As new measures come into force to reduce plastic waste in the European Union, Coca-Cola is calling for a dramatic improvement in the region’s recycling capacity to help it achieve its ambitious target of using 100% recycled rPET bottles across its total...
Microplastics – minute pieces of plastic measuring less than five millimetres that result from the breakdown of larger plastic items, such as water bottles -- have been found in everything from beer and honey to seafood and bottled water.
Scientists have devised a novel way of tackling the mounting issue of plastic pollution… by using bacteria to transform plastic waste into vanilla flavouring.
Spring water business Berrington Water recently launched Re:Water, a drinks brand that comes in a re-usable bottle made from 100% recycled aluminium and which is itself 100% recyclable. We caught up with Re:Water co-founder and Berrington Water Director...
The use of PEF plastic – which is made entirely from plants, is fully recyclable and which degrades in nature much faster than normal plastics -- has the potential to become the standard in the food and drink industry, claims the company attempting to...
The UK Government is making its ‘biggest ever’ intervention to advance the sustainability of plastic packaging by opening its ‘largest scale’ grants to researchers and innovators across the country.
The food sector – and society more generally – needs to take a joined-up approach to issues around plastics, pollution, food safety and waste, Dow Packaging and Specialty’s Sustainability Director Jeff Wooster tells FoodNavigator. “These issues are interconnected;...
Finnish coffee producer Meira, part of the Massimo Zanetti Beverage Group, has launched Vallilan Paahtimo, a new range that offers ‘a more sustainable cup, inside and out’. In partnership with packaging manufacturer Amcor, the line includes a bio-based...
UK retailer Asda has opened a new ‘sustainability trial store’ that leverages refill stations as part of its plastic reduction strategy. What does this latest move away from single-use packaging mean for branded manufacturers?
Suntory Group has made a series of commitments around plastic use, water conservation and climate impact. Yuko Koshiishi, Senior General Manager of the Corporate Sustainability Division, talks to FoodNavigator about why these are the ‘main sustainability...
Most bioplastics and plant-based materials contain toxic chemicals, with cellulose and starch-based products inducing the strongest in vitro toxicity, scientists discover.
A new ‘super enzyme’ that eats plastic up to six times faster than before may offer food and beverage companies a potential solution to the problem of plastic waste.
A ‘closed-loop’ circular system that allows for the introduction of plastic materials in the recycling cycle, reducing costs and impact on the environment, has been developed by Italy's Aliplast, a Gruppo Hera company and European producer of flexible...
Shoppers have a contradictory relationship with plastic food packaging. On the one hand, we have witnessed a massive public backlash against plastic pollution. On the other, we recognise the need to protect and preserve food and that plastic is, currently,...
Food and beverage brands with ambitious sustainability goals to create more packaging with post-consumer materials face significant challenges, including supply shortages due to limitations of the fractured US recycling system, increased competition for...
Coronavirus has provoked the food packaging debate, with some using the crisis to hammer home the message that plastic is vital for protecting food from germs and extending its shelf life, while others stress that the pandemic highlights the fact that...
Coca-Cola, Nestlé, PepsiCo and Unilever have reiterated their commitments to a creating a circular economy after a report said their plastic waste was contributing to climate change and harming the health of the world’s poorest people.
Is the plastic pollution the responsibility of the food and beverage industry, or the recycling industry? Sustainability experts at Bureau Veritas weigh in.
Big food is turning its innovation engine towards developing sustainable solutions - and plastic packaging is a top priority, representatives from Coca Cola Partners Iberia, McDonald’s, Capsa Food, Damm and Nomen Foods told a conference in Spain.
The Food and Drink Federation has complained that the UK’s newly announced plastic tax will penalise food and beverage producers and called for efforts to instead improve the country’s recycling infrastructure.
Rising public awareness of the problem of plastic pollution can help polymers such as polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) make more headway in the food sector, believes Mark Lapping, CEO of PVOH polymer manufacturer Aquapak.
Nestlé has said it will invest up to CHF2bn (€1.9bn) to ‘lead the shift’ from virgin plastics to food-grade recycled plastics and develop ‘innovative sustainable packaging’.
A cross-party parliamentary group warning that firms are replacing plastic with potentially more harmful alternatives for the environment is 'a wakeup call for companies to redouble their sustainability efforts', says ULMA Packaging.
UK recipe box company Gousto achieved a 50% reduction in plastic use in 2019 – and aims to make all its packaging reusable, recyclable or compostable by the end of 2022. We hear from founder and CEO Timo Boldt about the innovations that are making this...
Public pressure to find solutions to plastic pollution means companies are ‘on the verge’ of swapping to other materials with ‘new, and potentially greater, environmental consequences’, a new report warns.
Little tangible progress has been made in the past year by the UK’s largest supermarkets towards reducing their use of throwaway plastics, says a report which calls for a focus on innovative solutions.
Trends towards health and wellness, plant-based and clean label will continue next year, but the need for food businesses to innovate is greater than ever, says consumer research.
Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have responded to environmental NGO Greenpeace’s recent report ranking them within the top five polluters worldwide by reaffirming sustainability initiatives that cover both plastic reduction and alternative packaging innovation.
In the latest run down of EU news, FoodDrinkEurope is to sign a declaration to tackle plastic waste, the EC publishes its annual food safety report and Austria deals a blow to the landmark Mercosur trade deal.
An increased hard-line toward plastic among the public means food business are struggling to get the message across to customers that plastic plays an important role in preventing food waste.
Sweden-based Carrinet has developed a reusable bag for fruit and veg made from 100% recycled plastic bottles. The start-up says its drawstring offering aims to reduce packaging waste in supermarkets.
Attempts by food retailers to encourage customers away from using plastic packaging won’t tackle the enormity of the plastic pollution problem, warns an academic, who believes “strong intervention is needed to move the food system to another place.”
The EU Council has adopted a total ban on single-use plastics by 2021, farmers are angry as the Mercosur deal inches closer, while environmentalists have warned about a failure to tackle agriculture’s contribution to climate breakdown. FoodNavigator brings...
With shoppers increasingly saying no to single-use plastic and the EU last year approving plans to ban single-use plastics by 2021, food companies are at the forefront of combatting single-use plastics and packaging wastes.
Queensland study will first assess biofuels from biomass before turning to bottles
Researchers in eastern Australia have started work on a three-month pilot plant to prove the economic viability of turning sugarcane waste into other compounds, including plastic drinks bottles.
Nestlé is launching a new variety of Nesquik in Europe. In a move indicative of its global commitments on single-use plastics, Nestlé is rolling Nesquik All Natural out in an innovative new paper packaging material that is plastic-free and fully recyclable.
The high starch content of sweet potato, oca and arracacha makes them suitable for producing biobased foam trays to replace polystyrene, Peruvian researchers have found.
A potential alteration to bee-safety standards, MEPs vote to ban throwaway cutlery, and EFSA says it will share data on an open-access platform. In this bulletin, we round some of the biggest news from Brussels over the past fortnight.
The fast and furious dismissal of straws by food service and consumers in 2018 was only the beginning of the end for single-use plastic packaging, which analysts with Euromonitor International predict will accelerate in 2019.
Unilever and Nestlé’s initiatives in palm oil sustainability and animal welfare have helped rank the corporates among the most praised by non-government organisations.
KHS expects to see increased uptake of its FreshSafePET technology as German and European packaging and recycling laws evolve. The PET bottle is lined with glass: and is easier to recycle compared to commonly used composite materials.
