Weekly Roundup: evian launches label-free recycled bottle, Recyda develops international recyclability assessment tool

10 Jul 2020 --- In packaging news this week, Danone mineral water brand evian introduced a 100 percent recycled and recyclable, label-free 400 ml bottle that will launch in France this month. The launch comes after the brand achieved carbon neutrality in April. Also, a startup called Recyda developed a software tool that facilitates recyclability assessments of packaging on an international level for companies worldwide, and Ardagh Group, Glass – North America, created a high-quality glass, 20 percent lighter 1.5 L Bordeaux Stelvin wine bottle for Arterra Wines Canada (Arterra).

In brief: Eco-centric developments
Danone brand evian unveiled a mineral water bottle that is label-free and made from 100 percent recycled PET (rPET), apart from the “evian pink” bottle cap. The new 400 ml bottle is also described as fully recyclable and will launch across France this month and further countries from September 2020. In April, evian announced that it had achieved carbon neutrality through a range of measures, including lightweighting its bottles and continuously increasing the proportion of rPET, up to 100 percent in the case of UK evian bottles from April 2020 and the label-free bottle launch. The brand also invested US$280 million to upgrade its French bottling site, which is now powered entirely by renewable energy, and shifted towards lower carbon logistics, including one of the largest private railway stations in France.

With the support of Schur Flexibles, startup Recyda developed a software tool that helps companies worldwide find their way through the “maze of country-specific material regulations” and provides them with adapted recommendations for the composition of their packaging. Country-specific information on legislation and infrastructure (including collection, sorting and recycling systems) is not always centrally available and is often lacking in clarity. Recyda centralizes this information and makes it available in a tool that facilitates recyclability assessments of packaging on an international level.

Ardagh Group, Glass – North America, a business unit of Ardagh Group, announced that it is supplying Arterra in Canada with a new, lightweight 1.5 L Bordeaux Stelvin wine bottle. The 1.5 L Bordeaux Stelvin wine bottle, designed and manufactured by Ardagh, has an overall weight reduction of 20 percent (5.50 ounces) from its original design. Designed in high-quality glass, the lightweight bottle delivers great shelf appeal in a premium, eco-sustainable package, Ardagh says.Recyda developed a software tool that facilitates recyclability assessments of packaging on an international level.

Sappi committed to set science-based targets through the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), coinciding with World Environment Day and South Africa’s Environment Month on 4 June 2020. The SBTi is a collaboration between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). Sappi comments that this commitment highlights its increased strategic focus on unlocking the power of renewable resources and will align our decarbonization pathway with climate science.

Pact Group welcomed the Australian Federal Government’s announcement of the new Recycling Modernising Fund, launched to progress the development of recycling resource infrastructure in the country. The fund, which was announced by the Minister of the Environment, Susan Ley MP, and Assistant Minister for Waste Reduction and Environmental Management, Trevor Evans MP, will see the Federal Government commit $190 million (US$132 million) in investment to strengthen Australia’s recycling and processing capability and support the local circular economy.

WRAP announced Round 2 of the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) competition to find innovative solutions to plastic waste. An award of £475,000 (US$599,000) will be awarded in Refill Infrastructure grants of between £50,000-£150,000 (US$63,000-US$189,000) for projects that trial new ways to implement refill infrastructure within an existing or new supply chain. Successful projects in Round 2 will have strong commercial potential to reduce the use of single-use primary plastic packaging. Assessors are looking for inventive proposals that will challenge the status quo and change the way retailers and their suppliers operate so that their customers have new options to buy products in refillable containers.Ardagh Group, Glass – North America developed a high-quality glass, 20 percent lighter for Arterra in Canada.

In brief: Business news
Mondi invested in its flexible packaging plants in Aramil and Pereslavl in Russia to provide customers with improved flexibility and a broader portfolio, including environmentally sustainable packaging solutions. Mondi Consumer Flexibles Russia will bolster its rotogravure capacities by adding a new machine in Mondi Pereslavl. The machine will be installed by the first quarter of 2021 and expand Mondi’s printing capacities, improving contingency planning for customer orders. This investment, along with Aramil’s added focus on flexographic printing, will meet demand from major FMCG and other customers while providing shorter lead times for delivery. Pereslavl will also offer flexographic printing for customers alongside their newly increased rotogravure capacity.

SÜDPACK entered a Joint Venture with Kamakshi Flexiprints Pvt., one of the leading producers of printed flexible packaging materials in Ahmedabad, India. Kamakshi Flexiprints was founded in 1994 and serves the food and non-food industry with high quality and innovative flexible packaging solutions. The Joint Venture is also setting up a new facility nearby Ahmedabad to cater to the maturing packaging needs of the Indian markets with a vast range of products into barrier, aesthetics and convenience flexible packaging. The well-designed infrastructure will include state of the art extrusion, printing, coating and lamination capacities and is scheduled for inauguration in summer 2021.

Macfarlane Packaging invested £200,000 (US$252,000) in its UK Innovation Lab to include an LED UV digital flatbed printer which will create fully formed printed samples, printing directly onto a range of packaging materials to enable customers to decide on new packaging solutions on the day and material testing equipment that enables design prototypes to perform a range of compression and crush tests to validate performance to industry standards.

CCL Industries, a world leader in specialty label, security and packaging solutions for global corporations, government institutions, small businesses and consumers, acquired InTouch Label and Packaging Co. (“InTouch”), a specialized short-run digital label converter based near Boston, MA, US. The enterprise value of the transaction, net of cash and debt, is approximately US$10.9 million. Sales for the current year ending December 31, 2020, are expected to be approximately US$9.5 million with an estimated adjusted EBITDA of US$2.7 million.

By Joshua Poole