Boosting the circularity of beverage cartons
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Beverage cartons are technically recyclable, but what percentage of cartons actually ends up getting recycled varies from country to country and from region to region. We spoke to three major industry players, Elopak, SIG and Tetra Pak, to find out more about their efforts to boost carton recycling rates and their overall sustainability drive.
Could you tell us a more about the efforts you have made to boost beverage carton recycling figures?
Patrick Verhelst, Chief Marketing Officer at Elopak:
Elopak cartons are already fully recyclable, made primarily from paper fibres that can be recycled up to seven times into new products like corrugated boxes, carton boxes and stationery. Nevertheless, we are consistently taking steps to make our cartons easier to recycle, such as designing the Pure-Pak® Sense with easy-fold lines, allowing the consumer to squeeze out any remaining product and taking up less space in the bin before
Image Credit: Nordroden/Shutterstock.com
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation HolyGrail project, part of its New Plastics Economy program, might have found the answer to packaging waste sorting for the circular economy.
Research from the first phase of the project identified chemical tracing and digital watermarking as being among the most promising waste sorting technologies that could provide high-quality recycling rates for post-consumer waste that the circular economy of the future needs.
The second phase of HolyGrail is gaining commitments to adopt these tagging approaches from some of the biggest manufacturing names. The European Brands Association now investigates how digital watermarking could help them close the loop on the future circular economy.
19 Januar 2021
Novamont acquires BioBag, strengthens global presence
The acquisition will allow Novamont to benefit from BioBag’s highly specialised independent distribution in areas where the buyer is less present
The operation creates the most vertically integrated group in the bioplastics industry and allows the Italian B-Corp to further expand into Northern/Eastern Europe, North America and Australia.
Italy’s Novamont, a world leader in the development and production of biochemicals and compostable bioplastics, announced today it has acquired BioBag Group, a Norway based leading supplier of low-impact solutions for waste collection and packaging.
The acquisition will allow Novamont to benefit from BioBag’s highly specialised independent distribution in areas where the buyer is less present. The two companies will be able to offer a more complete solution set to the market and to create long-lasting alliances with key stakeholders such as large retailers and communities
2. A disconnect exists between post-consumer packaging and recycled content demand.
The challenge will be made greater by the fact that commitments to use recycled content in packaging exceed currently available supply, and what supply is available is largely used for non-packaging applications like fiber, pipe, and other durable goods.
Meanwhile, even as we have insufficient recycled materials to meet goals, materials like polypropylene and PET thermoforms are at risk of being dropped from municipal recycling programs due to lack of necessary infrastructure. To enable brands to meet their goals, we need investments to increase the supply of recycled materials and ensure that valuable materials are not being discarded.
Novamont, BioBag join forces for circular economy
By Doris Prodanovic | 14 January 2021
Italian supplier Novamont has acquired Australia’s BioBag Group. The acquisition will help strengthen the two producers’ contribution to the global circular economy.
BioBag Group has been the part owner of BioBag World Australia, led by South Australian manufacturer Scott Morton since January 2018. Novamont is a major supplier of the Master-Bi resin BioBags, which are made in Adelaide.
Morton said he is excited about the new acquisition and finding new ways to replace traditional plastics with compostable alternatives.
“Novamont is a core partner of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation s food initiative and a signatory of its New Plastics Economy which is aimed at rethinking packaging systems globally,” said Morton.