Sustainability

Novolex®, a leader in packaging choice, innovation and sustainability, is introducing food packaging containers that are both recyclable and made with a minimum 10% post-consumer recycled (PCR) content.

Manufactured by Novolex brand Waddington® North America (WNA), the new products include various sizes of dessert cups, tamper-evident containers, cake containers and bakery clamshells.

Historically, Heinz sauce bottles used a flexible silicone valve to deliver a consistent portion of sauce per squeeze, but this was -often challenging to recycle. Together with Berry Global Heinz has now switched to a mono-material cap, manufactured in PP. This means it meets requirements for recyclability. 

Firms categorised as ‘large organisations’ are currently required to report their packaging data to Environmental Agency twice per year under EPR reforms, with fees set to begin in October 2025 following the programme’s delay.

A ‘large organisation’ is one that is responsible for over 50 tonnes of packaging per year and that possesses an annual turnover exceeding £2 million.

AeroFlexx, a novel packaging for liquids that combines the best attributes of flexibles and rigids to create a new-to-the-world package form using an “air frame” design, has logged several milestones since 2020. That’s when it snagged a starring role on the world’s packaging scene by earning the Flexible Packaging Association’s Highest Achievement Award judged “as contributing most to the advancement of the industry.”

In a departure from traditional packaging, which involves placing the scoop spoon inside the can of formula, this solution incorporates a plastic spoon securely sealed within the over-lid, with a transparent die-cut lid provided by Chadwicks. The over-lid and scoop are injection-molded by Tekplas, and all the components of the packaging including the aluminum can, over-lid, scoop, and die-cut lid, are fully recyclable.

Peter Goodwin, managing director of co-cre8, and James Capel, the chairman, helped establish the UK's first nationwide paper cup collection and recycling service in 2014.

Says Peter: “Our pioneering service kick-started paper cup recycling in 2014 yet, despite the media furore and consumer outrage over the billions of paper cups that are disposed of each year, still less than 1% of all cups are currently being recycled in the UK after use.