NEWS


BPI director foresees missed plastic targets


THE boss of one of Scotland’s biggest food packaging suppliers has branded the UK government’s new plastic recycling targets “un- achievable”.


Andrew Green, managing di- rector of Greenock-based British Polythene Industries (BPI), is con- vinced DEFRA’s increased targets, which came into effect in January, will increase costs, damage exist- ing recovery infrastructure and encourage fraudulent trading. While he emphasized his sup- port for the ethos behind the ambitious strategy, he argued the consequences would have an impact across all food packaging sectors. “We have absolutely no issue


with stretching recycling targets,” he said. “Indeed as the largest recycler of polythene film waste in Europe, we actively support stretching recycling targets. Our concern with the (new) targets as now set by DEFRA is that they are unachievable.”


Green expressed his concerns at a formal ceremony to unveil a £2m co-extrusion line at the company’s BPI Films facility in Sevenoaks, Kent, which was at- tended by the Minister for Busi- ness & Enterprise, Michael Fallon MP and more than 50 guests. The regulations set new re- covery and recycling targets for packaging waste for the period 2013 to 2017.


Current levels of recycling of paper, wood and glass packaging over the five-year period remain unchanged but the amended regulations set a more stringent trajectory for recycling of alumin- ium, steel and plastic. It’s this increase that prompted Green to warn all players in the food sector,


including and


packers and producers, of the “huge


costs that could hit businesses handling plastic packaging over the next few years. He added: “Having increased the amount of plastic waste we


January-March 2013


Andrew Green (left) of BPI gave Michael Fallon MP a warm welcome to the company’s Kent facility but that didn’t stop him questioning the feasibility of the UK government’s recycling targets.


recycle as a nation by 500,000 tonnes in the last 13 years, these new targets require our industry to increase the volumes of plastic waste we collect and recycle by 600,000 tonnes within the next five years. “To achieve the Government targets the UK will need to be- come the biggest recycler of plas- tic bottles, pots, tubs, trays and plastic film in the EU.


“The one area where the UK is currently top is that we have the highest proportion of our plastic waste, currently 70%, exported for recycling overseas. This is neither environmentally nor com- mercially sustainable.


“Having such a high proportion of our recycling activity depend- ent on overseas, and generally Far East recyclers, is a significant risk factor in meeting our targets and has been responsible for the export of UK jobs in recycling for a number of years.”


He went on to say the changes would create a “huge incentive” for fraudulent activity which had the potential to undermine all the positive work the industry has achieved over the last 15 years. He called on regulators to stop thinking of plastic packaging as a problem and instead treat is as “part of the solution” to the envi- ronmental puzzle.


Message in a bottle


PEARLFISHER and O-I’s Alloa glass plant have developed exclusive new glass packaging for the launch of the first permanent addition to Cutty Sark whisky’s core range since the brand was acquired by Edrington in 2010. The new bottle takes a tall, oval shape, which tapers from shoulders to base. It carries a statement of heritage and brand attitude through bold embossing of the phrase, ‘Since 1923 Our actions define who we are’.


There


is a new label, with a halftone image of a tea clipper on a grey stormy sea. O-I has produced it in 70cl and 75cl sizes for global distribution.


High street giant bags landfill breakthrough


A NEW type of plastic bag that can biodegrade even when sent to landfill has been introduced by one of the UK’s leading retailers.


retailers, disproportionate”


John Lewis describes the material as “ground- breaking” and the first-of-its-kind in the UK. It replaces the conventional polyethylene used in packaging for the superstore’s bed linen and some school-wear items.


The technology contains an additive biodegrade which will break down in five to 15 years compared with hundreds of years for conventional plastic bags. The additives work by encouraging naturally occur- ring micro-organisms in the soil to biodegrade the


material without leaving any harmful by-products. The resulting products are water, biogas and humus, which are necessary components for good soil. John Lewis plans to extend the product lines to package own-brand ready-made curtains. Follow- ing an initial six months of exclusive use, John Lewis will make the technology behind the new packaging available to other retailers. Mark Gallen, the company’s packaging design and production manager, who carried out the research, said: “We know that our customers want to reduce their environmental impact, and this new material makes it easy for them to do this.”


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