Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
Choosing materials from which packaging is Green glass is currently imported in large
to be manufactured is a vital part of making quantities but very little is used in the
packaging more efficient. Each material recycling industry – a problem that has led to
type has its own pro’s and cons. Careful a growing surplus of green glass. Using green
consideration must be given to the function glass, or mixed-colour glass, can help build
of the packaging and it’s potential for reduce, market demand within the UK.
recycle and reuse. This section provides
background information, checklists and the
technical and commercial considerations you Arguments in favour of glass
will need. packaging use:
The raw materials Cullet is added Furnaces heat the Furnaces are
used are typically and used to glass to around either dedicated
sand, soda ash and produce new glass 1,500 °C. A typical to one colour or
limestone. containers. furnace will hold run ‘campaigns’ of
around 400 tonnes. different colours.
A stream of molten The gobs are fed The parisons are After annealing
glass is drawn from into initial moulds then flipped into to relieve internal
the furnace. This is and blown into a a second set of stresses, the
cut into cylinders pre-formed stage moulds and blown containers are
known as ‘gobs’. or ‘parison’. into their final form. inspected for quality
issues or defects.
Section 5 – Material considerations 5
Glass colours
Within each main colour group, there are The key opportunities for increasing recycled
often variations. For instance, amber can content are as follows:
range from a pale straw colour, used by
some breweries, to dark amber often used ◾ move to green containers wherever
possible to minimise the surplus of green
for cream liqueurs. Green can include a rich
glass in the UK;
emerald, a feature of many gin brands, or
‘dead leaf’ commonly used for wines. ◾ accept a lower clarity specification, for
example switch to a subtle green tint from
Careful consideration must be given to why a
white flint where this won’t affect the
particular colour is used or what colour could
product appearance; and
be substituted to increase recycled content.
In some cases, the brand or product could be ◾ relax amber specifications to allow a
enhanced with a colour change and this could maximum amount of recycled glass to be
allow a higher recycled content. used.
See ‘What can I do?’ in the Tools and
techniques chapter for guidance on deciding
How are glass containers recycled? what the opportunity for your brand might be.
Kerbside receptacles are Bottle banks can ensure Kerbside receptacles and
filled with bottles of all that the different bottle banks are collected
colours. colours of container are by the local authorities or
separated. their contractors.
Adnams beer
◾ Bottle manufactured by Owens Illinois
in the UK.
◾ Contains up to 50% recycled content.
cafédirect 5065
◾ Jar manufactured by Rexam (Nienburger
Glas) in Germany.
◾ 70% recycled content – this is
communicated to consumers on the
back label.
Section 5 – Material considerations 7
2. Next, consider some of the following opportunities for increasing recycled content, in
conjunction with the client’s container manufacturer or the recommended supplier. There
may also be alternative opportunities for increasing recycled content within the container.
Shrink sleeved or opaque Move from white flint to Increase recycled content
coated containers amber or green glass in white flint
If the product isn’t visible, Where the product colour Many products could be
a green bottle with high is compatible, such as packaged in flint glass
recycled content can be coffee or dark liquids in with a subtle hint of colour
used. amber or mint sauce in – usually green. This
green glass. could signal to consumers
that it’s a ‘greener’ pack.
Useful Links:
www.recyclenow.com for a consumer angle on recycling
www.britglass.org.uk for information about the British glass industry
Section 5 – Material considerations 8
Plastic
Arguments in favour of plastic use:
Although plastics are made from non-
renewable oil resources, they are versatile ◾ versatile packaging material adaptable to
and perform well. They can be formed into a wide range of packaging styles;
many different designs, and adapted for a ◾ growing collection and reprocessing
wide range of packaging needs. Most plastics streams for PET and HDPE;
can be designed to have a high strength-to-
weight ratio. Plastics make tough, durable and ◾ can use high recycled content; and
flexible packaging. ◾ high strength-to-weight ratio.
Although plastics are light, their low material
value and bulk make it difficult to collect Arguments against plastic use:
and store sufficient quantities to recycle
economically. Currently, only two types of ◾ made from non-renewable oil resources;
plastic are widely collected for recycling: ◾ light weight and high volume can make
polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and high storage and efficient reprocessing
density polyethylene (HDPE), with hardly any difficult;
local authorities collecting mixed plastics.
Clear bottles are the preferred packaging format ◾ current recycling infrastructure does not
for collection. cover all types of plastics;
Plastics checklist:
◾ consider reduce, reuse, and recycle;
◾ check weight against ‘Best in Class’ and
competition;
◾ computerised stress analysis, also
known as Finite Element Analysis
(FEA), helps minimise plastic use. Use
the latest methods to design minimal
packaging;
◾ switch polymers to help reduce
packaging. For example, the latest
solutions in PET weigh significantly less
than older solutions in other polymers;
◾ good moisture and gas barrier properties
reduce food stabilisers and preservatives
and improve shelf-life: consider using
layered, co-extruded packaging to
achieve these features;
◾ avoid coloured plastics containing
pigments that are difficult to recycle;
◾ avoid packaging made from different
types of polymer difficult to separate
for recycling; and
◾ use commonly collected and recycled
plastics: PET and HDPE.
A: Increasing
the radius could
reduce the risk of
panelling (bowing
effect) on the main
face of a container.
A high percentage of
A a bottle’s weight is in
the neck.
Panel
Don’t increase
thickness of neck
B to fit cap, start
with the lightest
B: Concave deformation, neck profile and
without adding more modify the cap
material into the bottle. to fit.
Tall necks,
more
material.
Oval
core ‘Handling’ features offer
pin. user control without the
Through handles associated weight.
increase material
weight.
foil seal
Minimal cap
lightest heaviest Tall caps Reduce material.
more weight to save
Round sections produce lightweight bottles. material. weight.
Section 5 – Material considerations 11
Extrusion into
sheet or film for
thermoforming
Potential
Consumer
Cost percentage Recyclability
acceptability
inclusion
Collection of
Flake Pellet Supply v Demand Brand integrity
plastics
Metals
Arguments in favour of metal
Packaging made from steel or aluminium packaging use:
contains a significant amount of recycled
material. The infrastructure for recycling ◾ suitable for recycling;
metals is well established in the UK. Steel and ◾ uses high recycled content;
aluminium have a high market value, and can
be recycled many times without loss of quality. ◾ established recycling infrastructure;
Metal packaging has a high strength-to-weight ◾ high strength-to-weight ratio;
ratio, and can protect contents using a small
amount of material. However, the mining of raw ◾ strong and flexible; and
materials and the fabrication of metal use large ◾ goods stored in steel cans have a long
amounts of energy, and produce pollution. shelf-life.
Steel and aluminium are common metals in
the UK and are produced in large quantities. Arguments against metal packaging use:
Some steel cans have a very thin layer of tin that
protects the surface of the can, which is why ◾ limited design formats;
steel cans are often called ‘tins’. ◾ generally cannot be resealed once
Metals may remain usable through recycling for opened; and
many years and this lessens the environmental ◾ mining and manufacture use
effects of their production. considerable energy and resources.
75% of all canned drinks sold in the UK
are packaged in aluminium because of its
lightweight qualities. Most food cans are made
from steel with a thin coating of tin. Both types
have strong recycling markets.
Metal checklist:
◾ consider reduce, reuse, and recycle;
◾ check weight against Best in Class and
competition;
◾ aluminium is very light, but extremely
strong and durable as a packaging
material; and
◾ use the latest, lightest cans possible for
your application.
Corrugated board
Corrugated board gains its built-in strength,
particularly for stacking, from the corrugations
or ‘flutings’ between the board’s inner and outer
layers. Corrugated board comes in various
forms, from very strong triple-walled that can
be used as part of pallet systems, through to
the single and double-walled designs used in
regular boxes, to micro-fluted material which
has a smooth surface.
Corrugated board is very versatile. Careful
design using, for example, internal folds and
partitions can offer excellent product protection,
even for delicate items, and can eliminate
the need for expanded polystyrene (EPS) or
other forms of filling and cushioning. Internal
corrugated partitions can also improve overall
pack strength, and honeycomb board can offer Paper and board checklist:
extra strength and support for heavier items. ◾ consider reduce, reuse, recycle;
Micro-fluted board provides a very good printing
surface, allowing the use of corrugated board ◾ check weight against Best in Class and
for primary packaging. This type of single- competition;
substance packaging material is also easier ◾ ensure the overlap on flaps is as small as
to recycle. gluing lines will allow – check with carton
converts to confirm this;
◾ using their testing equipment, work
with cartonboard and corrugated board
suppliers to identify the lightest weight
board(s) that can be applied consistently
across a range of products, whilst
maintain the performance characteristics
required;
◾ use mechanical locking instead of
adhesives or staples to help recycling;
◾ obtain proof of origin from sustainable
forests for wood and paper products;
◾ board with a high recycled content
may need to be marginally thicker if
it is to achieve the same performance
properties as virgin fibre board – ensure
the weight of a pack does not increase
overall; and
◾ u
se corrugated board instead of
expanded polystyrene for delicate items.
Glue or tape
Gapping flaps reduce
overall case weight.
lightest heaviest
Weight increases by approx 17%
depending on length/width/height.
Eliminating perforations
allows board weight to be
reduced.
inside
Cases can be lightened tear strip
to a point when they lose
structural integrity. Using tear edge
additional glue flaps provide outside
increased top loading
strength*.
Perforation.
* Property feature of
DS Smith.
Section 5 – Material considerations 19
Composite materials
Arguments for the use of
Composite materials are lightweight and made composite materials:
from small amounts of raw materials. They have
good protective qualities, require less energy ◾ lightweight;
to produce and transport when compared to ◾ use minimal raw materials;
other forms of packaging, and have excellent
barrier properties. However, it can be extremely ◾ good packaging performance;
difficult, if not impossible, to separate composite ◾ good protection; and
materials for recycling. As they are usually
made from raw virgin materials, there is little ◾ good barrier properties.
opportunity to incorporate recycled content.
Simply, this is packaging made of more than one Arguments against the use of
material where the materials cannot be readily composite materials:
separated when it becomes waste. Technically, ◾ use little recycled material; and
composites are usually multi-layered laminates
that consist of dissimilar materials, for example ◾ recycling infrastructure is not yet
paper cartons laminated with aluminium foil and well developed.
plastic, used for fruit juice.
Packaging which is constructed from assembled
components of different materials (for example
a bottle of wine that consists of the bottle, a cork
and a label), is not composite packaging but
multi-material packaging.
Composite materials can offer excellent
packaging performance. Cartonboard laminated
with polyethylene, for example, provides very
good moisture resistance for liquid products
such as milk. Aluminium foils together with
polyethylene are also used in cartons to extend
shelf-life.
Recycling of composite packaging is not yet
widespread in the UK, which means that large
quantities of these materials are landfilled
or incinerated.
Considerable investment is being made by
the industry to help boost collection and
reprocessing of these packaging types.
Composite materials checklist:
◾ consider reduce, reuse, and recycle;
Useful sector organisations include:
◾ c hoose a carton design which uses the
www.tetrapak.com minimum amount of material;
www.elopak.com se composites that can be more readily
◾ u
www.sig.biz separated for recycling; and
◾ c onsider starch-based and water-based
lattice coatings.
Section 5 – Material considerations 22
Waste & Resources The Old Academy, Tel: 01295 819 900 Helpline freephone
Action Programme 21 Horse Fair, Fax: 01295 819 911 0808 100 2040
Banbury, Oxon E-mail: info@wrap.org.uk
OX16 0AH
www.wrap.org.uk/retail