FEATURE Packaging & Labelling
Is your business fi ghting against single-use plastics?
T
oday, sustainability is more important than ever: a recent survey showed that 61% of consumers have actively reduced their use of single-use plastics, which in eff ect drives trends.
In 2020, the UK placed 4.9 million metric tonnes of plastic on the market, of which three-quarters – or 3.7 million metric tonnes – became waste. To reduce plastic pollution, companies are now working to incorporate circular economy solutions into their business plans – a sustainable model of reusing, repairing and recycling materials as many times as possible. In comparison to a linear system, circularity allows wasted materials to have a new life or to be reused in new products, alleviating the need for raw materials and limiting waste. Here are some examples of businesses
responding to the fi ght against single-use plastics:
L’Oréal Paris L’Oréal Group is leading the way for sustainable packaging within the cosmetics industry. In collaboration with Paboco, the company has created a paper bottle using sustainably-sourced paper. In high volumes this will signifi cantly reduce plastic waste.
In addition, the environmental profi le of 96% of all new products launched by the company has improved in 2020. L’Oreal has also committed to using 100% reusable, recyclable and compostable plastic packaging by 2025, pledging to become fully sustainable by 2030, through preservation of natural resources, management of water sustainability, fi ghting climate change, respecting biodiversity and banning testing on animals.
Tesco
One of the leading supermarket brands in the UK, Tesco is also making signifi cant contributions towards sustainability. As well as ditching single-use plastic bags, the supermarket is promoting a circular economy within its own-brand products, such as bin bags, saving over one billion pieces of plastic since its sustainability campaign started. Last year it also pledged
42 July/August 2022 | Automation
to remove an addition 500 million pieces of plastic from its supermarkets throughout 2022.
Since 2018, Tesco removed 11,400 tonnes
of hard-to-recycle materials from its own-brand packaging. This supermarket giant is committed to making 100% of the paper and board used in its packaging sustainable by 2025.
Waddington Europe Waddington Europe is a producer of rigid plastic packaging, and now off ers an Eco Blend and Eco Blend Pura ranges made of 100% post-industrial and post-consumer recycled content. More recently, the company designed an innovative strawberry punnet, where it has removed the additional layer of protective bubble wrap and the adhesive that goes with it. As a result, Waddington’s strawberry punnet requires no glue and can be easily recycled straight back into food-grade rPET.
LUSH Cosmetics
LUSH Cosmetics prioritises sustainability; some 66% of all products sold each year are naked and require no packaging at all, saving 4,275 tonnes of plastic throughout its stores. Recently, LUSH also designed its fi rst carbon-positive packaging. The cork pots, ideal for naked shampoo bars, are reusable and biodegradable. Throughout the production process, each cork pot retains
33 times its own weight in carbon dioxide. LUSH Cosmetics has also introduced sustainable schemes: its ‘Bring It Back’ scheme encourages customers to return used packaging in exchange for credit towards their next purchase, and its ‘Fresh Face Mask’ scheme gives customers a free face mask each time they recycle used packaging at one of its stores.
ASDA
Another supermarket giant, ASDA, is also reconsidering its packaging. Since 2007, ASDA reduced the weight of its packaging by 27%, and the supermarket is committed to making all of its packaging fully recyclable by 2025. ASDA introduced a packaging-free store in Leeds, giving customers the opportunity to refi ll their own reusable containers with groceries such as pasta, cereal, dog food and laundry detergents. The scheme will be extended throughout the UK.
Sustainability is trending Consumer behaviour has incentivised businesses to create sustainable solutions to the plastic pollution. We are seeing a growing raft of companies adapting towards a more sustainable future – and not a moment too soon.
CONTACT:
Waddington Europe
www.waddingtoneurope.com
automationmagazine.co.uk
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64
