40 • Packaging • C&CI May 2012
challenges for using recycled fibre in packaging. The 31-page report outlines opportunities to use recycled content in 20 common retail packaging applica- tions, including shopping and take-out bags, cereal boxes, toothbrush blister packs, software boxes, and coffee canis- ters. The report was completed in collabora-
tion with packaging designers and engi- neers, as well as pulp and paper mill operations, and it is a companion to the Sustainable Packaging Coalition’s 2010 report, Guidelines for Increasing Post Consumer Recycled Content in Plastic Packaging.
Too many labels?
It provides reference charts that offer a snapshot of the performance, regulatory, technical, aesthetic considerations, mar- ket availability, and cost considerations in using recycled content. The report is free to SPC members and
available to non-SPC members for $125.00. As the SPC points out, the proliferation
of recycling-related labels on packaging can create confusion in the marketplace. "Messaging and its associated iconogra- phy on packaging, such as ‘please recy- cle’ and ‘100 per cent recyclable,’ can give the erroneous impression that a package can be recycled everywhere," says the SPC. With this in mind, the coalition has
developed a Packaging Recovery Label System, in order to address these and other issues, and to reduce confusion by creating a clear, well-understood, and har- monised label that enables industry to convey to consumers how to recycle a package after its use. Another of its aims is to improve the
reliability, completeness, and transparen- cy of recyclability claims through a nation- ally relevant data set on access to recy- cling for all packaging materials and forms. The SPC also wants to provide an
Innovia Films says it believes that flexible
packaging is suitable for instant coffee, which is usually found in glass jars
incentive for industry to participate in a pre-competitive labelling initiative that fol- lows FTC Green Guides. The SPC says it is currently in the pilot
phase of the project, which includes on- package labelling; consumer and stake- holder education; education and feed- back via select municipalities, recyclers, and brand owners in the US.
Flexible packaging
As Innovia Films points out, metal cans, glass jars and rigid plastic containers have come to dominate instant coffee packaging, all of which are recyclable but none of which are made from renewable resources or are compostable. The move to conventional flexible pack-
aging began some time ago for many premium gourmet makers of ground cof- fee and coffee beans, with some instant coffee brands mirroring this trend. Many of these lightweight packs are stand-up bags or pouches with some using vacu- um packed blocks.
Shrink-tightening film wraps for Ferrero
Innovia Films’ shrink-tightening BOPP substrate, Propafilm OS, has been selected by confectionery manufacturer Ferrero to overwrap boxes of its Rondnoir chocolates. Propafilm OS is a high-speed, trans-
parent, over-wrapping film manufactured using Innovia Films’ bubble process. It has balanced shrink tightening properties and offers a sparkling pack appearance. In addition Propafilm OS can significantly increase product shelf life owing to the product’s water vapour, flavour and aroma barrier properties. Innovia Films’ has also announced
that NatureFlex recently won Ganong Bros Limited’s approval to pack its range of Easter confectionery in stand up pouches. Ganong is Canada’s oldest candy company, founded in 1873 and remains family owned and operated. The stand-up pouch pack is converted by Canada-based Genpak using NatureFlex NKR laminated to a biopolymer sealant layer.
SPC issues guidelines about recyclable content G
uidelines for Recycled Content in Paper and Paperboard Packaging highlights the opportunities and
With retailers and brands increasingly interested in the use of recycled content in packaging, the Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC) in the US recently launched two guidelines, one for plastics and one for fibre, to help retail buyers under- stand about opportunities and challenges for recycled content
With this in mind, Innovia Films has
developed a range of cellulose-based films that, when laminated together with other bio materials, can provide a fully renewable filmic structure suitable for cof- fee pouches. The film is known as NatureFlex. "Coffee producers are moving towards
packaging which weighs less to save on transportation costs in the supply chain
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