Food For Thought – Again And Again And Again

And while most of us are too young to remember the time before plastics packaging, many can recall an age when the material was not the ubiquitous pack format that it is today.

They say familiarity breeds contempt and it is true that plastic packaging in recent years has come in for more than its fair share of criticism – much of it fuelled by inaccuracy and misunderstanding related to the material’s environmental considerations.  As one industry commentator wryly observed, if plastics has been invented today, they would be hailed as a saviour of our planet rather than frequently being accused of being a drain on the world’s resources.

Indeed, it is hard to imagine what the retail food sector would be like without plastic packaging.  In terms of light weight, easy handling, functionality and consumer convenience the material has few equals.  For brand owners, they have provided the design flexibility to create product differentiation and on-shelf appeal.

And for manufacturers, plastics have been invaluable both in helping to grow market sectors and to launch new products.  The list of achievements for just one material – polypropylene – is highly impressive.

The growth in margarines and spreads has been met by a variety of tub designs; there have been pots and tubs for dips, salads and all types of snacking on the move; sauce dispensing has been transformed by the arrival of high barrier squeezy bottles; and more recently a new breed of coffee capsules are enjoying huge popularity.

Barrier technology in particular has opened up a whole new market for extended ambient shelf life products such as ready meals, sauces, soups, fruit desserts, nuts, vegetable spreads, dairy products and pickles.  What’s more, plastic technology has the flexibility to offer different manufacturing techniques to meet the needs of different product types.  At RPC, for example, we provide thermoforming for tubs and trays, blow-moulding for bottles and jars, and injection moulding for reclosable pots.

All these benefits translate into environmental advantages as well.  The ongoing lightweighting of containers, for example, not only means easy-handling for the consumer but also saves on raw material usage; lighter packs help reduce the carbon footprint of transportation; and reclosable packs and extended shelf life do much to help reduce food wastage, now widely acknowledged as being a far greater ongoing problem for sustainability than packaging waste.
 
Most important for the majority of consumers, plastics can be recycled.  The only trouble is that with the variety of different plastics available, there can sometimes be confusion as to what can and cannot be recycled.

PET and milk grade polyethylene are widely accepted as being recyclable but there is a danger that other plastics are being ignored.  Polymers such as non-milk polyethylene and polypropylene can also be easily recycled.  Polypropylene is already aptly demonstrating its credentials in this area.  Last year, for example, saw the first-to-market launch of Akzo Nobel’s Dulux Matt and Silk Colours in 2.5 and 5 litre plastic paint cans from RPC Containers Oakham made from one-quarter recycled polypropylene, this development  being recognised by the winning of a Green Apple award.

This is a vitally important message that pack manufacturers, brand owners and retailers need to convey to the end consumer.  The heart of every good pack is that it is fit for purpose.  Consumers need to know that not only are they getting the most appropriate type of pack for a product – and one that meets all their requirements for convenience, practicality and good looks – but that it has a useful afterlife as well. 

RPC has therefore started to work with one of the UK’s leading polymer recyclers, Regain, to raise awareness of PP’s recycling capabilities among manufacturers and end users.

And if we can create greater awareness and significantly increase recycling rates, as well as being a very positive environmental development, it will also give a major boost to industry’s attempts to meet the UK Government’s huge increases in recycling targets.

Plastics packaging and food go together like fish and chips, or bread and jam.  Plastics offer the perfect combination of aesthetics, functionality, convenience and protection…and the fact that they are also in demand for second life applications is the icing on the cake!

Ends

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Tel: +44 (0) 1536 272945
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www.rpc-bebo.co.uk

EDITORIAL ENQUIRIES:   
Bob Bushby / John Atkin     
Nielsen McAllister Public Relations Limited   
Tel: +44 (0) 1332 293939   
Fax: +44 (0) 1332 382202   
E-Mail: [email protected]