Shoppers will be able to deposit any single-use drinks packaging made from either PET plastic or aluminium, between 100ml and three litres in size. Barcodes must be attached and readable.
Collected packaging will be sent for recycling. Lidl is aiming to capture at least 10.5 tonnes of material every month.
The launch of the scheme is intended to go some way to preparing customers for Scotland’s nationwide deposit return scheme (DRS) for drinks packaging, which was due to launch last August but was delayed until March 2024.
Further delays could yet be announced due to backlash from some retailers, plus the fact that a UK-wide DRS is not due to launch until early 2025 at the soonest.
DRS initiatives see a levy placed on beverages, which customers can only claim back after returning their used packaging to a certified collection point for recycling.
But Lidl has elected not to add a levy to its beverages at present. Instead, customers will receive a 5p reward for every bottle or can returned, with no limit on the amount that each person can claim. They can receive the rewards as either a voucher for money off their next shop, or as a donation to Lidl’s charity partner in Scotland, STV Children’s appeal. The appeal supports children in poverty with education, mental health care, social activities and necessities like food and clothing.
Lidl GB’s chief commercial officer Richard Bourns described the initiative as “a win-win for all”.
He said: “We’re on a mission to eliminate all unnecessary waste, and with over 95% of our own-brand packaging now recyclable, reusable, or refillable we’ve been making great progress. We know that Lidl shoppers share this passion, and we hope that utilising this infrastructure, which might otherwise have been left dormant, will help to make recycling their cans and bottles even more convenient for them.”
In 2022, Starbucks announced a company goal to reduce waste sent to landfills from stores and direct operations. The goal was to reduce waste by 50% by 2030. Part of Starbucks plan to minimize waste is to move away from single-use plastics and promote reusability to shift towards a circular economy. It is said that 40 percent of Starbucks’ annual packaging is attributed to disposable cups. Moreover, these cups account for 20 percent of its waste footprint.
The Starbucks plan to minimize waste focusses on reducing its environmental impact; the coffee company hopes to create a cultural movement towards reusables by giving customers easy access to personal or Starbucks-provided reusable to-go cups that can be used in their cafes, drive-thrus, and mobile order and pay.
The Starbucks plan to minimize waste includes several reusable programs to help achieve its goals. They have been testing these programs in phases since 2022. Their Borrow a Cup program allows customers to order their drink in a designated Starbucks reusable cup. The cups are designed to be returned to the stores after use, professionally cleaned, and then reused by other customers. This project is being tested in Seattle, Japan, Singapore, and London.
In 2022, Starbucks implemented 100% reusable operating models, eliminating single-use cups completely. They tested this in 12 stores in Seoul, which helped to divert more than 200,000 disposable cups from the landfill. In early 2023, Starbucks tested their 100% reusables operating models at stores at Arizona State University. They also implemented return bins across the campus near garbage and recycling bins to collect the borrowed cups.
The Personal Cups & For-Here-Ware initiative encourages customers to bring their own cups. Starbucks began testing this initiative at their experiential Greener Store in Shanghai. Furthermore, Starbucks has been developing ways to incentivize customers to bring their own cups. This includes offering free coffee or discounts to customers who bring their own cups. They’ve also partnered with the Ocean Conservancy to donate 1$ to the organization if customers bring in their clean, reusable cups. At their Arizona State University campus stores and cafes in O’ahu, Hawaii, they have started implementing washing stations so customers can have their cups cleaned before ordering their beverage.
Because disposable cups are still in circulation, Starbucks is looking at ways to make the cups more sustainable and out of better materials. They are working on doubling the hot cup recycled content and reducing the materials required to make the cup and liner. The paper used for their hot cups will be sustainably sourced and certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. Over $5 million has been invested to develop a more sustainable hot cup. By the end of 2023, Starbucks will have eliminated PFAS from all of their packaging. Starbucks has already switched from plastic straws to compostable ones in stores across the globe.
The Starbucks plan to minimize waste is still in the trial phases of its programs. It needs to address a few concerns, including the best ways to collect and wash the cups and especially to figure out the best ways to encourage bringing the reusable cups back and not simply throwing them away. Moreover, they need to figure out how to make the lids of their hot cups recyclable and compostable and to encourage people to throw the contents in the right places.
It is encouraging to see a big company like Starbucks working to reduce waste and be more environmentally friendly in the ways they do business. Hopefully, Starbucks’ plans to minimize waste will influence more coffee shops around the world tol follow suit and help us reduce plastic and disposable cups and promote reusable alternatives.
Businesses are increasingly being held accountable for their environmental and social impact. And Siegwerk, a global provider of inks and coatings for packaging, has taken a leading role in driving sustainability within the sector. The company is committed to producing packaging solutions to drive a circular economy for the industry, and supporting sustainable transitions along its supply chain.
Like many companies, Siegwerk has taken an incremental approach to expanding its sustainability strategy. “We started our sustainability journey by looking at how our products could better enable a circular economy,” says Alina Marm, Global Head of Sustainability and Circular Economy at Siegwerk. “That laid the groundwork for us to launch an entire new strategy on sustainability with a broad scope, covering carbon neutrality targets and diversity as a quantifiable target, but also looking at the conditions in our supply chain and creating transparency around these conditions in order to continuously improve.”
For Marm, the three primary aspects that define sustainable packaging are true circularity, carbon neutrality and fairness in the supply chain: “Carbon neutrality meaning zero emissions, and fairness in the supply chain meaning that there’s nobody who suffers as a result of your business practices.”
There is an increased need for transparency around companies’ sustainability data. Consumers are more educated about greenwashing and will no longer just take companies at their word when it comes to sustainability claims. Special interest groups such as NGOs are also publicly highlighting discrepancies between company commitments and performance.
“There is a huge regulatory push to bring sustainability reporting on par with financial reporting. And this is a game-changer. It’s going to make it much easier for consumers to look up data and make decisions about which products to buy and which companies to support,” Marm says.
But this is one area that is severely lagging. A survey conducted by Deloitte in April 2022 revealed that only 3 per cent of consumer companies say they produce sustainability data that is as accurate and verifiable as their financial data. Siegwerk is one of the first companies in its sector to commit to reporting on the carbon footprint of its products. “There is no option but to embrace sustainability holistically,” says Marm. “It’s not just about doing the right thing, it’s also about remaining competitive and future-proofing your business.”
Through continued innovation and collaboration with brand owners, Ahlstrom has identified specific technology enabling highly developed base papers – the key to solving the barrier requirements in flexible packaging, while still utilizing the inherent end-of-life benefits that paper has to offer. Ahlstrom has the unique set of capabilities and wide breadth of technical applications to allow them to develop some of the strongest performing base papers available
“Paper substrates can be engineered to exploit the inherent value of cellulose itself,” explained Zack Leimkuehler, Vice President Business Development for Ahlstrom. “Cellulose by itself is a very good barrier, and highly developed base papers can deliver barrier properties.”
Paper is an ideal material for flexible packaging applications, and already has a broad field-of-use from good flexibility and folding characteristics to printability. Paper is easily sealable and glueable, laminating well to other structures. In addition, paper functions effectively through challenging converting processes.
Through their research, Ahlstrom has continued to advance its base paper development to achieve barrier properties which are fundamental to unlocking the sustainability benefits paper can bring to flexible packaging applications. Base paper development and optimization dramatically improves paper performance in barrier properties.
“The base papers we have developed and continue to advance, are the best to create flexible packaging with combined barrier technology,” Leimkuehler continued. “The end-use packaging applications we have commercialized are the first in the world to exhibit all the necessary attributes needed to replace traditional plastic-based structures. We have already developed and launched the ability to solve the substitution for PFAS with our proprietary FluoroFree® technology, demonstrating grease-barrier equivalent to that of historic performance. As an example, using this knowledge we have unlocked the potential of replacing plastic-based components in a traditional pet food bag with materials that can maintain freshness and storage while providing a kerbside recyclable solution.”
“We are well positioned to push the boundaries of what fiber-based flexible packaging can do,” said, Robin Guillaud, Executive Vice President Sustainability, Innovation, and Marketing. “A constant process of base paper innovation, product development and design is in Ahlstrom’s DNA and enables us to respond to the needs of our customers, which in turn are affected by end-user behaviour. This enables flexibility throughout the value chain and speed-to-market of sustainable packaging solutions and continues to position Ahlstrom as the preferred specialty sustainable packaging supplier in the marketplace.”
It’s not hard to make the case for why tackling food loss and food waste is important to sustainability. About one-third of food produced globally never gets consumed. And food waste accounts for about 8 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
The food and beverage industry has a role to play by reducing food waste in companies’ operations, and by giving consumers products that are less likely to lead to waste. There is good reason (beyond sustainability) for the industry to pay attention — whether you’re a retailer, a manufacturer or a food brand — because consumers care about this issue. According to the Tetra Pak Index 2020, 77 percent of consumers say food waste is a concern, putting it on par with climate change.
Before we get to the role of industry, it’s important to understand the difference between food loss and food waste. Food loss is caused by inefficient growing, processing or preservation — in other words, food that fails to make its way to retail. A number of considerations in food manufacturing can reduce food loss. Increasing efficiencies can reduce product loss before food even leaves the factory, in addition to a number of other sustainability benefits.
Food waste occurs at the stages of distribution, retail and consumption by consumers. Because it’s driven by the short shelf life of food, we can ensure food is packaged to optimize shelf life. A variety of factors can protect and extend the life of the product.
Let’s take a closer look at these solutions.
Implementing a methodology like Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) will help improve the overall productivity of a plant, including mapping the sources of food loss and waste. Image courtesy of Tetra Pak.
Understanding where food loss happens in manufacturing
Once raw ingredients arrive at a plant for processing, there are many reasons those ingredients don’t make it out of the factory. The first step in tackling food loss at the factory is understanding where it is happening.
Modern automation systems, such as Tetra Pak PlantMaster, enable food and beverage manufacturers to track all product movements within their facilities. This data allows them to build a baseline to understand where and why food loss is happening, and where investments can be made for improvements.
Another way to understand and reduce food loss at the plant is by implementing a methodology such as Total Productive Maintenance (TPM). TPM is a holistic approach to working and equipment maintenance that aims to reduce stops and breakdowns. This method will not only help improve the overall productivity of a plant, but also help in mapping all the sources of waste and loss. For example, plant operators may find they are having a lot of starts and stops in the packaging process, which leads to liquid food loss. By implementing TPM, one food and beverage manufacturer was able to reduce its food loss by 3.6 million pounds.
Another pain point in processing with a significant amount of liquid food loss is the mix phase when the processing system switches from water to product and vice versa. This mix phase transition occurs between every batch, typically with numerous batches per day, per processing system. Recently at one of my customers’ sites, we implemented a solution that lessens the duration of the mix phase without compromising on product quality. This resulted in a 20.5-gallon reduction in product loss per transition, saving the company more than 24,500 gallons of product per system, per year. These savings can add up quickly.
Quality loss is another area to look at, and which would a focused improvement project under the TPM methodology would address. When manufacturers conduct internal quality sampling, they are de facto creating food loss. And some manufacturers are sampling up to 2 percent of their finished product. Once a sampling plan can be standardized, the sampling rate is reduced from 1 percent to 1.2 percent without compromising on quality or food safety.
Minimize food waste with packaging
Once food has escaped being lost during the production process, ample other opportunities can prevent it from becoming food waste. While food and beverage manufacturers don’t have much control over what logistics operators, retailers or consumers do, they can determine the packaging. The right packaging can extend shelf life and increase the odds of being consumed.
At the most basic level, good packaging must keep food safe to eat and free from bacteria or other contamination. A package is a physical barrier that keeps oxygen, water vapor and other particles out. Some packages protect from light, and others are used with processing techniques that extend shelf life.
A package should also protect the quality, integrity and taste of the product to ensure consumers don’t throw it out. Especially if your products contain functional, value-added ingredients, such as omega-3 fatty acids or vitamins, you need a package that will not compromise their effectiveness, bringing benefits to the consumer.
One final packaging consideration: Does it need to be chilled throughout the supply chain? Packages that require refrigeration are susceptible to spoiling if something goes awry during chilled transportation and storage to retail, or if consumers fail to get them into their fridge at home. However, a package that is shelf-stable will be perfectly fine unopened even if the power goes out. As an added bonus, a package that doesn’t require chilled transportation will cut down on transportation-related energy needs, while still maintaining the quality of the product and preventing food waste.
Having sound, thoughtful approaches to food processing and packaging is the entry point on the road to preventing food loss and waste. By optimizing processing, you’re ensuring more food makes it out the door and on its way to consumers. And by making smart packaging choices, you can ensure that products have a higher success rate of making it through the supply chain and being enjoyed by consumers.
Carlsberg has been researching and developing the feasibility of bio-based bottles since 2015 and has today (22 June) confirmed plans to trial 8,000 of its new “Fibre Bottles” across Europe.
The bio-based bottles are fully recyclable and will be placed into the hands of consumers for the first time.
The outer bottle consists of sustainably sourced wood fibre, produced by Paboco, which is working with a variety of companies to develop paper and bio-based bottles.
Each bottle consists of a plant-based polymer lining, developed by Carlsberg’s partner Avantium, that is made from natural raw materials that are compatible with plastic recycling systems. Carlsberg also claims that the bottles can “degrade” naturally, should they fail to be placed into recycling systems.
Carlsberg has analysed the prototype bottles through lifecycle assessment applications. Under its current projections, the company believes that the fibre bottle can achieve a carbon footprint that is 80% lower than current single-use glass bottles.
Carlsberg is aiming for the Fibre Bottle to achieve the same low carbon footprint as the refillable glass bottle, which is currently the best-performing primary packaging when collected and reused.
The bottles will be rolled out across Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, United Kingdom, Poland, Germany and France.
Image: Carlsberg
Carlsberg’s group sustainability director Simon Boas Hoffmeyer said: “The progress made with our new Fibre Bottle is testament to Carlsberg’s pioneering spirit, with a focus on making better products in every sense of the word.
“We’ve been working hard on this project since 2015, and aim to continue to set the industry standard by further improving the bottle’s environmental footprint and product performance. Collaboration is key and, together with our partners, we’re excited to see how research and development into sustainable packaging solutions is now becoming the norm.”
Carlsberg has also revealed that the beer inside the bottle will be more sustainable. In collaboration with barley malt supplier Soufflet, Carlsberg has used barley that has been cultivated using organic and regenerative agricultural practices. Cover crops were introduced in the barley fields to assist with regenerative farming processes.
While progress has been made on the bottle, Carlsberg has confirmed that the bottle cap is not bio-based. This is because of the quality of the material needed for the cap. Carlsberg has moved to ensure that the cap and bottle are fully recyclable.
Going forward, Paboco and Carlsberg are exploring alternative fibre-based bottle caps, with a shareable solution expected in 2023. The Absolut Company, which is also working with Paboco, has confirmed plans to develop and trial a bio-based, fully recyclable bottle cap made from sustainable sources.
Carlsberg will now gain customer and consumer feedback on the bottles, which will be rolled out at select festivals and flagship events, as well as targeted product samplings. The feedback will be used to inform the next version of the design.
Paper bottle community
The progress of the bio-based bottle has been three years in the making. In 2019, Danish brewer Carlsberg unveiled prototypes of the world’s first beer bottles made from recyclable and bio-based materials.
The move kick-started the formation of Paboco, the Paper Bottle Company, which is a joint venture between renewables material company BillerudKorsnäs and plastic bottle manufacturing specialist Alpla.
On the day of its formation, Paboco launched a paper bottle community. The Absolut Company is one of the founding pioneers of this community and has been joined by The Coca-Cola Company, Carlsberg and L’Oréal.
Asbolut has since announced plans to trial of 2,000 paper-based bottle prototypes across Sweden and the UK, to test the viability of paper as an alternative to single-use plastics in beverage applications. The first prototypes were made up of 100% recycled content, with 57% paper and 43% recycled plastic, with the latter used to create a barrier layer for the bottle.
Elsewhere, The Coca-Cola Company – one of the biggest plastic producers in the food and beverage space – confirmed plans to trial 2,000 paper-based bottles in 2021, to test the material’s viability as an alternative to single-use plastics.
When Rebecca Prince-Ruiz recalls how her eco-friendly movement Plastic Free July has progressed over the years, she can’t help but smile. What began in 2011 as 40 people committing to going plastic-free one month a year has gained momentum to 326 million people pledging to adopt this practice today.
“I’ve seen that uptick in interest every year,” says Ms Prince-Ruiz, who is based in Perth, Australia, and author of Plastic Free: The Inspiring Story of a Global Environmental Movement and Why It Matters.
“These days, people are taking a hard look at what they are doing in their lives and how they can seize an opportunity to be less wasteful,” she says.
Since 2000, the plastics industry has manufactured as much plastic as all the preceding years combined, a World Wildlife Fund report in 2019 found. “The production of virgin plastic has increased 200-fold since 1950, and has grown at a rate of 4% a year since 2000,” the report says.
This has spurred companies to replace single-use plastic with biodegradable and compostable packaging designed to dramatically reduce the toxic footprint plastics leave behind.
In March, Mars Wrigley and Danimer Scientific announced a new two-year partnership to develop compostable packaging for Skittles in the US, estimated to be on shelves by early 2022.
Mars Wrigley plans to have a compostable wrapper for Skittles by next year GETTY IMAGES
It involves a type of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) that will look and feel the same as plastic, but can be thrown into the compost where it will break down, unlike regular plastic that takes anywhere from 20 to 450 years to fully decompose.
Danimer Scientific’s polymer product is made from canola oil, and it acts similarly to wood, meaning it breaks down when bacteria interact with it. “PHA goes away naturally and is still a very strong material for all types of products,” says Stephen Croskrey, chief executive of Danimer Scientific, based in the US state of Georgia.
Alastair Child, Mars Wrigley vice-president for global sustainability, says: “Our vision is to support a circular economy where packaging never becomes waste and by 2025 we plan to reduce our virgin plastic use by 25% and for 100% of our plastic packaging to be reusable, recyclable or compostable.”
Polymateria’s plastic biodegrades after three years POLYMATERIA
Hindering the widespread use of eco-friendly packaging such as PHA is the cost. It can be three to fives time as expensive to manufacture as regular plastic.
But that hasn’t stopped companies such as California-based Mango Materials and London-based Polymateria from dedicating their businesses to producing products that biodegrade over a shorter period of time.
For example, Polymateria’s Cycle+ plastic is biodegradable after three years and is still able to be recycled during its usable lifetime. Their clients range from East Africa businesses making bread bags to Extreme E, a new electric racing series that uses Polymateria products for cups and food packaging.
Consumers are demanding biodegradable plastics, says Niall Dunne, chief executive of Polymateria SUZANNE PLUNKETT
The plastics industry should wake up to the growing trend of alternative packaging, says Niall Dunne, chief executive of Polymateria. “We’ve seen how consumer pressure is saying to the big guys that they have to be on board [with reducing their plastic production] and to be more transparent and authentic in this important conversation,” Mr Dunne says.
Meg Sobkowicz, associate professor of plastics engineering at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, says that kind of pressure has already worked to push the plastics industry to steer away from the toxic BPA ingredient that was commonly found in reusable plastic bottles. “I think we’re coming around to where public concern is pushing them to tip the scales in favour of environmentally friendly packaging, despite its costs.”
By David Silverberg
Technology of Business reporte
