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SUSTAINABILITY

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FEATURE

Major beverage brands are fi zzing with enthusiasm at the prospect of having the greenest possible packaging.

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OKAY… THIS ISN’T REALLY ABOUT PITTING THE TWO FIRMS AGAINST ONE ANOTHER. THE PEPSI CHALLENGE, WHICH WAS STARTED IN 1975, IS ALL ABOUT THE TASTE – WE’RE JUST INTERESTED IN THE PACKAGING.

In recent weeks, both PepsiCo and Coca-Cola have taken new steps towards greener packaging. And when the big brands set the standard, the rest of the market tends to follow. Let’s start with PepsiCo. The group has announced a project in which it will use UBQ material developed by an Israeli startup of the same name to develop a sustainable pallet that uses unsorted household waste, including organics, in its composition. During the manufacturing process of UBQ material, waste is diverted and greenhouse gas emissions are prevented. In this initial project, the material implementation saves the equivalent of more than 6,500 kg of GHG emissions - the equivalent of the annual carbon sequestration of 534 trees. More than 739 kg of mixed waste will be redirected from landfi lls, looped back into the material as a valuable resource. The pallets are developed by PepsiCo’s partner Ecoboxes Embalagens Plásticas, which specialises in solutions focused on sustainability and circular economy. The UBQ material is a bio-based thermoplastic converted from 100% unsorted municipal solid waste, including mixed plastics, paper, cardboard, and organics, and is suitable to substitute conventional polymers in various durable applications. The fi rst phase of the PepsiCo project includes the manufacturing of 830 ecological pallets for use in two of the company’s logistics centres. In addition to UBQ, the pallets are made from recycled materials that include recycled PP resin and recycled BOPP (a plastic fi lm used in the company’s snack packaging), which completes the circular economy cycle. “This innovation is very exciting for PepsiCo because it helps us on our journey through materials that replace virgin plastic while at the same time working on CO2 reduction. In addition, this is a diff erentiated material because it represents an alternative to the chain as a whole, especially with regard to collection, sorting, transportation and fi nal disposal in landfi lls. Now we will go further, scale this solution in Brazil, Latin America and why not in other parts of the world,” said Raphael Cyjon, senior director of operations at PepsiCo LatAm. So what about Coca-Cola? The company’s sustainability strategy is split into three core pillars: design: all of its primary consumer packaging to be recyclable by 2025, and using 50% recycled material in its packaging by 2030; collect: collect and recycle a bottle or can for every one the group sells by 2030; and partner: “bring people together to support a healthy, debris-free environment.”. Well, the fi rm has now added to this strategy a brand new pledge, which made headlines around the world: by 2030, the company aims to have at least 25% of all beverages globally across its portfolio of brands sold in refi llable/returnable bottles (including plastic bottles), or in refi llable containers through traditional fountain or Coca-Cola Freestyle dispensers. According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF), cited in its Reuse: Rethinking Packaging report, converting 20% of global plastic packaging into reuse models is a $10 billion business opportunity that benefi ts customers and represents a crucial element in the quest to eliminate plastic waste and pollution. “Reusable packaging is among the most eff ective ways to reduce waste, use fewer resources and lower our carbon footprint in support of a circular economy,” said Ben Jordan, senior director, packaging and climate, of The Coca-Cola Company. “We will continue to highlight markets that are leading the way with reusable packaging best practices, and to support other markets as they increase their use of reusable packaging,” Jordan said, adding that each market will approach the goal in a diff erent way.

INDUSTRY | NEWS

Plastics Europe welcomes Global Agreement on Plastics

Healthcare sector highlighted in 2022 student plastics design competition

Plastics Europe has pledged its support for the development of a global agreement to address the challenge of plastic waste, and welcomes the resolution agreed during the fifth session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-5) in Nairobi.

The resolution calls for a legally binding instrument with binding and voluntary provisions that will be defined by the INC (International Negotiating Committee).

The fostering of the sustainable production and consumption of plastics across their full lifecycle is prevalent within the resolution, which will require a full lifecycle approach and transform both upstream and downstream measures from product design to waste management.

Virginia Janssens, managing director, Plastics Europe, said: “The European plastics industry is in full action mode – leading the transition to a circular economy and the creation of a future of zero plastic pollution.”

Describing the Nairobi resolution, Janssens illustrated the importance of the supportive measures that can be undertaken by policy makers. These will be tailored to meet the specific needs of Europe’s plastics industry and value chain, which will become the dynamo for the “active collaboration” and dialogue necessary to make the transition.

The industry stakeholders involved in the negotiations concurred that there is no ‘silver bullet’ approach to tackling plastic pollution, and that governments must act with the flexibility – based on local circumstances – needed to enable the most appropriate policies.

Markus Steilemann, Plastics Europe President, added: “The UNEA resolution represents a major step towards the creation of a waste free future which is critical to achieving our collective climate ambitions.”

Janssens illustrated the importance of the supportive measures that can be undertaken by policy makers.

Plastic products perform a vital role in today’s healthcare sector, with their practical uses combining with hygienic properties enabling medical personnel to carry out essential and life-saving tasks.

This topical theme has been turned into a competition brief by the annual Design Innovation in Plastics award, which is contested by university undergraduates all over the UK and Ireland. The 2022 award has challenged them to come up with an innovative, multi-use product for use in any part of the healthcare sector, whether at home, in a hospital or another clinical setting.

Students must submit their projects by the end of March, when its panel of industry judges will examine the entries and choose their finalists. Final judging is in May and the award ceremony in early July.

Chairman of DIP, Martin Sixsmith, explained: “This competition

Benvic Dugdale appoints new sales manager, Daniel Hollingsworth

Benvic Dugdale has appointed Daniel Hollingsworth as sales manager for the company. Daniel will primarily be responsible for Benvic Dugdale sales in Southern England as well as for certain speciality products such HFFR (Halogen Free Flame Retardants). Daniel was previously an account manager for Ineos Compounds Aycliff e Ltd and, prior to that position, began his career in polymer compounding with AEI Compounds. Daniel attained a BSc (Hons) Bioscience degree from Canterbury Christ Church University in 2013 and since that time has worked in all time has worked in all aspects of polymer aspects of polymer compounding, including compounding, including production and process production and process technology and technology and sales, marketing and sales, marketing and commercial matters. commercial matters. Post-University, Post-University, Daniel’s beginnings in HFFR technology have equipped occasional spin to blow the cobwebs away.

him well for the newly expanded Benvic Dugdale materials portfolio, which now includes biopolymers, medical grades and polyolefi n-based compounds, as well as the core foundation in PVC – now marketed as ProVinyl. His duties at Benvic Dugdale will include maintaining and growing customer relations, while also developing long-term sales strategies and new business opportunities. In his spare time Daniel is a family man with young children. His interests include DIY and taking his Harley Davidson on the occasional spin to blow the cobwebs away.

plays an important role encouraging students to recognise that plastics are a key design material of the 21st century. It encourages best practice, and students must satisfy other key criteria such as such as sustainability and recyclability. “Many of the universities which regularly take part have incorporated Design Innovation in Plastics into their coursework, and such is the standard that some of our winners have gone on to win further awards or take their products to market.” Design Innovation in Plastics (DIP) is the longest running plastics competition of its kind in Europe, having been established in 1985. It is supported by the Institute Of Materials Minerals and Mining, the Worshipful Company of Horners, and sponsored by leading design and plastics organisations, including Covestro.

Many universities have incorporated DIP into their coursework.

COMMENT The word from Hird

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RICHARD HIRD, CHAIRMAN OF THE POLYMER MACHINERY MANUFACTURERS AND DISTRIBUTORS ASSOCIATION (PMMDA), REPORTS POSITIVE FINDINGS FROM THE GROUP’S ANNUAL STATISTICS SURVEY – THINGS ARE LOOKING UP FOR UK PLASTICS MANUFACTURING.

February welcomed the completion of our annual Statistics Survey here at PMMDA, where we use confi dential contributions from our members to look at machinery sales fi gures and trends from year to year. For the fi rst time in two years, we were able to sit around a table and hold a ‘live’ meeting which generated a really useful discussion on our fi ndings.

Our fi gures showed that the number of injection moulding machines delivered and installed in 2021 was up by about 30% in the UK, attributed to a growth in sales of smaller and medium size machines – all of which is indicative of a signifi cant bounce back to normality, although this general trend does not seem to be refl ected in the Irish market.

The number of robot sales continues to grow at a steady rate, with the use of industrial robots being used to automate existing production cells and the majority of cartesian robots being supplied with new machines.

The ancillary sector had a similar growth - supporting new machine sales and the continued growth in recycling, sparked by the government introducing a tax on plastic packaging from April 2022.

All in all, things are looking positive. It was noted that there seems to be an increase in production in the UK, with the rise in shipping/transport costs over the last two years and supply chain issues leading to much more manufacturing here. This can only be a good thing – reshoring in action.

The number of robot sales continues to grow at a steady rate, with the use of industrial robots being used to automate existing production cells.

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