Packaging Innovations Weekly Wrap - Paragon Launches Self Adhesive Label Recycling Facility

UK food packager Paragon Print and Packaging is launching a radical new scheme to recycle self adhesive label waste for any UK business.

Paragon estimates 50,000t of self adhesive label waste is sent to landfills each year in the UK.

Currently, manufacturers using self adhesive labels are left with a siliconised carrier paper after each label application.

The carrier paper accounts for 30 to 40 percent of the total weight of a self adhesive label product, and for an estimated 30,000t of landfill in the UK each year.

Paragon has developed a dedicated facility, based in Lincolnshire, which recycles 60 percent of the group's waste from its eight manufacturing sites.

By utilising Paragon's existing transport infrastructure, the cost and associated carbon footprints for recycling are minimised.

There is a minimal handling charge for recycling, making it generally a more economical option than sending waste to landfill.

The recycling service is available to existing customers, non-customers and label manufacturers who want to reduce their impact on the environment.

PEPSI CUTS PLASTIC USAGE

PepsiCo says it has reduced the plastic used for a 500ml non-carbonated beverage bottle by 20 percent, which it says "will eliminate approximately 20 million pounds of waste from the environment".

There will also be a ten percent reduction in the label size and a five percent reduction in the shrink wrap film used to wrap the multi-packs, Pepsi says.

The new lightweight bottles will be used for Lipton Iced Tea, Tropicana juice drinks, Aquafina FlavorSplash and Aquafina Alive and will be available in 12-packs and 24-packs.

MULTISORB PARTNERS WITH NEUTROPLAST

Active packaging manufacturer Multisorb Technologies has partnered with Neutroplast Indústria de Embalagens Plásticas S A to offer a Multiform Coated Solid Form (CSF) Closure System for high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pharmaceutical bottles.

The system combines Multisorb's Multiform CSF concentrated desiccant with Neutroplast's screw closure.

The Multiform CSF is a compact silica gel desiccant that fits into the Neutroplast's screw closure as part of the container closure system, serving as an active barrier, adsorbing moisture ingress rather than merely blocking it as in static barrier systems.

The system offers twice the desiccant capacity, protecting the drug product from moisture-mediated degradation through the bottle–closure system joint, Multisorb says.

RPCC BECOMES RPA

The Reusable Pallet & Container Coalition (RPCC) has changed its name to the Reusable Packaging Association (RPA) to reflect the organisation's focus on promoting reusable packaging for use throughout the entire supply chain.

The RPA says it is committed to educating the marketplace on the environmental, economic and social value that reusable packaging affords.

It will advance the adoption of reusable packaging by demonstrating supply chain efficiencies, environmental benefits, ergonomic improvements, and cost advantages to end users.

SIGPACK DEVELOPS BURGOPAK MECHANISM

Sigpack Systems, a Bosch Packaging Technology company, has developed an automated packaging line that uses a sliding mechanism for Burgopak.

Burgopak packaging is a folding carton with open ends, based on a wallet format.

The packaging is user-friendly, allowing the consumer to gain access to the product simply by pulling out one side.

The sliding mechanism then causes the product carrier, positioned opposite to it, to extend easily.

Burgopak has hand-assembled over 25 million packages for cell phones, CDs, DVDs, SIM cards and other electronic products as well as OTC drugs and promotional products.

It says the automated system developed by Sigpack will allow it to produce Burgopaks in high quantities for pharmaceutical products while maintaining the required quality.

By Elizabeth Clifford-Marsh