrap's efforts, 80 local authorities, of the more than 450 in the UK, now collect yoghurt pots, ice-cream tubs and films of a range of colours and polymer types.
Simeon Goldstein, packagingnews.co.uk, 13 July 2009
Borealis has relaunched a blow, fill and seal-grade polymer for the pharmaceuticals market.
Bormed LE6609-PH is a low-density polyethylene that has a high melting point to allow for steam sterilisation at temperatures of more than 110°C and is being targeted at the medical bottle and ampoule manufacturers.
The high temperatures enable converters to increase production speed and it is easy to adapt existing blow moulding equipment to use the material, Borealis said.
Bormed LE6609-PH can be sterilised with ethylene oxide and radiation and can be used to make lightweight products to save energy.
Borealis application marketing manager Martyna Matelska-Jucha said the polymer had been relaunched in response to feedback from the sector. "Bormed LE6609-PH expands our product range for this highly-demanding, specialised industry."
Bormed LE6609-PH forms part of the Bormed group of polyolefin products for the healthcare sector.
Planning permission - it is impossible not to broach the subject at an interview with Quinn Glass director Peter Fitzgerald. Last month, the firm took another step closer to obtaining it for its controversial glass manufacturing and bottling facility at Elton, when Cheshire West and Chester Council approved an application that had been submitted in 2008.
It has been a long road to get this far - the journey is not over and the issue now passes to the communities secretary - but the firm is adamant building the plant was the right move. "When we told our customers about the furnace and bottling facility, we were encouraged by the fantastic reception. Lots of customers don't understand what the challenge is about," says Fitzgerald.
Planning permission or no, Quinn has clearly grabbed a lot of attention for its different approach to running a glass packaging operation. The site produces around 1.2 billion containers and will fill some 300 million units this year. At full capacity, that figure would rise to 650 million. "It's a fantastic model," enthuses Fitzgerald. "We've been asked to build it all over the world."
There are many benefits to the firm's customers. A drinks company looking to launch a new product can test a tanker's worth quickly at the site's bottling facility. Quinn can also carry out the bottling until sufficient quantity is produced to justify investment in the drinks firm's own bottling line. "We can quickly deal with huge peaks in volume for bulk-imported wine that's being sold on promotion in UK supermarkets," says Fitzgerald.
The most important part of the bottling line, he says, is the laboratory. A firm in, say, Australia can send a sample that Quinn compares with delivered product to ensure the drink that reaches the consumer is the right quality. "Wine from Australia has a 12-week lead time and goes through a lot of different temperatures on the way. If it is shipped in bulk, the surface area makes it easier to control and we can condition it on arrival," says Fitzgerald.
In the past, the firm has been blamed for overcapacity in the glass packaging market, but Quinn says that by including the bottling facility it has grown the sector. "We are making glass bottles that didn't exist in the UK and are exporting to northern Europe and North America," says Fitzgerald.
Green, green glass
While it seems there is a good business argument for the bottling line, there are undoubted environmental ones, too. Wrap has done a lot of work on bulk imports, and is also working with Quinn to try to find new ways to
make the most of the recycled glass that is collected. The glass industry as a whole has called for more kerbside separated collections to ensure a good quality of material to turn into new bottles and jars. But Wrap and Quinn are also working to develop a market for what Fitzgerald refers to as ‘not'-coloured glass.
"The UK works to tight flint and green specifications, whereas in Europe they are wider. We are trying to get customers to understand that the colour of containers may not be that crucial," he says. Rather than stream the glass when changing from a green to a flint production run, Quinn produces bottles throughout the changeover period. It means the firm can take more green cullet out of the waste stream. "They are ‘not' green or flint, but fine for wine bottles," says Fitzgerald.
Another area that Quinn, like other glass manufacturers, has been involved in is the lightweighting of glass bottles, the most recent being a 300g wine bottle. But Fitzgerald maintains it is important to ensure that commercial issues match environmental progress. "If you lightweight a bottle, you can make more bottles per tonne of glass. But if you can't sell the containers then the efficiencies will go," he says.
The environment plays a key role in everything the firm does. It tries to anticipate how regulations might develop, for example for carbon emissions, even if that means a higher financial outlay initially. "We try to reduce costs, but you have to work within the law. We try to establish best manufacturing techniques, and that adds costs. But it is cheaper than refitting our equipment down the line," says Fitzgerald.
Forward thinking is clearly of paramount importance to Quinn and, indeed, Fitzgerald says the firm would not rule out further expansion at the site if demand continues to rise. He also says there is potential to create a one-stop-shop packaging business park on the site as label manufacturers, closure producers and carton packaging firms have said they might be interested in coming on board. "I can definitely see more integration of the whole process and could even envisage brewers and distillers coming on to the site," he says.
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
Looking in on Quinn Glass
Simeon Goldstein, Packaging News, 30 September 2009
For much of this decade, Quinn Glass has been embroiled in litigation and debate surrounding planning permission for its high-tech bottle plant in Cheshire. However, says Simeon Goldstein, there is more to the site than the controversy
1998 Quinn Group enters the glass market with plant in Derrylin, Northern Ireland.
2000 Decides to build a plant at Elton after considering a location in northern France.
2003 Construction begins on the site of the former Ince B power station that had closed in 1997.
2004 Submits a second planning application to the then Chester City Council and Ellesmere Port and Neston Borough Council to increase the size of the plant by 20%.
2005 Elton plant goes into operation. The council resolves to grant the new planning permission, but the application is the subject of an extensive public enquiry.
2007 Secretary of state for communities and local government refuses planning permission in January, but invites the firm to make a fresh application. Quinn challenges the decision in March.
2008 Makes a new application for the site in February and withdraws its challenge against the secretary of state's decision in October.
January 2009 Chester council says a four-year period during which enforcement action for the site has to take place expires in November. This period starts from when all activities at a facility are substantially completed, which in Quinn's case covers bottling and distribution as well as manufacturing.
March 2009 Ardagh challenges Chester City Council in the High Court over the planning permission to persuade it to serve an enforcement notice on the site. This delays the council's planning board from considering the most recent application, scheduled to appear in February.
April 2009 Judge Mole QC orders the newly formed Cheshire West and Chester Council to issue an order notice to stop work at Elton and says building the facility without full planning consent was a "calculated risk". He calls the development "unlawful" and agrees with a witness it would be "disgraceful" if the firm achieved immunity from correct planning procedures. Quinn says it will appeal the judgement.
May 2009 Quinn appeals the enforcement notice, which requires it to cease production within nine months, demolish unauthorised buildings and restore the site to its original condition within 24 months, on the grounds the council needs time to consider the planning application.
September 2009 The council's planning committee approves the 2008 application for planning permission after studying a 100-page report, which says the "benefits of the development are considered to outweigh the limited harm". The issue now passes to communities secretary John Denham who needs to confirm the existence of "exceptional circumstances" to justify awarding planning permission retrospectively. In the report, planning officers concluded the ‘exceptional circumstances' related to the redevelopment of a brownfield site, the 2003 planning permission and environmental assessments that had already been carried out.
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.
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
