Weekly Roundup: Henkel unveils plastic-saving palletizing adhesive, KHS and Eckes-Granini produce 100% rPET juice bottles

11 Jun 2021 --- In packaging news this week, Henkel Adhesive Technologies unveiled a palletizing adhesive packaging format that cuts or fully dispenses with the need for film and pallet stretch wrap. The plastics circular economy sparked into action, with KHS, BelOrta and Waddington Europe announcing new recycled PET (rPET) solutions. SIG launched an upgraded version of its CFA 724 filling machine, making it possible to fill two carton formats on one fast and highly flexible line.

In brief: Plastic reduction
Henkel Adhesive Technologies developed a new palletizing adhesive packaging format called Technomelt Supra 7220 PS Easyflow. The format cuts plastic waste and reduces reliance on single-use plastic wrap and packaging materials when transporting goods on pallets. Palletizing is an essential part of modern supply chains, until now requiring large quantities of plastic films, intermediate layers and anti-slip mats to stabilize and secure stacked goods, the company says. Its new hot melt adhesive significantly cuts or fully dispenses with the need for film and pallet stretch wrap.

In brief: rPET solutions
KHS and Eckes-Granini unveiled 100 percent rPET juice bottles. According to Eckes-Granini, swapping the one-liter hohes C bottle to rPET will save over 4,000 metric tons of virgin PET and cut carbon emissions by around 8,000 tons annually. The new containers will continue to be produced on the tried-and-tested InnoPET FreshSafe block. “Bearing the EU’s Plastic Strategy in mind and the increase in recyclate quotas this prescribes, we’ve now decided to switch to using rPET only. We want to be a pioneer as regards the circular economy,” said Hermann Naumann, plant manager for Eckes-Granini in Bad Fallingbostel in Lower Saxony, Germany.KHS and Eckes-Granini’s 100% rPET juice bottles.

BelOrta launched a 100 percent recycled and recyclable punnet for its Belgian strawberries. The company claims to have saved 450 tons of CO2 emissions annually by replacing virgin PET with rPET. “We contribute to a circular economy with this Tray2Tray concept,” said Jo Lambrecht, BelOrta’s sales and marketing manager. “We’d already been working with rPET as a raw material for four years. It’s recycled from not only water and soft drink bottles but also other PET packaging collected by consumers. Recently, we introduced the New Blue Bag for collecting all plastic packaging waste.”

Waddington Europe, a division of Novolex, joined forces with its longstanding packaging distribution partner Produce Packaging to introduce recyclable fruit containers made with 100 percent rPET. Produce Packaging’s new containers will be made with Waddington Europe’s Eco Blend 100 material, consisting of a combination of post-consumer and post-industrial rPET. The new containers will be available to all Produce Packaging customers, including growers, packers and importers that supply major retail outlets.

In brief: Environmental initiatives
Waitrose pledged to help intercept and reuse more plastic packaging thrown away at high-risk coastal areas before it ends up in the ocean. The supermarket aims to use over 100 tons of prevented ocean plastic across 71 products in support of World Ocean Day (June 8). The move reportedly makes Waitrose the first supermarket in the UK to use ocean-bound plastic in packaging for its own label ready meals.

Stora Enso joined the new WWF platform, Forests Forward. The platform engages businesses and investors to deliver on forest-related sustainability ambitions, such as biodiversity protection and forest restoration. As participants in Forests Forward, companies commit to engaging in sustainable forest management and trade, better silviculture, reforestation and ecosystem restoration, and biodiversity protection and recovery. Forests Forward aims to support companies, investors and communities to improve the management of a targeted 150 million hectares of forest globally by 2030.Berry bpi’s UK wash plant and recycling facility.

In brief: Facility investments
Berry bpi, part of Berry Global, installed what is reportedly the first wash plant and recycling facility in the UK able to recycle both flexible and rigid plastics. The new state-of-the-art operation at Berry’s Heanor, Derbyshire factory will increase the company’s recycling capacity by approximately 1,200 tons per year. Sourcing material from both household and industrial waste and utilizing an advanced purification process, the plant produces high-quality and consistent recyclate that can be used in various industrial and consumer rigid and flexible applications such as storage boxes and collation shrink films.

Smurfit Kappa’s Bag-in-Box division completed a €12 million (US$14.6 million) investment in a new flexible material production facility at its Ibi plant in Spain. The state-of-the-art production facility commenced operations on a phased basis earlier this year and is reportedly one of the most advanced Bag-in-Box manufacturing plants in Europe. The investment has resulted in the addition of an extra 4,300 m2 production area, which will be equipped with high-tech and advanced machinery allowing for more specialization in film manufacturing. The new technology is also estimated to reduce CO2 emissions by up to 21 percent compared to the current flexible materials portfolio.

Ecolean expanded to the German market by opening its first sales office in the country, located in Darmstadt. In recent years, Ecolean has rapidly expanded its global reach, doubling its offices worldwide from seven to 15 locations. “I believe Ecolean has a lot to offer the food industry in Germany,” commented Martin Christ, sales director for Ecolean in Germany. “A unique packaging solution with highly efficient filling lines, performing at the top of food safety standards as well as with world-class sustainability credentials, will almost seamlessly fit into the developments we see going forward in Germany.”SIG’s upgraded CFA 724 filling machine.

In brief: Filling machinery
SIG launched an upgraded version of its CFA 724 filling machine, making it possible to fill two carton formats of the same base dimensions with a capacity of 24,000 packs an hour. The CFA 724 is a format-flexible, high-speed filling machine for small-size aseptic carton packs, reportedly offering the fastest change-over times in the industry. The filling machine combines high speed and high flexibility on one line, meaning food and beverage producers can expand their product range by easily switching between two different carton pack formats – combibloc and now combifit.Neopac’s tamper-evident Nozzle Tube.

In brief: Renewable polyolefins
Greiner Packaging produced its first cup prototypes made of Bornewables – a portfolio of food contact premium polyolefins designed by Borealis for circularity. By using the Bornewables portfolio, Greiner Packaging is for the first time incorporating renewable resources in the production of food cups made of polypropylene with in-mold labeling as the decoration technology. Initial prototypes of the cups are available now. The new premium polyolefins are manufactured using second-generation feedstocks not based on fossil fuels while offering the same performance as virgin materials. Borealis indicates carbon footprint can be reduced by 120 percent by using the Bornewables.

In brief: Tamper-evident tube
Hoffmann Neopac introduced a tamper-evident version of its Nozzle Tube solution for topical disinfectant solutions, eye ointments, breams and gels, and certain oral care products. The tubes are available with 1.1 mm orifices and feature a ribbed cap for ease of use. The tube’s tamper-evident closure helps guarantee supply chain integrity for the end-user safety and reassurance. Available in sizes from 13.5-19 mm for volumes from 3-8 ml, the tubes utilize Neopac’s Polyfoil technology, comprising a proprietary blend of materials providing advanced barrier properties for products requiring ample protection against moisture, oxygen and other potentially harmful external factors.

By Joshua Poole