Weekly Roundup: ProAmpac facility receives ISCC Plus certification, Smurfit Kappa scores with new football boot pack

02 Sep 2022 --- This week in industry news, ProAmpac received the International Sustainability Carbon Certification Plus (ISCC Plus) certification for a US-based facility. Also, Smurfit Kappa developed an e-commerce packaging solution for RareBoots4u, and Mondi agreed to acquire the Duino mill near Trieste, Italy, from the Burgo Group for €40 million (US$39.9 million). 

In brief: Certifications and grants 
ProAmpac announced that its Rocky Mount, VA, US, facility received the ISCC Plus certification – a global sustainability certification system that supports the tracking of chemically recycled and bio-based polymers through the supply chain. The Rocky Mount facility has extensive film extrusion expertise. Processing conventional product formulas along with chemically recycled and bio-based alternative materials, Rocky Mount provides sustainable optionality for customers. In addition, chemically (or advanced) recycled polymers can further reduce the use of virgin materials and are the only feedstock derived from post-consumer waste with the same purity and quality as virgin plastics available for food packaging. 

PulPac received yet another intention to grant from the European Patent Office, further refining its pioneering cellulose forming technology for competitive fiber-based packaging and single-use products. The new intention to grant comprises a method for producing discrete three-dimensional cellulose products from an air-formed cellulose blank structure in a rotary forming mold system. Dry Molded Fiber is a fiber-forming technology that can replace single-use plastic with sustainable fiber-based alternatives at low cost.

Smurfit Kappa’s new e-commerce packaging solution for RareBoots4u.Sonoco announced that it has become a member of The European Organization for Packaging and the Environment (EUROPEN). Sonoco’s EUROPEN membership comes after it boosted its sustainability credentials and became a member of the Industry Council for Packaging & the Environment in May last year. 

In brief: Pack launches 
Smurfit Kappa developed a new e-commerce packaging solution for RareBoots4u, a supplier of classic football boots to many well-known names in world football, including Karim Benzema and Mason Mount. The new RareBoots4u box is said to create a positive customer experience with its design and lines. It also enhances the company’s sustainability credentials as it uses a reduced amount of material and is recyclable, renewable and biodegradable. 

The Antalis Packaging foam contains 100% recycled content and is therefore exempt from the UK Plastic Packaging Tax.Antalis Packaginglaunched environmentally sustainable foam profiles. The green foam profiles offer the same quality as standard foam profiles, however, because they contain 100% recycled content, they are exempt from the UK Plastic Packaging Tax. Foam profiles are an essential material when packaging delicate or sharp goods. Until now, the challenge has been to find profiles that are sustainable as well as effective. The new range of eco-friendly foam profiles from Antalis Packaging “ticks all the boxes.” The foam, which comes in an ocean green color, is available in a wide range of profiles to provide corner and edge protection for many different applications. The flexible, shock-absorbent profiles mold around delicate edges to protect them from damage caused by knocks and drops. They are also dust- and odor-free to leave no residue on goods. At the end of their use, the foam profiles are fully recyclable.

In brief: Acquisitions
Mondi agreed to acquire the Duino mill near Trieste, Italy, from the Burgo Group for €40 million (US$39.9 million). The mill currently operates one paper machine producing lightweight coated mechanical paper. Mondi plans to convert this paper machine to produce around 420,000 metric tons per annum of high-quality recycled containerboard for an estimated investment of around €200 million (US$199.6 million). With two important export harbors, Duino is well located to supply the company’s corrugated solutions plants in Central Europe and Turkey and to serve the growing local Italian market.

The solution is recyclable in the waste paper cycle and is made from renewable raw materials.In brief: Recycling news 
Rio Tinto invested US$29 million to build a new aluminum recycling facility at its Arvida Plant in Quebec, Canada, to expand its offering of low-carbon aluminum solutions for customers in the automotive, packaging and construction markets. The facility will make Rio Tinto the first primary aluminum producer in North America to incorporate recycled post-consumer aluminum into aluminum alloys. Clean aluminum scrap sourced locally from used vehicles and construction materials will be remelted to produce recycled content used in aluminum billets at the Arvida smelter and other products from Rio Tinto's Quebec facilities. The recycling center is expected to be operational in the second quarter of 2024 and will have an initial capacity of 30,000 metric tons per year. Construction will begin in the coming months, with a remelting furnace equipped with regenerative burners and an automated scrap loading system to be installed in an existing building at the Arvida plant.

In brief: Paper packaging 
Speciality paper manufacturer Mitsubishi HiTec Paper and pouch packaging machines expert SN Maschinenbau joined forces to offer safe and environmentally friendly paper packaging solutions. “We were able to successfully test our barricote grades Liner MG, Liner MGO, BAG WG and BAG WGOM for use as stand-up pouches at SN Maschinenbau,” said Andreas Carstensen, application engineer at Mitsubishi HiTec Paper. “All barrier papers performed equally in the process as established plastic materials. Our papers not only provide barriers against water vapor, grease, oil, oxygen and aroma but also against mineral oil migration. They are also recyclable in the waste paper cycle and are made from renewable raw materials, they are heat-sealable as well as FSC and PEFC certified.”

By Natalie Schwertheim

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