Sustainable Packaging: Page 543

Sustainable Packaging

Ongoing 'garage sales' for materials

Do you know someone who can use 23ꯠ high-density polyethylene trays? That was the question posed to me recently by John Majercak, 413/586-7350, of the Massachusetts Materials Exchange.

December 31, 2003

Converting equipment

Beer in PET gains popularity in Europe

Watch for a lot more beer in PET in Europe. Martens Brewery in Belgium is gearing up with 500-mL PET bottles blown in-house on Sidel equipment and coated with a thin barrier layer of hydrogen-rich amorphous carbon on the inside of the bottle.

December 31, 2003

Flexibles

Food container sales increase projected

According to Freedonia’s study Food Containers: Rigid & Flexible, food container demand in the United States is projected to increase nearly 3% annually to $18.7 billion in 2007.

December 31, 2003

Household/Automotive

Plastics lab opens at RIT

The Integrated Plastics Center, a 1걄 sq’ center with $800ꯠ worth of new equipment, has opened at Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY.

December 31, 2003

Sustainability

Sustainable packaging coalition forms

In November, a group of two dozen packaging professionals from companies such as Coca-Cola, Estée Lauder/Aveda, Masterfoods, Nike, PepsiCo, Starbucks, and Unilever agreed to form the Sustainable Packaging Coalition.

December 31, 2003

Protective/transport packaging

Void-fill to order

Dart Warehouse’s giant fulfillment operation uses a wide variety of void fillers to match what its customers want.

December 31, 2003

Sustainable Packaging

Pipeline: Same plan, different cultures?

I always enjoy reading reports from the Australian Institute of Packaging meetings, prepared by Michael Halley. Among other topics, these reports help me keep up to date on the kinds of packaging issues faced there.

December 31, 2003

Blisters/clamshells/thermoforming materials

Cool pack for a hot product

Ultra Blue’s new handheld propane torch uses a patented container and valve to safely deliver the gas to do-it-yourselfers.

December 31, 2003

Home

Ontario packaging fees seen likely to resurface

With a new government in Ontario, it’s too early to get a firm reading on the future of Bill 90, the Waste Diversion Act, that would trigger packaging fees.

November 30, 2003

Flexibles

Twist-tie wrap is PLA

With the August launch of College Farm organic hard candies in East Coast markets, JoEl Inc. of Elizabethtown, NJ, is the first North American candy company to offer confectionery wrapped in NatureWorks™ polylactide (PLA) from Cargill Dow.

November 30, 2003

Converting equipment

Henkel cuts fees with new Sil package

The Henkel Group, Düsseldorf, Germany, has cut the costs of packaging fees on its Sil-brand stain-removing laundry powder by using a new package with a moisture-vapor-barrier built into the box.

November 30, 2003

Detergents/cleaners

Color 'caps' new jars for detergent capsules

A striking new PET jar, designed and blow-molded by RPC Containers Blackburn, is now serving up capsules of Persil liquid laundry detergent for Lever Fabergé, Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey, England.

November 30, 2003