Why am I not surprised that only a quarter of consumers are aware of renewable materials in packaging and even fewer have heard of FSC, research from the carton producers association ACE has found. I wouldn’t say that the benefits have been particularly well marketed to the industry, let alone consumers.

Research carried out among 1,001 shoppers for the Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment (ACE) UK found that just 26% of consumers had heard of renewable materials being used in packaging, while 16% knew of the FSC chain of custody logo.

Although I’m aware that mixed material cartons are now collected at some supermarkets (in the UK), it seems to be ‘patchy’ to say the least. The Tetra pak website provides some useful information, but I for one am not convinced that widespread and adequate infrastructure is in place to process these once collected, what impact processing has on the environment and what real usage there is for the recovered materials afterwards. Tetra Pak state that materials can be “used in furniture, to generate energy or even separated out into pure aluminium and paraffin.” But I wonder how much of that actually happens?

Cartons may well state that “purchasing this FSC certified carton from Tetra Pak supports responsible forest management worldwide”, but there are no statements about the other materials that need to be separated.

So come on FSC, if you’d like to provide us with the relevant information so that we can all make an informed judgement as to the pros & cons, we (in the industry) can help you spread your message.

Chris Penfold

Here you can read the rest of the article: ‘Three shoppers in four ‘unaware of renewable packaging materials’: study‘ Dated 25th January 2009, Via Packaging News website.

Just a quick note to confirm that both Annie and myself have been honoured with the title of Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv) by the Society for the Environment, through our membership of the Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining (IOM3) and because of our life-long commitment to developing sustainable packaging solutions in our day-to-day projects. It’s nice to have it recognised and, by implication, recognition of the fact that packaging actually provides a beneficial (environmental) role in society.

This also sits nicely with our appointment last year as Technical Advisors to WRAP (the UK government-run Waste Resources & Action Programme) in ‘Waste Minimisation – Packaging Product Waste’. I feel that a key component of this has been our understanding of the requirements of present environmental legislation, in particular the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging waste) and Packaging (Essential Requirements) Regulations, which have been key in a number of recent environmental & sustainability assessments

‘Sustainable development’ to me is all about taking a ‘helicopter’ view of any product development to understand:

• environmental impacts throughout the whole supply chain (from raw material extraction, through use & disposal, to reuse and recovery) whilst
• attempting to meet consumer convenience needs,
• BUT minimising the overall environmental impact through intelligent design of pack (primary, secondary & tertiary), using the optimum material specifications & most economical footprint possible.

I believe that key to our CEnv award was our continued application of the principles of sustainable environmental management and development in our work. Over my 30 year career ‘the environment’ has become ever-more prominent on everybody’s agenda, evolving from the early days of the ‘Topfer Decree’ to the more recent ‘Plan A’. We have endeavoured throughout to apply the principles of sustainable environmental management and development in all of our work as ‘environmental packaging champions’:

• Acting as an internal consultants for marketers & other business stakeholders – advising on ‘fitness for purpose’ and ‘environmental best-practice’.
• Highlighting issues with existing packaging to our work colleagues
• Applying ‘sustainable principles in the hundreds of packaging developments on which We’ve worked

Moving forwards, I pledge that Design Cognition will continue applying the principles of sustainable development and environmental responsibility in all of our work. As CEO of a company that not only develops packaging but also acts in a consultancy capacity (advising on packaging ‘sustainability’ & ‘the environment’) I carry the mantle with a great deal of pride and self-fulfilment – enjoying making a ‘real difference’ in the world.

• Our initial discussions with clients always encompass sustainable aspects – and that will continue
• One of our ‘values’ (shown on our website) is to be ‘environmentally aware’:
• “bearing in mind our impact on the environment and eco-systems in all that we develop and in our day-to-day business”
• Through this ethos I will encourage all in Design Cognition to ‘live’ our environmental policy as a holistic approach to encompass not only work we do for clients but also in our day-to-day business activities.

We look forward to working with you

Chris

We just received this picture via email and it made us laugh. We thought that you might like it too.  A very novel re-use of packaging to minimise scarce resources. Have a guess from which northern UK country it originated? Chris

Novel re-use for Tennants Lager packaging

I suppose there are pros and cons – is it better to protect the food with more packaging so that it can be stored for longer and there is less food waste – or better to scrap the food and save on the packaging?  I think if they can find a way of making the film from a biodegradable material then this has the potential to be a real step forward.  It would take some selling to the general public though, there appears to be a large number who believe that all packaging is evil, regardless of it’s use or benifit. (Jane)

Health-conscious consumers bananas are a welcome part of a convenience store’s offering. That is, until they turn brown. Which is why Del Monte developed a new plastic wrap for bananas that promises to more than double their shelf life by keeping out air and moisture. 7-Eleven has been trialling the second skin in 27 of its Dallas-area stores. If the trial is successful, the bananas-in-bags could be stocked in the majority of the chain’s 5,787 shops by early 2010.

From the perspective of consumer health that’s a thumbs up, but some have criticized the extra packaging as environmentally unsound. After all, bananas come wrapped in their own protective layer. Del Monte is looking to develop biodegradable packaging, but also stresses that the new plastic wrapper reduces the overall carbon footprint by enabling a reduction in deliveries. The company is also introducing specially packaged bananas in vending machines, underlining the wider context of increased consumer demand for food that’s both healthy and convenient. (Related: Vending machines for healthy food — Vending machines for farm produce.)

via New packaging prolongs shelf life of bananas – Springwise.

That’s another of the ‘big boys’ out.  I really hope that it might prompt a re-think of the BRC scheme.  I believe there is a lot of value to the scheme it’s self, but it needs a bit of fine tuning if it’s to gain credibility with the larger multi-national brands (Jane)

Unilever has told Packaging News that it will not be signing up to the British Retail Consortium’s on-pack recycling logo, following the news that its FMCG rival Procter & Gamble ruled out joining the scheme.

via Unilever joins P&G in rejecting BRC logo scheme | packagingnews.co.uk.

I fully understand P&Gs reluctance to update their mainly multilingual packs with a set of UK specific logos when they legally don’t have to - maybe this is showing one of the flaws of the BRCs scheme.  They are the British Retail Consortium and this scheme (understandably) is focused solely on the British market.  With the economic climate as it is, many multinationals will be or should be looking at ways to cut costs and multilingual packs can certainly help this cause – but the BRCs logos don’t help with creating multilingual packs.  If it was simply a case of saying what the packaging material was and whether it was possible to recycle it then I believe it wouldn’t be too much of an issue.  I believe the problem arises when you have to state whether the material IS widely recycled by the local councils or not, that statement limits it’s area of use significantly and also discourages even UK residents from looking for ways to recycle the more odd ball material.  I also don’t believe it encourages the local councils to increase the range of materials they recycle – after all if the BRC states that a material isn’t widely recycled why should they bother? (Jane)

Procter & Gamble has ruled out signing up to the British Retail Consortiums on-pack recycling logo after the BRC revealed it was currently being introduced to about 50,000 product lines.

via P&G rules out BRC recycling logo after 50 brands sign up | packagingnews.co.uk.

The Dow Chemical Co., along with coating and laminating equipment manufacturer Nordmeccanica Group, will reveal trial results in new, sustainable flexible packaging at the CPP EXPO in Las Vegas, Oct. 5-7.

Nancy Smith, commercial development manager for Dow Adhesives and Functional Polymers, and Giancarlo Caimmi, vice president of equipment supplier Nordmeccanica, will present samples and data from the groundbreaking sustainable packaging lamination demonstration trial conducted jointly on Earth Day 2009.

via Sustainable flex-pack lamination data to be presented at CPP EXPO – 2009-09-29 14:17:15 MDT | Converting Magazine.

By Mike Stones, 08-Sep-2009  www.foodproductiondaily.com

Lower food prices and less waste thanks to low-cost, smart sensors using Radio Frequency ID RFID technology could result from pioneering work at the University of Manchester, UK.

Scientists and engineers at The Syngenta Sensors University Innovation Centre SSUIC are developing technology that will allow more scientific ‘best before’ dates to be set by food producers and retailers.

via Smart RFID sensors promise cheaper food and less waste.

from Simeon Goldstein, packagingnews.co.uk, 11 August 2009

THINGS ARE HOTTING-UP ON THE LEGAL FRONT! Under the Producer Responsibility Requirements (Packaging Waste) Regulations, firms that handle more than 50 tonnes of packaging a year and generate a turnover bigger than £2m are required to register with the EA or compliance scheme.

Many companies have ignored this legislation and clearly ‘flouted the law’. Following recent prosecutions (see our other reports in our ‘legal section‘ ), a West Sussex jewellery importer is now the latest firm to be prosecuted under these regulations after it was fined more than £6,200 last week. Burgess Hill-based Icon Live imports and sells jewellery and pleaded guilty to not recovering and recycling packaging waste in 2006 and 2007.

Read the whole article at: Jewellery firm fined £6,000 under packaging waste rules | packagingnews.co.uk.

Chloe Smith, thegrocer.co.uk 31/07/2009

Asda will challenge big-name brands to follow its lead by slashing packaging by up to a third this autumn.

Following a drive to cut own-label packaging by 25%, which resulted in a saving of £10m, chief merchandising officer Darren Blackhurst said he would be asking brand owners to follow suit at Asda’s supplier conference later this year.

via Asda cuts packaging and challenges suppliers to follow suit | thegrocer.co.uk.