Weekly Roundup: Lyreco and Loop trial reusable hand soap formats, PolyREC recruits initiatives to plastic data project

30 Jul 2021 --- In packaging news this week, Lyreco UK teamed up with TerraCycle’s Loop to trial reusable hand soap and hand sanitizers packaging formats in office spaces. Meanwhile, PolyREC welcomed Polyolefin Circular Economy Platform, Styrenics Circular Solutions and European Manufacturers of Expanded Polystyrene to its recycled plastics data collection project. Also, Huhtamaki unveiled renewable tube laminates with LyondellBasell, Plastuni Lisses and Groupe Rocher.

In brief: Reusable model
Lyreco UK became the first business to partner with TerraCycle’s global reuse platform Loop in a business-to-business proof of concept trial. In this trial, hand soap and hand sanitizers will be sold in bespoke reusable packaging to reduce packaging waste across the supply chain. The service will be trialed across a select group of businesses including Murphy and Legal & General.

In brief: Plastics circular economy
Non-profit association PolyREC announced the value chain initiatives Polyolefin Circular Economy Platform, Styrenics Circular Solutions and European Manufacturers of Expanded Polystyrene joined members Petcore Europe, PlasticsEurope, Plastics Recyclers Europe, and VinylPlus to support the setup of a harmonized, pan-European data collection system for plastics recyclers and converters. The system is designed to record members’ recycling volumes and use of recycled material.

Rieke, part of TriMas Packaging, commercialized its patented MonoTM-2e pump, a recycle-ready dispenser pump. The supplier says the solution is the first fully recyclable, mono-material pump on the market. It is designed for the beauty, personal care and other end markets, including Unilever brand Love Beauty and Planet.Rieke’s recycle-ready dispenser pump.

In brief: Renewable solutions
Huhtamaki revealed next-gen tube laminates with ISCC certified renewable content in partnership with LyondellBasell, Plastuni Lisses and Groupe Rocher. The laminate is primarily suitable for product applications in the cosmetics, personal care, oral care, and food sectors. The solution has more than 40 percent recycled content from renewable-based plastics. Huhtamaki used resins from LyondellBasell’s CirculenRenew polymers, produced with renewable feedstock from bio-based sources from waste and residues, such as used cooking oil, using a mass balance approach. “Our new tube laminates make a real contribution to further enhancing the circularity of flexible packaging while reducing CO2 by replacing fossil with renewables,” said Jens Pilzecker, head of global tube laminates at Huhtamaki Flexible Packaging.

VPF expanded its sustainability product portfolio to include a self-adhesive material made of silphie paper. The paper consists of at least 35 percent silphie fibers and boasts a high-quality appearance and regional character. The manufacturer uses the silphie fibers of the silphie plant to produce silphie paper. The fibers are obtained through a biothermal process without the use of chemicals. Silphie has been cultivated in Germany for several years for energy production and the generation of biogas. The silphie plants used to produce the adhesive paper are grown on regional land in Germany. As a result, transport distances are short and the paper’s CO2 footprint is reduced.

In brief: Acquisitions
Alpla acquired South African packaging manufacturer Verigreen’s lubricants division. Verigreen Packaging has a workforce of 25 employees at its site in Durban. “This acquisition is the perfect fit for our strategy,” commented Mike Resnicek, managing director of Sub-Saharan Africa at Alpla. “It offers us an inroad into a market segment in which we have not been present in southern Africa until now as well as generating synergies for our existing customers and giving us opportunities to further diversify our portfolio.”Toray Graphics’ dry offset printing plate for two-piece beverage can printing.

ProAmpac acquired Euroflex, a family-owned business based in Ireland that produces a broad portfolio of flexible printed film, lamination and pouching packaging solutions. The terms of the transaction were undisclosed. Euroflex is a leading supplier of protein packaging to the meat, cheese and dairy industries in Ireland. The company also serves fast-growing segments, including coffee, pet food and nutrition supplements. ProAmpac indicates Euroflex brings extensive expertise in high-barrier flexible packaging and a track record of R&D innovations for resealable and retortable packaging.

In brief: Beverage can innovation
Toray Graphics, a manufacturer of offset plate technologies, unveiled a breakthrough dry offset printing plate designed to deliver exceptionally photorealistic imagery in two-piece beverage can printing. The newly developed Prixia plate builds on Toray’s extensive expertise and track record in printing plate production using silicon rubber, one of the company’s core technologies for printing materials. Prixia delivers a printing quality of up to 250 lines per inch, compared to a resolution of 75 to 120 lines per inch for common photopolymer plates.

In brief: Energy savings
Berry Global announced the approval of projects that will help it achieve its new milestone goal to eliminate 100 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity from its operations. Berry surpassed its initial target to eliminate 1 million kWh from its operations in 2020 and is leveraging that success to reach its 100 million kWh goal. With an original deadline of September 2021, Berry is ahead of schedule in achieving these project approvals.

By Joshua Poole