Household Names Add Weight to Recycled Plastic Packaging Trials
20 January 2005
A series of commercial trials to assess the use of recycled PET plastic (rPET) in retail packaging is being funded by WRAP. Involving a number of the UK’s leading brands and retailers, it is the first time that rPET will be used in such a large number of high profile, high volume product lines.
Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd, Marks & Spencer and Boots are among the big name companies involved in the far-reaching programme of work. London Remade, in partnership with Closed Loop London, will be leading the Marks & Spencer and Boots projects, adding technical and recycling expertise to the retailers’ experience in packaging.
Robert Pascoe, Managing Director of Closed Loop London, explained: “The trials will be the first of their kind in the UK, addressing consumer and industry perceptions, technical performance and cost implications alongside the actual application of recycled PET in packaging. We firmly believe that by using recycled PET in packaging and creating a strong local demand recovery rates will increase from below 10% as they currently stand to greater than 50% as is achieved in many other countries. The funding provided by WRAP will enable this co-ordinated trial to take place with key industry players on a larger scale than would otherwise have been possible.”
The research should lead to a direct increase in the amount of rPET used in the UK. Currently, PET is used for a significant proportion of plastic bottles and increasingly in other types of packaging. In 2003, 250,000 tonnes of PET was used in the UK, of which around 15,000 tonnes of PET bottles (500 million) were recycled across Britain. Very little of this went back into UK packaging production, however, and the project aims to help close the loop by encouraging steady market demand for the material.
Over 2,000 tonnes of rPET is expected to be used in the initial trials and each partner is planning to continue using the material after the trials have ended, providing the results are positive. The final conclusions will be publicly disseminated and the successful outcomes will be used to promote the wider adoption of rPET in retail packaging.
Two of the three trials involve food and beverage packaging. Adhering strictly to food contact regulations, these are designed to prove the safety and suitability of rPET, which is regularly used in food contact packaging in other countries but only to a very limited extent in the UK.
Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd will trial the use of rPET in a range of bottles for both carbonated and non-carbonated soft drinks. The recycled material will be thoroughly tested for both performance and consumer appeal over a six month period, during which the products will be on national distribution.
"Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd is pleased to be working with WRAP, using our experience of processing recycled PET elsewhere in the World to explore the potential market for recycled packaging material in the UK. The project permits us the opportunity to investigate a range of new materials, establish that they meet our stringent processing and quality standards and provide confidence about the viability of recycling"
Working together with London Remade and Closed Loop London, Marks & Spencer will use rPET in a selection of their food and beverage packaging lines, including juice and smoothie drinks bottles and prepared salad bowls. The trial packaging will be clearly labelled as containing recycled plastic and consumer attitudes and perceptions will be tested using market research as part of the project.
Providing the opportunity to research the use of rPET in a non-food sector, Boots will be trialling the use of the material in bottles used in personal care products. Capitalising on Boots’ in-house development, manufacturing and product evaluation expertise the trials will be carried out to ensure efficient manufacture, product quality and consumer acceptance.
Peter Skelton, WRAP’s Materials Development Manager (Plastic) said: “We are delighted to be working with such well known consumer names. Not only will we benefit from their vast expertise in packaging, but we will have a highly targeted and relevant set of results with which to encourage other retailers and branded manufacturers to use rPET.
“The project will also allow us to work more closely with the high volume suppliers of rPET to help to secure supply and consistent quality and to improve our understanding of the economics of the market.”
Contracts have now been signed with all the partners and the trial packaging will be on shelves during 2005. The project will be completed in March 2006 and the results made publicly available by early Summer 2006.
Robert Pascoe, Managing Director of Closed Loop London, explained: “The trials will be the first of their kind in the UK, addressing consumer and industry perceptions, technical performance and cost implications alongside the actual application of recycled PET in packaging. We firmly believe that by using recycled PET in packaging and creating a strong local demand recovery rates will increase from below 10% as they currently stand to greater than 50% as is achieved in many other countries. The funding provided by WRAP will enable this co-ordinated trial to take place with key industry players on a larger scale than would otherwise have been possible.”
The research should lead to a direct increase in the amount of rPET used in the UK. Currently, PET is used for a significant proportion of plastic bottles and increasingly in other types of packaging. In 2003, 250,000 tonnes of PET was used in the UK, of which around 15,000 tonnes of PET bottles (500 million) were recycled across Britain. Very little of this went back into UK packaging production, however, and the project aims to help close the loop by encouraging steady market demand for the material.
Over 2,000 tonnes of rPET is expected to be used in the initial trials and each partner is planning to continue using the material after the trials have ended, providing the results are positive. The final conclusions will be publicly disseminated and the successful outcomes will be used to promote the wider adoption of rPET in retail packaging.
Two of the three trials involve food and beverage packaging. Adhering strictly to food contact regulations, these are designed to prove the safety and suitability of rPET, which is regularly used in food contact packaging in other countries but only to a very limited extent in the UK.
Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd will trial the use of rPET in a range of bottles for both carbonated and non-carbonated soft drinks. The recycled material will be thoroughly tested for both performance and consumer appeal over a six month period, during which the products will be on national distribution.
"Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd is pleased to be working with WRAP, using our experience of processing recycled PET elsewhere in the World to explore the potential market for recycled packaging material in the UK. The project permits us the opportunity to investigate a range of new materials, establish that they meet our stringent processing and quality standards and provide confidence about the viability of recycling"
Working together with London Remade and Closed Loop London, Marks & Spencer will use rPET in a selection of their food and beverage packaging lines, including juice and smoothie drinks bottles and prepared salad bowls. The trial packaging will be clearly labelled as containing recycled plastic and consumer attitudes and perceptions will be tested using market research as part of the project.
Providing the opportunity to research the use of rPET in a non-food sector, Boots will be trialling the use of the material in bottles used in personal care products. Capitalising on Boots’ in-house development, manufacturing and product evaluation expertise the trials will be carried out to ensure efficient manufacture, product quality and consumer acceptance.
Peter Skelton, WRAP’s Materials Development Manager (Plastic) said: “We are delighted to be working with such well known consumer names. Not only will we benefit from their vast expertise in packaging, but we will have a highly targeted and relevant set of results with which to encourage other retailers and branded manufacturers to use rPET.
“The project will also allow us to work more closely with the high volume suppliers of rPET to help to secure supply and consistent quality and to improve our understanding of the economics of the market.”
Contracts have now been signed with all the partners and the trial packaging will be on shelves during 2005. The project will be completed in March 2006 and the results made publicly available by early Summer 2006.
Editor's notes:
1. WRAP (the Waste & Resources Action Programme) is a major UK programme established to promote resource efficiency. Its particular focus is on creating stable and efficient markets for recycled materials and products and removing the barriers to waste minimisation, re-use and recycling.
2. A not-for-profit company in the private sector, WRAP is backed by substantial Government funding from Defra, DTI and the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
3. WRAP has laid down targets across twelve programmes. Nine are focused on market development, and comprise six material streams (Paper, Plastics, Glass, Wood, Organics and Aggregates) and three generic areas (Business & Finance, Procurement, and Regional Market Development). Three new programmes relate to the wider resource efficiency remit - Collections, Communications and Awareness, and Waste Minimisation.
4. Details of all WRAP’s activities are available at www.wrap.org.uk, including downloadable copies of the 2003-04 Achievements Report and the new Business Plan for 2004-06.
5. The targets in WRAP’s Plastics programme for the period to 2006 are:
• To work with the wider plastics industry to increase the acceptance of recycled plastic throughout the supply chain;
• To deliver an additional 20,000 tonnes of domestic plastic bottle recycling capacity;
• To ensure an additional 11,000 tonnes of non-bottle plastics are recycled as a result of our prioritised activities in R&D commercialisation, retail packaging, standards and specifications, and work with virgin resin producers.
6. London Remade is an innovative recycling programme aimed at increasing markets for recycled products and driving the development of an entrepreneurial recycling supply chain. A unique partnership between the business, community, public and not-for-profit sectors, London Remade uses recycling as a vehicle to drive economic and social regeneration and is principally funded by the London Development Agency to deliver green procurement and business support programmes. www.londonremade.com
7. Closed Loop London Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Australian company , Closed Loop Environmental Solutions (CLES). CLES, which trades in Australia as Visy Closed Loop, was established in October 2001 as a joint venture company with Visy Industries, the world’s largest privately owned paper, packaging and recycling company. The closed loop recycling programmes developed by Visy Closed Loop involve the provision of packaging materials which can be taken back after use, recycled and remanufactured into new end use products.
8. Further information on London Remade is available at www.londonremade.com, and on Closed Loop London and Visy Closed Loop at www.visyclosedloop.com
9. Further information on Coca-Cola is available at www.coca-cola.co.uk
2. A not-for-profit company in the private sector, WRAP is backed by substantial Government funding from Defra, DTI and the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
3. WRAP has laid down targets across twelve programmes. Nine are focused on market development, and comprise six material streams (Paper, Plastics, Glass, Wood, Organics and Aggregates) and three generic areas (Business & Finance, Procurement, and Regional Market Development). Three new programmes relate to the wider resource efficiency remit - Collections, Communications and Awareness, and Waste Minimisation.
4. Details of all WRAP’s activities are available at www.wrap.org.uk, including downloadable copies of the 2003-04 Achievements Report and the new Business Plan for 2004-06.
5. The targets in WRAP’s Plastics programme for the period to 2006 are:
• To work with the wider plastics industry to increase the acceptance of recycled plastic throughout the supply chain;
• To deliver an additional 20,000 tonnes of domestic plastic bottle recycling capacity;
• To ensure an additional 11,000 tonnes of non-bottle plastics are recycled as a result of our prioritised activities in R&D commercialisation, retail packaging, standards and specifications, and work with virgin resin producers.
6. London Remade is an innovative recycling programme aimed at increasing markets for recycled products and driving the development of an entrepreneurial recycling supply chain. A unique partnership between the business, community, public and not-for-profit sectors, London Remade uses recycling as a vehicle to drive economic and social regeneration and is principally funded by the London Development Agency to deliver green procurement and business support programmes. www.londonremade.com
7. Closed Loop London Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Australian company , Closed Loop Environmental Solutions (CLES). CLES, which trades in Australia as Visy Closed Loop, was established in October 2001 as a joint venture company with Visy Industries, the world’s largest privately owned paper, packaging and recycling company. The closed loop recycling programmes developed by Visy Closed Loop involve the provision of packaging materials which can be taken back after use, recycled and remanufactured into new end use products.
8. Further information on London Remade is available at www.londonremade.com, and on Closed Loop London and Visy Closed Loop at www.visyclosedloop.com
9. Further information on Coca-Cola is available at www.coca-cola.co.uk
Press Office
Media Relations Manager
WRAP,
The Old Academy,
21 Horse Fair,
Banbury
OX16 0AH
Tel: 01295 819928
press.office@wrap.org.uk
Media Relations Manager
WRAP,
The Old Academy,
21 Horse Fair,
Banbury
OX16 0AH
Tel: 01295 819928
press.office@wrap.org.uk
Peter Skelton
Materials Development Manager (Plastic)
WRAP,
The Old Academy,
21 Horse Fair,
Banbury
OX16 0AH
Tel: 01295 819 651
peter.skelton@wrap.org.uk
Materials Development Manager (Plastic)
WRAP,
The Old Academy,
21 Horse Fair,
Banbury
OX16 0AH
Tel: 01295 819 651
peter.skelton@wrap.org.uk
