Sustainability

Sainsbury’s has switched its own-brand mushroom punnets from plastic to cardboard, in a move which will save over 775 tonnes of plastic, equivalent to 52 million pieces of plastic a year.

The swap marks the retailer’s biggest single plastics removal in its history – equivalent to the weight of 43 full London double-decker buses.

The change will be rolled out to all 13 own-brand lines including whole baby button, closed cup, organic and chestnut mushrooms by the end of the month.

True to its name, SimpliCycle provides ease and function by streamlining mechanical recycling. Comprised of low-density thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), the valves float during the recycling sorting process, separating them from the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) stream; from there, they are recycled in the polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE) stream. When assembled into a compatible Aptar closure, SimpliCycle creates a fully recyclable solution for use with PET, PE or PP containers.

The trial, which took place earlier this month, saw Bacardi partnering with premium glass maker Hrastnik1860 to innovate technology for a glass furnace powered with hydrogen as its main energy source. This initiative reduces GHG emissions associated with traditional glass bottle production.

Bacardi used the St-Germain elderflower liqueur bottle design for the trial, maintaining an identical appearance to the bottle produced through traditional methods.

Plastic packaging for fresh fruits and vegetables will be banned from January 1 in France as the country phases out single-use plastic. Fresh food producers say, however, that they aren't ready yet as little alternative has been found to replace plastic packaging.

• Al-Hajri: “Promoting community accountability, minimizing carbon footprint, and firmly establishing recycling and the principles of the green circular economy to enhance the attractiveness and sustainability of Dubai.”
• Neutralizing the emission of 102 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere”

The main objective of this initiative is to reinforce community responsibility in the environmental sector, inspiring both individuals and institutions to make eco-friendly choices.

In September, 19 companies submitted 22 solution proposals to Moelven Wood's packaging challenge - to find a more sustainable packaging for their wooden interior panels.

Out of these, Ahlstrom, Billerud, Boxon, Lignin Industries, and T-Emballage were selected to work on the challenge during MoelvenHackathon. The innovation competition was arranged by the forestry bioeconomy cluster Paper Province and held in Karlstad, Sweden, on December 11 and 12.

Billerud was the winner