Developing sustainable solutions for the packaging industry
Becoming more sustainable and environmentally efficient is an extremely important and rapidly developing part of the packaging industry. Brands from all around the world are coming up with new ways to reduce waste, encourage recycling, and use more natural materials in an effort to reduce the effects of climate change. We’ve put together a round-up of the latest food and drink packaging machinery innovations to see the exciting ways the industry is evolving.
New flexible packaging technology
In a recent announcement Ineos Olefins and Polymers Europe revealed they’re making a multi-million euro investment in new packaging film technology. This tech is intended to help prevent around 1m tonnes of waste being sent to landfills every year.
Ineos and partners will be using new multilayer, blown line technology to design, develop, and produce polyethylene and polypropylene-based flexible packaging using less polymers.
The company has said that the multi-material products in today’s packaging bring together polymers from various chemical families, which makes them hard to recycle. So, by reducing the number of polymers being used to create packaging film the result will be more sustainable packaging that is designed to be easily recycled. Process design engineers will help install a new line in Ineos’ research and development labs in Brussels, Belgium in 2023. This new line will produce mono-material, flexible film packaging products.
Online wine with paper-based packaging solution
Smurfit Kappa has provided The Kingscote Estate and Vineyard with a new paper-based packaging solution for its direct-to-consumer sales, helping them transition into online sales. The new packaging is much more versatile, with options to customise and adapt to accommodate several various bottle sizes and can also be printed on the interior and exterior. By going with paper-based packaging, they have been able to create the perfect, eco-friendly, and sustainable eCommerce solution for a growing wine business.
Iced tea brand introduces tethered caps
Ahead of new EU legislation, Affaba and Ferrari have implemented tethered caps for its major iced tea brand in Italy. Starting July 2024, all caps need to be firmly attached to disposable drink containers, including beverage cartons with three litres of volume.
The 1P23 tethered cap closure is tied to a safety ring through a tab which allows for an ideal opening position, meaning the consumer can easily access the drink in the bottle, whilst ensuring that it can’t detach from the container and be thrown away. Also, a lightweight cap with a horizontal hinge can work with aseptic filling.
The main aim with these new bottle caps is to stop them from being lost, discarded, or generally ending up as waste which contributes to environmental pollution. It has already been put in place in the Italian market, with the change already having a key impact in lowering the quantity of plastic that is required for each iced tea bottle cap by 14%.
Berry Superfos phases out labels
Bakery and snacks manufacturer Nordthy, is repurposing their food packaging machine as it phases out packaging labels to try and stay compliant with the need for waste separation.
Its most recent range of snacks and dried fruits are provided in UniPak plastic containers from Berry Superfos and use in-mould-labelling to take away the need for separate product labels. The text and logo are added directly onto the surface of the new containers, meaning the need for labels becomes ‘redundant’.
One of the most beneficial parts of the new pails is the potential for customers to repurpose them at home, which helps to boost sustainability and reduce waste.
Summary
As you can see, many companies within the food and beverage industry are taking steps to improve their sustainability and environmental efficiency for the benefit of not only us but the future of our planet. If you need some help and guidance on making your manufacturing operations more efficient, contact our factory setup consultants at FESS Group today.