Packaging materials

Spencer: 'Hundreds of thousands of tonnes of biowaste comes from coconuts'

Food Man Talks

Gluten-free waffle sandwich wins Bronze at Ecotrophelia UK

By Rod Addy & James Ridler

Jared Spencer, representing the Eco-Dive team from the University of Nottingham, which won Bronze at this year’s Ecotrophelia UK competition for CocoWaffle, a gluten-free, Dutch-inspired waffle sandwich concept, describes the group's ethnically diverse...

Coca-Cola said the adverts are designed to encourage shoppers to recycle

Coca-Cola hits back at ad complaint

By Rod Addy

Coca-Cola European Partners has rejected criticism of Christmas advertising promoting the green credentials of its packaging for not being 'single use'.

Britvic’s sustainable business agenda includes targeting zero waste to landfill and helping to develop a circular economy for packaging

Britvic claims pioneering climate change stance

By Rod Addy

Britvic has claimed a UK soft drinks industry first as it announced scientifically-approved climate change targets, designed to help prevent a global temperature rise of 1.5°C.

Quick pulse heat uses alternating focused heat and water cooling to form a narrow seal

Heat sealing method for bags unveiled by GIC

By Paul Gander

UK machinery manufacturer GIC is now able to integrate quick pulse heat (QPH) sealing into its bagging equipment, improving production and materials efficiency.

The EU’s single-use plastics directive requires all PET bottles to contain at least 25% rPET by 2025

Brands bite the bullet on recycled plastic price

By Paul Gander

Regulatory and consumer pressure is likely to mean brand owners and retailers remaining committed to using recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) in their bottles, despite being more expensive than virgin polymer.

RFID tags could see a major rollout across the food sector soon, according to PragmatIC

Lower-cost RFID rollout on horizon

By Paul Gander

A future role for lower-cost, item-level tags in areas as diverse as materials recognition for reverse vending, odour detection for in-pack freshness indicators and wider consumer engagement, is being predicted by radio frequency identification (RFID)...

The change will remove 850t of plastic from a range of brands annually

Budweiser to pull plastic rings from UK beer

By Dan Colombini

Britain’s best-selling beer brands Budweiser and Stella Artois have announced a multi-million pound investment to eliminate plastic rings from can packaging across their entire UK-produced range by the end of 2020.

Bio-based food contact materials are generally biodegradable or compostable

FSA: study green food contact materials

By Rod Addy

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has called for more research into bio-based food contact materials (BBFCMs) in order to rule out concerns they could pose allergen risks.

Around 80mt of plastic packaging is produced annually, the Government says

£200m pledged for plastic recycling initiatives

By Noli Dinkovski

The drive to remove single-use plastics from the UK economy has moved a step closer after the Government and business agreed to fund initiatives to create recyclable plastic from waste.

The supply chain still struggles to meet sustainability targets for packaging

Tetra Pak targets green pack hurdles

By Paul Gander

Despite investing hundreds of millions of pounds in complying with new regulations and voluntary undertakings to make packaging more sustainable, the supply chain is struggling to meet some of its targets and obligations in the time frames set.

Lendrum (pictured) called for mandatory recycling labels on products that were easier to understand

Call for mandatory recycling labels on food packs

By Gwen Ridler

The food and drinks packaging industry should move towards a mandatory labelling system that makes it clear whether a product can or cannot be recycled, the head of packaging at frozen food retailer Iceland has urged.

MOre and more suppliers are steering away from using plastics in their packaging

Glass and can boost in beverages

By Paul Gander

Beverage brand-owners and contract packers are steering away from new launches in plastics, including polyethylene terephthalate (PET), as investment in equipment for can and glass filling grows, suppliers claim.

Food expert tackles plastics issue

Opinion

Why replacing plastics is a complicated task

By Dan Hall

Campden BRI product technologist Dan Hall weighs up the environmental impact of plastic packaging with the practical benefits it has for keeping food fresh and safe.

Snowdon (pictured): 'The most obvious intangible cost is the unpaid labour to make the whole system work'

Hidden £1.7bn cost of deposit return schemes

By Gwen Ridler

Deposit return schemes for plastic drinks bottles could cost the UK economy £1.7bn in unpaid labour, outweighing the yearly fee for running the scheme, an industry expert has claimed.

New advances in modified atmosphere packaging highlights research into barrier board options

Sorting the board from the plastic

By Paul Gander

The launch of a plastics-containing pressed paperboard tray that can be gas-flushed as modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) has highlighted the high level of current research and development around composites and other barrier board options – and the recycling...

BCMPA chief executive Rodney Steel explained how co-packers are reaping the benefits of Brexit

Co-packers benefit from Brexit doubt

By Paul Gander

Food industry uncertainties both around Brexit and the acceptability of different packaging materials are strengthening the position of co-packers, the boss of the trade body representing the sector has suggested.

The FSA's guidance on the shelf-life of meat products has been questioned by BMPA and MLA research

Shelf-life guidance comes under fire

By Aidan Fortune

Research into the shelf-life of meat products has found that the ’10-day rule’ may no longer be appropriate for the industry.

Glass manufacturers are focusing on recycling over green production (Photo credit: I-O)

Glass firms eye major recycling boost

By Paul Gander

Market forces are incentivising glass manufacturers to prioritise recycling rates over greener glass production, an industry body has claimed.

Quinn's new Detecta range has already generated major interest from retailers

Retailers adopt new recyclable black PET

By Gwen Ridler

A new black polyethylene terephthalate (PET) food tray that is able to be picked up by recycling equipment will soon to be adopted by UK retailers, according to Ireland-based creator Quinn Packaging.

Veolia has defended delays in the Government's Resources and Waste Strategy

Veolia stands by strategy on waste delay

By Paul Gander

Waste management firm Veolia has defended expected delays in the implementation of the Government’s new Resources and Waste Strategy (RWS) for England, despite the pressure on users of plastics packaging, in particular, to demonstrate sustainability to...

Vegan diets and climate change will be key drivers for innovation in food and drink manufacturing

Big food brands slow to innovate

By Gwen Ridler

Food and drink brands are failing to cater to changing consumer preferences for plant-based products and less packaging, according to an environmental pressure group.

A more cohesive approach to food and packaging waste is need, said Clothier

Business leaders' forum

Wyke Farms boss calls for packaging collection reform

By Gwen Ridler

The Government needs to rethink the way food and packaging waste is collected and recycled to prevent confusion among businesses and consumers, according to Wyke Farms managing director Richard Clothier.

A relaxation of modified atmosphere-packed foods legislation has been urged by the industry

Call for FSA to relax MAP guidance

By Rick Pendrous

Food safety experts have called for a relaxation of guidance governing the controls on vacuum and modified atmosphere-packed (MAP) chilled foods, which has been claimed to place UK manufacturers at a distinct disadvantage compared with overseas competitors.

Tata Steel are gearing up for a number of launches this year

Banging the can for innovative designs

By Paul Gander

New structural designs that stand out on shelves and aid convenience are at the forefront of a wave of innovation in metal packaging, in a market traditionally dominated by high-volume, commoditised food cans.

The Office for National Statistics studied 17,000 products between September 2015 and June 2017 to determine the rate of shrinkflation

Shrinkflation hits food industry

By Aidan Fortune

The bread and cereals category has been most affected by shrinkflation since 2015, new pricing research has found.

The food and drink industry reacts to the Government's Resources and Waste strategy

Industry responds to Government’s waste strategy

By Gwen Ridler

The Government’s new Resources and Waste Strategy, which will see food manufacturers forced to pay recycling costs for their packaging, has had a mixed reception from the food and drink industry.

The Government's new Resource and Waste strategy will force food manufacturers to pay for their own recycling costs

Food manufacturers forced to pay recycling costs

By Gwen Ridler

Food and drink manufacturers will be forced to pay the full cost of recycling or disposing of their packaging waste under the Government’s Resources and Waste Strategy, as it introduces annual food waste reporting.

The commitments are part of Coca-Cola’s ‘world without waste’ global vision

Coca-Cola makes plastic recycling commitments

By Noli Dinkovski

The Coca-Cola Company has made investment pledges with two companies working towards making polyethylene terephthalate (PET) waste easier to recycle, as part of its commitment make at least 50% of all its bottles from recycled materials by 2030.

Pladis is the latest company to join the UK Plastics Pact

Pladis pledges to plastics packaging scheme

By Gwen Ridler

McVitie’s and Jacob’s owner Pladis has pledged to make all of its plastic packaging recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025 as part of a range of sustainability measures to reduce its environmental impact.