The family-owned business in Wheeler St has big plans to expand that would see three granulators creating an "end-of-life pathway" for the fruit and vegetable plastic trays it produces.

The five-year plan involves a six-stage project that will cost more than $10 million.

To help the business along the way, it has received a $50,000 grant from the Victorian Government's Investment Support Grants – Packaging (ISG-P) program for the project's first stage.

Production manager David Davkovski said the final product would see SCS Plastics producing 100 per cent recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic in Shepparton.

“We will be granulating our own webbing and turning that into little micro granules, which then can be washed and pelletized,” he said.

“Then, through that process what ends up happening is we can mix that back in with some standard PET resin, along with some other polymers and then we can effectively make our own material.

“We're aligning with a circular economy which is the 2025 packaging targets.

“At the moment, we are converting 35 per cent recycled PET into the Australian market.”

Mr Davkovski said SCS Plastics recently launched with Costco Australia 100 per cent recycled PET.

He said it was a long process but it was about continuing the family business that was established in 1985.

“Our aim for the environment is to take what the consumer puts in the bin — a tray, one of our meat trays, if you like — we want to take that tray and put it back into its own stream,” Mr Davkovski said.

“If the tray can't be put into its own stream, even with what we're doing, we can still sell it to local manufacturers who make T-shirts or even park benches, so ... we're trying to bring it all together to make 100 per cent recycled PET.”

Member for Northern Victoria Mark Gepp said the final investment would help the Shepparton community and help create new jobs.

“SCS Plastics are leading the way in innovation, giving new life to our waste and reducing the impact of disposable packaging on our environment.”

Recently, we debuted a line of tethered caps—fitments that are more likely to be recycled because they stay attached to their packaging. Our tethered caps were the result of years of research, but not all our innovations start within. Sometimes, new ideas come through our longstanding partnerships.

We’ve been working with Materne since 2007. We’re their exclusive packaging supplier and developed a sustainable pouch for their GoGo squeeZ® line of healthy snacks for kids. In January of 2020, they set a goal to shift towards 100% recyclable packaging by 2022. To help meet that goal, Materne asked us to make a custom fitment for GoGo squeeZ pouches.

“About 50% of our fitments are driven by customer requests,” says Tony Bloedt, Director of Global Fitment Development for Scholle IPN. “Materne requested a fitment that would reduce product weight by 30% and comply with new EU regulations.” Given this brief, we developed the Amerigo, a snap-on cap that exceeded the initial request: we were able to cut product weight by 41.8%, remove unnecessary threading that slowed down manufacturing, and create a fitment that’s easy and safe to use for children.

The Journey to Amerigo
The Amerigo initially started as a challenge from Materne, which was an exciting prospect for Bloedt and his team. “It’s very compelling to get requests from our partners because there are not that many companies in our industry bringing new products to market,” he says. “Because we’re a technology company, we don’t always get direct consumer feedback, so not only do these requests help us understand how customers interact with our products, but they tell us the broader needs of consumers.”

Bloedt began working on the Amerigo four years ago, starting with a simple brief: to make a fitment that weighed less than their current fitment and meets EU regulations.

“The way this process works is we take the request from our customer,” he says, “whether it’s for a fitment of a certain shape, or a request to reduce total material weight, or just to make something different. Then, we generate a few design concepts, and we introduce them to the customer.”

Bloedt began by making prototypes of fitments, experimenting with new ways to cut product weight. Prototypes were tested internally through a process called Failure Mode & Effects Analysis (FMEA), which Bloedt likens to “kicking the tires on a new design,” to figure out if a prototype can perform reliably and identify potential flaws.

The process of making a new fitment isn’t linear. It requires constant back-and-forth, and Bloedt regularly solicited feedback from Materne. Eventually, they were able to narrow down potential fitment designs and brought them to consumers for field testing. They collected insights from users, continued testing new prototypes, and landed on a fitment that exceeded expectations.

A New Solution With Unexpected Results
With the Amerigo, we took creative and unexpected approaches to reducing product weight. As they worked on prototypes, Bloedt and his team of engineers created a design that allowed for the removal of the threads by utilizing a smoother, snap-on function.

“Typically this type of fitment has a spout that sticks out where you screw the cap on, and you have to do this during filling,” Bloedt says. “You’d have to rotate the fitment at least 180 degrees. With the new design, the fitment just snaps on. There’s no rotating, and there’s no screwing mechanism required. Not only did they cut down on weight by removing the threading, but that also simplified the assembly process.”
In the end, we were able to create a model that weighed 41.8% less than their existing fitment, surpassing the 30% benchmark that Materne set. Along with making a lighter fitment, the simplified design was ergonomically beneficial for children, who wouldn’t have to turn and screw in the top. By eliminating the threading, the GoGo squeeZ products were easier to consume and more enjoyable for consumers. “Removing the threading gives a much smoother mouthfeel, leading to a better consumer experience,” Bloedt says.

We have already placed 500 million fitments into the market throughout Europe and North America. Over the next year, Materne intends to insert over two billion more of these fitments into the market.

Our new line of tethered caps represents a nexus of sustainable design. The tethered caps are single-piece fitments designed to ensure that there are no loose pieces and engineered to cut down on raw materials. They are compliant with EU legislation, child-safe, provide an improved ergonomic experience, and are up to 50% lighter than traditional pouch fitments.
A New Chapter in Fitment Design
Scholle IPN has always been a global leader in fitment design. Tethered caps are the latest addition to our portfolio of innovative flexible packaging solutions.

“The Scholle IPN LinkCap™ family is a new development category that relates to the global sustainability drive and is a direct response to customer demands for tethered cap solutions,” says Tony Bloedt, head of global fitment development for Scholle IPN. “We took this a step further by creating innovative designs that enable reduction of source material in combination with adding tethered features that reduce ocean waste.”

Caps get lost easily. Losing the top of a bottle not only means that the top won’t get recycled, but could render what’s inside the package unusable or dangerous. Our team of engineers, scientists, and designers wanted to come up with a solution that addressed sustainability on multiple fronts, and came up with three revolutionary designs meant to pair well with any flexible package solution:

Snap-On
Our patented snap-on cap design is easy to use for all ages. These caps consume less energy during manufacturing, assembly, and sealing than traditional caps. “The snap-on cap design simplifies manufacturability of tethered cap solutions,” Bloedt says, “while at the same time improves consumer experience through easy-off cap opening.” Snap-On caps are ideal for single-use pouches intended for direct consumption, like fruit purees for kids.

Flip-Top
The flip-top cap is ideal for one-handed use. Compatible with our HFFS filling machines, the flip-top is a single-piece tether and spout with an integrated tamper evident seal. Flip-top caps are great for products like water, motor oil, and condiments, where consumers can see that the tether has not been tampered with while still being able to easily open and close the top.

Screw-On
Our screw-on caps are lightweight and offer a reduction in source materials to produce. The tethered hinge means that the cap won’t interrupt the flow of product, which is critical for products like motor oil and dish soap.

Going Above and Beyond
We began working on tethered caps as a response to new EU regulations mandating that all caps be attached to plastic bottles by 2024. This mandate aligned with Scholle IPN’s dedication to sustainability, but we didn’t want to add a tether to existing fitments and call it a day.

“Just adding a tether feature to existing caps would comply with that goal, but would require adding plastic,” says Bloedt. “Scholle IPN targeted to create tethered caps that would reduce the total amount of plastic used.”

We answered the EU mandate by designing tethered caps that addressed sustainability concerns in a number of ways:

First, we made sure that the tethered caps were strong to prevent the caps from getting lost and ending up in ecosystems like oceans.
Second, we tested their reliability to make sure they wouldn’t come off during regular use.
Third, we considered existing technologies and applications. We identified ways to reduce source materials while remaining compatible with current formats
To achieve these goals, our team had to think outside the box. “The introduction of tethered caps in combination with snap-on features added to the complexity of the component manufacturing assets,” Bloedt points out. “To overcome these complexities, new materials and manufacturing technologies like conformed cooling had to be applied to achieve the desired results.”

Creative Design and New Technologies
Our dedication to sustainability means we never take the easy way out. The process of developing new tethered caps that were both EU-compliant and reduced our carbon footprint meant months of ideation and testing. “The Scholle IPN fitment engineering team collaborated with customers to create multiple initial designs,” Bloedt shares of the creative process. “Through internal and third party consumer tests, the most favorable designs were identified and used as the basis for the development of the commercial products that will be available in the LinkCap Product Family.”

Through testing came new ideas and unexpected benefits, and our team identified groundbreaking ways we could reduce our energy output. “Lightweighting the fitments through the snap-on feature not only resulted in tremendous source material savings but also brought a real measurable reduction in energy consumption in the manufacturing process from lower cycle times and reduced cooling energy,” Bloedt says as he reflects on surprises he and his team stumbled upon through the design process. By committing to designing a truly sustainable tethered cap, our team was able to come up with new and exciting processes to reduce waste and find solutions that were not immediately evident.

Tethered caps are a triumph of sustainable design. There’s far more to their construction than meets the eye, and we’re happy to share more if you’re interested in incorporating tethered caps into your pouch manufacturing line.
 

“Pep+ is the future of our company – a fundamental transformation of what we do and how we do it to create growth and shared value with sustainability and human capital at the center. It reflects a new business reality, where consumers are becoming more interested in the future of the planet and society,” says Ramon Laguarta, PepsiCo’s chairman and CEO.

“Pep+ will change our brands and how they win in the market,” he continues. “For example, imagine Lay’s will start with a potato grown sustainably on a regenerative field, and then be cooked and delivered from a net-zero and net water-positive supply chain, sold in a bio-compostable bag, with the lowest sodium levels in the market.”

“Now, imagine the scale and impact when applied to all 23 of our billion-dollar brands.”

Positive agriculture
Pep+ drives action and progress across three key pillars, bringing together several goals under a comprehensive framework.

Under the first pillar, “Positive Agriculture,” PepsiCo is working to spread regenerative practices to restore the Earth across land equal to the company’s entire agricultural footprint (approximately seven million acres), while sustainably sourcing key crops and ingredients.

These goals are currently being brought to life in Europe through the company’s use of precision agriculture technology and innovation in fertilizer.

PepsiCo in the UK is trialing technology to convert waste potato peelings from making PepsiCo’s Walkers crisps into low-carbon, nutrient-rich fertilizer. An initial pilot resulted in a 70% reduction in emissions from growing potatoes and so in 2022, PepsiCo will broaden its trials across more European markets.

Circular packaging
Under PepsiCo’s second pillar, “Positive Value Chain,” the company aims to achieve net-zero emissions by 2040, become net water-positive by 2030, and introduce more sustainable packaging into the value chain including a new global goal to cut virgin plastic per serving by 50% across its food & beverage portfolio by 2030.

In line with this pillar, the company has introduced a new global workforce volunteering program, One Smile at a Time, to “encourage, support and empower” each of its 291,000 employees to make positive impacts in their local communities.

A critical focus of driving a positive value chain has been on building a circular economy for packaging in Europe. Denmark and Finland recently announced they will join another nine Europe markets to switch to 100% recycled plastic bottles for brand Pepsi by 2022. 

This follows a similar move for other brands last year, including Lipton Iced Tea and is backed by the company’s support for Deposit Return Schemes in many European markets, to enable over 90% collection of beverage packaging.

PepsiCo is also continuing to drive toward a circular economy for flexible packaging through a series of collaborations and investments. This includes PepsiCo’s participation in various sorting and recycling technologies, including the next phase of the Holy Grail digital watermarks initiative, with trials taking place on PepsiCo’s food packaging in France and Germany in 2022.

The company also continues to invest in flexible packaging recycling infrastructure through Extended Producer Responsibility schemes in different markets, as well as direct investment in schemes like the Flexible Packaging Fund in the UK.

Reducing sugar and sodium
Under its third pillar, “Positive Choices,” PepsiCo is evolving its portfolio of F&B products so that they incorporate more diverse ingredients in both new and existing food products, which are more sustainable and nutritious – prioritizing chickpeas, plant-based proteins and whole grains.

The company is expanding its position in the nuts & seeds category, where PepsiCo holds leadership positions in Mexico, China and several Western European markets.

PepsiCo is also accelerating its reduction of added sugars and sodium through the use of science-based targets across its portfolio and cooking its food offerings with healthier oils.

In its beverage portfolio, PepsiCo Europe is reducing the average level of added sugars by 50% and to build a US$1 billion portfolio of foods rated Nutri-Score B or better by 2030.

The F&B giant is also looking to scale new beverage business models that require little or no single-use packaging, including its global SodaStream business. SodaStream is bringing PepsiCo flavor options like Pepsi Zero Sugar, Lipton and bubly to 23 markets. Its new SodaStream Professional platform will expand into functional beverages and reach more than ten additional markets by the end of 2022.

In other moves relevant to this third pillar, the company also recently announced its participation in the front-of-pack environmental scoring project led by Foundation Earth. The project is aimed at assessing the ability of different labeling schemes to promote more sustainable buying choices for consumers, as well as driving environmental progress for food producers.

“This is a major transformation for our business. It is the right thing for our planet and for people as we evolve our portfolio and provide positive choices for consumers. This requires long-term investment, new ways of engaging across our value chain and a culture shift to do things differently,” says Silviu Popovici, PepsiCo Europe’s CEO.

“However, making these changes alone won’t be enough. We need to collaborate with governments and other stakeholders to help us go faster and ensure we have the right infrastructure and eco-systems to succeed as we reimagine the way food is grown, made and enjoyed.”

Australian made Cadbury Dairy Milk Blocks will be among the first food products in the world to be available and wrapped in recycled soft plastic packaging, the confectionary brand has announced.

Announcing the news today, Cadbury’s owner US firm Mondelez International said it had sourced the equivalent of 30 per cent of the plastic needed to wrap the brand’s famous blocks from recycled sources.

“Not only is this a world first for Cadbury, but Cadbury in Australia will be among the first anywhere in the world to buy recycled content soft plastic packaging,” Mondelez International president for Australia, New Zealand and Japan, Darren O’Brien, said in a statement.

“While we’ve accessed the very latest technology from overseas to source this recycled material, we know that demand for circular packaging will continue to grow and we’d love to see recycling technology built in Australia to meet local demand.”

The volume of recycled plastic being used for the new packaging is enough for 50 million family blocks – which, laid end-to-end – would equate to distance from the Cadbury factory in Hobart, Tasmania to Mumbai in India.

While soft plastic packaging has long been considered a single use material, accessing the latest recycling technology means fans of the chocolate (aka, all of us) can look forward to playing a role in the circular economy.

“Today’s announcement is another step towards establishing a truly circular economy, one where all plastics are fully recycled which is good news for our environment and our economy, as well as for all Australians who want to eat Cadbury chocolate sustainably,” Assistant minister for waste reduction and environmental management, Trevor Evans welcomed the move.

“This announcement gives the sector further confidence that their investments in domestic advanced recycling facilities can solve sustainability challenges and grow jobs in an exciting emerging industry.”

The recycled content plastic material will be used for the Cadbury Dairy Milk family blocks range first, made at the brand’s Hobart factory.

Mondelez International said it was “just the first step” to use recycled soft plastics as a circular material, with the company determined to increase the amount of recycled material in its packaging.

The first blocks made with the recycled soft plastic in their packaging will hit supermarket shelves in September 2022.

These bottles will be made from 50% post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic and will use 100% biodegradable actives in their formulation.

This move came after HUL saw a rise in the plastic footprint of its brand Surf Excel Matic Liquid, which was launched in 2016.

As part of the initiative, HUL has partnered with Banyan Nation to reduce the net plastic generated and create bottles that are less dependent on virgin plastic.

As part of the initiative, HUL has partnered with Banyan Nation to reduce the net plastic generated and create bottles that are less dependent on virgin plastic.

The brand has stated that it will cross an annual consumption of 900 tonnes of recycled plastic by the end of this year.

In addition to this, HUL has also set up a refill machine at a store in Mumbai to showcase its commitment to no-plastic innovations.

Prabha Narasimhan, executive director and vice president, home care, Hindustan Unilever, said, “Every decision we make is evaluated, not just on its benefit to the consumers but also on its impact on the environment, now and in the long term, to ensure what is best for the consumer is also good for the larger world we inhabit. Why should the consumer be forced to make a choice between the two?”

Sanjiv Mehta, chairman and MD, Hindustan Unilever, said, “All innovations have a scorecard on various parameters and its positive impact on our clean future agenda is a key criterion to meet for it to move ahead in the organisation’s innovation funnel. If we don’t set higher standards for ourselves, we will not be able to meet the needs of future generations. We take great pride in innovating to meet the consumers’ needs, some of these aren’t critical for the present but are key for the future. This innovation is yet another step in that direction.”

Mani Kishore Vajipeyajula, CEO and co-founder of Banyan Nation, added, “Banyan Nation’s mission is to ensure that the use of safe and high-quality recycled plastic becomes the norm in mainstream consumer products and packaging. HUL’s alignment with our mission and unwavering commitment to sustainability has resulted in over 100 million bottles being made from Banyan Nation’s recycled granules and made available to consumers across India.”