Sustainability
Record fine for Red Bull
Red Bull UK has been ordered to pay a record £271,800 for failing to recycle packaging waste over a period of eight years. The energy drinks company was in court in London this week after admitting 16 charges related to packaging waste offences for each of the years from 1999 to 2006. These included failing […]
Chemical fears lead to cartoned water launch
Safety fears over controversial chemical bisphenol A (BPA) and environmental concerns have prompted one US beverage company to start selling water in cartons. O.N.E World Enterprises has announced the launch of O.N.E Water in a BPA-free Tetra Pak carton as a ‘sustainable alternative to plastic bottled water’. “With concern growing about the health risks of […]
Carrier bag usage down 50%
Leading supermarkets and their customers have effectively halved the number of carrier bags being used, according to new figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC). Having achieved a cut in bag numbers of 26 per cent by the end of 2008 – compared with 2006 figures – shoppers have increased this figure to an amazing […]
Recycling first for Rachel’s
Organic dairy brand Rachel’s says it is the first ever yogurt producer to use recycled plastic in its yogurt pots. Until recently, the plastic inner pot was made of polystyrene but it is now made of 60 per cent recycled PET, known as r-PET. “Using recycled plastic saves energy and so reduces the carbon footprint […]
Food and drink producers ‘pouring cash down the drain’
Poor water efficiency means food and drink producers in the UK could be pouring up to ₤160,000 a day down the drain, according to a new survey from sustainable business body Envirowise. The research found that companies are losing out on combined annual cost savings of more than £58 million. Nearly two-thirds of companies surveyed […]
Polish food and drink sales set to soar
Food and drink sales in Poland are forecast to buck the country’s economic slowdown, and jump by almost 17% by 2013, says new research from industry analysts Business Monitor International (BMI). It says the value of food and beverage sales is set to reach $3.9bn in 2013, up 16.8% on 2008 figures. It adds that […]
Versatile’ replacement for rigid PVC packaging
Spartech Corporation has responded to an increasing demand for environmentally friendly, sustainable packaging with the launch of EnviroSeal – a collection of sealable, polyester products designed to replace clear, rigid PVC packaging. “Sustainability, high performance and versatility were key drivers in designing this family of products, explains Jonathan Cage, director of packaging development at Spartech.“The […]
New sanitiser to boost food hygiene standards
A new water-based surface and utensil sanitiser offers UK food and drink processors an effective, safe, low cost and environmentally friendly means of maintaining hygiene standards, according to its manufacturer Radical. The Radical Water System uses naturally occurring biocides, generated by oxidation, to combat the harmful micro-organisms that can cause salmonella, listeria, e-coli and other […]
Top food supplier declared one of UK’s greenest companies
Muntons, a supplier of malt and malted ingredients to the food industry, has been named one of the country’s ‘greenest’ companies in a new Sunday Times environmental ranking. The Suffolk-based business was placed 41st by judges in the newspaper’s cross-sector Top 60 Best Green Companies awards scheme. The competition recognises companies in all industries that […]
Reusable shopping bags ‘pose food safety risk’
Reusable food shopping bags and packages can contain a high level of bacteria, yeast, mould and coliform counts which pose a significant food safety risk, according to a new study from Sporometrics, an environmental microbiology lab based in Canada. Swab tests of reusable bags last November revealed a bacteria count of 1,800 colony-forming units, while […]
New Coca-Cola bottle made from plant-based plastic
The Coca-Cola Company has unveiled a new plastic bottle made partially from plants. The PlantBottle is fully recyclable, has a lower reliance on a non-renewable resource, and reduces carbon emissions, compared with petroleum-based PET plastic bottles. “It is a significant development in sustainable packaging innovation, says Muhtar Kent, chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company.“It […]
£10m boost for food waste facilities
The recent budget announcement of an additional £10 million funding for the development of reprocessing facilities for food waste has been welcomed by WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme). The funding will, it says, enable new composting and anaerobic digestion facilities to be built – processing over 300,000 additional tonnes of food waste every year. […]
‘Chemical threat persists in food and beverage packaging’
Fourteen of the largest public packaged food and beverage companies still use the controversial chemical bisphenol A (BPA) in their packaging despite studies linking the synthetic sex hormone to developmental problems, heart disease, and diabetes, according to the authors of Seeking Safer Packaging, a new report by investors Green Century Capital Management and As You […]
ENVIRONMENT: UK supermarkets say yes to new logo
Top UK supermarkets have signed up to a new recycling logo for consumer packaging, aiming to show how much of it can be recycled and where. Operated by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) under a company called On-pack recycling label (OPRL), the scheme is designed to replace the current array of symbols that it claims […]