The company aims to create a range of packaging comprising paper and pulp trays along with paper bags ‘which are fully recyclable through domestic waste collection or in-store recycling facilities, and therefore less harmful to the environment’.
According to the chain, ‘the continuing defence of current plastic packaging does not resonate with the consumer and general public opinion’.
The companies - Amcor, Ecover, evian, L’Oréal, Mars, M&S, PepsiCo, The Coca-Cola Company, Unilever, Walmart and Werner & Mertz - are said to represent more than 6 million tonnes of plastic packaging per year.
REPREVE Champions of Sustainability status will be awarded to 25 brand and retail partners that have each used the equivalent of 10 million or more bottles, and 15 textile partners that have each used the equivalent of 50 million or more bottles thanks to the REPREVE fibre.
‘More than 70% of plastic bottles in the United States end up in a landfill,’ comments Kevin Hall, Unifi’s chairman and ceo, who adds that the company is hoping to recycle 30 billion bottles by the year 2022.
C&A wants 100% of the cotton it sources and at least two-thirds of the overall raw materials it uses to be ‘more sustainable’ by 2020.
Its new ‘Wear the Change’ fashion label, which will hit the stores this month, is being hailed as an important step towards this goal. Around half of C&A’s items in stores are part of the ‘Wear the Change’ label.
Successfully tested by Dutch company CeDo Recycling, BarrierPack is said to be ‘designed for recycling’ while being ‘stronger, lighter and stiffer’ than PET and PE laminate, serving pre-made pouches and fill-seal roll stock.
The launch of Nestlé's premium design water bottle made entirely from recycled plastic is intended to inspire a healthier and brighter future that starts with water.
A recycling awareness campaign forms part of the bottle’s launch; its production process is showcased in a video shared on Nestlé's social media channels as well as on its website.
It is hoped this eco-focus will encourage consumers to recycle the bottles they keep at home.
Heralded as ‘a unique one-stop source’, I4R aims to provide a whole range of information and guidance on how to handle e-scrap. The initiative is being headed by DIGITALEUROPE and the European Committee of Domestic Equipment Manufacturers (CECED), together with the WEEE Forum.
I4R will allow recyclers to access information about the presence and location of materials and components that need separate treatment.
The group is focusing on finding the best way to increase the recycling volumes for plastic aerosol products at a time when the household packaging waste stream is becoming ever more complex.
Its main tasks will include writing design guidelines as well as setting up suitable collection, sorting and recycling systems, with the ultimate goal of making plastic aerosol packaging 'fully recyclable'. By 2020, the EU's Aerosol Dispenser Directive will potentially allow plastic aerosols beyond 220 ml.
The Fraunhofer researchers confirm 'the positive environmental impact' of the reconditioning and reuse of IT devices offered by Interseroh compared with buying a new product. In addition to smartphones, the scientists also examined tablets and discovered that the one-off reconditioning of a single tablet saves a total of 58 kg of primary resources and also reduces the emissions of climate-damaging gases by 139 kg.
Together with a Dutch start-up tech company, Inoniqa, Unilever has developed a new recycling method that uses a patented magnetic catalyst to break PET down to molecular level. The remaining liquid is then dried into powder form, and subsequently converted back into plastic that is ‘identical’ to virgin plastic.
Data also reveal that 92% of the aluminium packaging collected for recycling in the UK is recycled within Europe. ‘This demonstrates that there is more than sufficient capacity within the EU to recycle the aluminium packaging recovered for recycling in the UK,’ according to Alupro, the industry-funded, not-for-profit organisation representing the UK aluminium packaging industry and working to fulfill its recycling obligations.
‘The future is ours - if we are smart, if we pull together, if we expand what we are capable of,’ Emans told delegates attending the PRE conference in the Dutch capital Amsterdam last week. Around 4 million tonnes of plastics coming onto the market every year is laminated.
Led by WRAP, the UK Plastics Pact has been developed by 42 major food and drink manufacturers and retailers, as well as 15 other organisations including The Recycling Association.
According to the company, Daisy builds on a previous generation of technology dubbed ‘Liam’, which Apple developed to recycle iPhones and remove components to be reused for other purposes - and not necessarily just for new electronic gadgets.
Daisy can handle nine types of iPhone, according to Apple. ‘We created Daisy to have a smaller footprint and the capability to disassemble multiple models of iPhones with higher variation compared to Liam,’ it explains.
Lundgren became well known in the e-scrap sector after building an electric car from discarded parts, with the vehicle easily outperforming a brand new Tesla based on a single charge. His company IT Asset Partners recycles over 41 million lb (more than 18 000 tonnes) of e-scrap annually, catering to big clients such as IBM, Motorola and Sprint.
