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The drive for sustainable packaging

Sustainability

For the last couple of years, we have been working with a number of packaging companies and a key trend emerging within the industry has been a significant focus on sustainability and recycling.

Of the c.6.3 billion tonnes of plastic the UK has thrown away since the start of plastic mass-production in the 1950s, only an estimated 600 million tonnes has been recycled.  Awareness of the detrimental effects of plastic on the environment has increased exponentially in recent years and sustainable alternatives are now being sought. New materials, which are more easily recyclable or biodegradable, are becoming ever more important. One of the alternatives to plastic being explored is recyclable paper and cardboard packaging, which is being adopted by a number of retailers as a viable, environmentally friendly alternative.

Recent examples of this trend from plastics to cardboard packaging include:           

  • Aldi is set to remove plastic packaging from its steak products, replacing it with  cardboard, and has already removed plastic packaging on tinned tuna multipacks, replacing it with a recyclable cardboard sleeve. The move was launched as a two-month trial and if deemed a success, it will be extended across Aldi’s UK estate. The steps are part of their stated goal of phasing out “hard-to-recycle plastic” from its food products by the end of 2020.
  • DS Smith has partnered with Morrisons to replace its own brand bacon packaging with a new, recyclable fibre-based corrugated design. DS Smith has been exploring a new RRP design with sustainable fibre-based corrugated cardboard, which is 100% recyclable.
  • UK Brewer Molson Coors has announced it will replace plastic wrap on Carling beer with a recyclable cardboard sleeve by March 2020.  The change will also be applied to its Coors Light cans and is part of their global packaging goals, to become 100% reusable, recyclable, compostable or biodegradable by 2025. Plastic rings, which are of particular environmental concern for marine life, will also be removed by the brand by the end of March 2021.
  • Plastico, who we recently advised on a fund raising, has partnered with Heineken to provide drinks containers to festivals and other venues on a closed loop basis. These containers are collected and recycled.  Plastico has been working to produce such plastics products from rPET, in addition to seeing non-plastic alternatives
  • Macfarlane has launched a 100% plastic-free, biodegradable packaging protection for wine bottles which it is marketing to retailers as a plastic replacement.

Packaging designers and manufactures have been quick to pick up on the move from plastic materials towards cardboard. DS Smith recently invited Philip Hollobone MP to its Kettering packaging facility to discuss sustainable packaging solutions, focusing on cardboard and paper-based packaging designs as substitutes for plastic. DS Smith presented research to Hollobone, highlighting the 1.5 million tonnes of plastic that could be replaced by fibre-based products each year from just five areas within supermarkets across Europe.

Smurfit Kappa announced that it has made significant progress in becoming a fully sustainable and circular business. In the nine months leading up to September, the group reported a strong performance with EBITDA up 11% year-on-year and ahead of stated targets. Tony Smurfit, CEO, commented: “Consumers are increasingly demanding sustainable packaging solutions and with our unique applications, knowledge and expertise in paper-based packaging, we are ideally positioned to take advantage of this mega trend.”

At Polestar, we have seen a significant increase in environmental awareness in the packaging industry, with many companies emphasising and making a virtue of their green credentials. We are currently acting for a specialist provider of protective packing solutions who has not only adopted sustainability as a core ethos within their own business, but endeavoured to ensure this is replicated throughout its entire supply chain.

Tony Smurfit, CEO of Smurfit Kappa, commented: “Consumers are increasingly demanding sustainable packaging solutions and with our unique applications, knowledge and expertise in paper-based packaging, we are ideally positioned to take advantage of this mega trend.”

By Sandy Ritchie on 08/11/2019