Tag Archives: cardboard

McDonald’s to cut plastic packaging

McDonald’s UK is to remove single-use plastics from its salads range and plastic lids from all McFlurry ice creams, in a drive to reduce plastic packaging.

McDonald's

All main meal and side salads will be served in 100% renewable and recyclable cardboard containers instead of single-use plastic.

Changing out the existing plastic bowl, shaker salad cups and lids will result in 102 metric tons of plastic being removed annually.

McDonald's

The fast-food giant is also ditching plastic lids from all McFlurry ice creams from September which it said will reduce plastic waste by 383 metric tonnes annually.

The new salad and meal containers are made from carton board which contains 50% recycled content and 50% new, which itself comes from certified sustainable sources.

The coating on the containers, designed to keep them rigid, is also 100% renewable.

In total, the new packaging across the McFlurry and salads range will reduce plastic waste by 485 metric tonnes annually, said McDonald’s.

Beth Hart, Supply Chain Director, McDonald’s UK & Ireland said: “Removing plastic lids from the McFlurry, and introducing new cardboard packaging for salads, will save nearly 500 metric tonnes of plastic a year. It’s the latest step in our sustainability journey.

“We are committed to listening to our customers and finding solutions with our suppliers that work for them, this is the latest example of that – but by no means the end. We continue to look for solutions for our cutlery and lids, for example, but this is great progress. For us, sustainability is about more than just packaging. We have to look at the whole journey – by 2030 we’re committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 36%.”

Smurfit Kappa rejects a bid from International Paper

Smurfit Kappa has received an unsolicited acquisition proposal from International Paper (IP), which it has rejected.Smurfit Kappa rejects a bid from International Paper

IP reportedly proposed to acquire Smurfit Kappa, and Smurfit Kappa shareholders would receive a combination of cash and a minority holding in the combined business.

Europe’s largest cardboard box maker Smurfit Kappa said the proposal “fails entirely to reflect the Group’s strong growth prospects and attractive industry outlook” – which could leave the door open to an improved offer being considered in the future.

Smurfit Kappa’s enterprise value is about €9.8bn, according to FactSet data.

The board of Smurfit Kappa said after considering the proposal it was in the best interests of the Group’s shareholders to pursue its future as an independent company.

Smurfit Kappa recently announced EBITDA for 2017 of €1.2bn and a full year ROCE of 15%.

Plcs are obliged to ensure there is not a false market in their shares. It also increases the pressure on the bidder to comply with relevant regulatory timelines. This may have contributed to SKs decision to make the approach public.

Such a deal would create a super-group paper company and would mean a review of the deal by numerous competition authorities given the scale of the transaction and the spread of the two companies’ footprints. However, it may be deemed that these are more complementary than overlapping or there may be approval conditional on a number of divestitures. The Ball-Rexam mega deal approval also stipulated certain divestitures.

Liam O’Mahony, chairman of Smurfit Kappa said: “The Board of Smurfit Kappa has unanimously rejected this unsolicited and highly opportunistic Proposal.

“The Board believes that it is in the best interests of all stakeholders for the Group to pursue its future as an independent company, headquartered in Ireland, operating as the European and Pan-American leader in paper-based packaging. We strongly advise shareholders to take no action.”

International Paper did not comment.

Nicholas Mockett, head of packaging M&A at Moorgate Capital, said: “It is a strong rebuttal of the approach which may ensure IP walks away at this stage. A plc has a duty to shareholders to give due consideration to a legitimate approach. If IP increased its offer Smurfit Kappa would therefore reassess. The approach is not surprising given Smurfit Kappa’s strong position in Europe and Latin America and IPs strengths in North America. IP has recently increased its core focus, with the recent Graphic Packaging transaction.”

Guide to common carton styles

Guide to common carton styles. The range of carton styles is vast allowing you to have a carton produced that is fit for any purpose. We have given examples of the most common here…

We can help you design custom paper and cardboard boxes that best meet your needs. Please don’t hesitate to contact our friendly and experienced in-house packaging team to discuss your specific needs.

Guide to common carton styles

Guide to common carton styles

 

 

Cardboard Shredding Machines

Cardboard Shredding Machines, eco-friendly, cost effective solution.

Cardboard Shredding Machines

Cardboard Shredding Machines. Optimax Shredders are the eco-friendly, cost-effective solution to providing on-demand loosefill from waste cardboard.

Optimax Shredders combat the fluctuating costs of traditional loosefill whilst also providing a 100% environmentally friendly solution to your cardboard waste.

Solve all your voidfill packaging problems with this simple solution. Turn your waste cardboard into your own voidfill, be efficient and environmental…go Ecopax.

Waste converters turn small quantities of cardboard into lots of packaging material within a short time. They create either padding material or flat padding mats which reduce packaging costs and are ecologically beneficial.

We are here to help! Please contact a member of staff for more details on how we can save you money and help your packaging department run smoother and more efficiently than ever before.

Tel: 02392 597792

Email: sales@aandapackaging.co.uk

UK plastics packaging recycling lagging behind EU

UK plastics packaging recycling

UK plastics packaging recycling rate during 2013 was below the EU average, according to the latest data.
UK plastics packaging recycling
Paper and cardboard Packaging recycling rates performed far better, ahead of the EU average, and across all materials the UK ranked 15th out of 28 states.

Figures published via the European Commission’s data website Eurostat show that the UK recorded a plastics packaging recycling rate of 31.6% in 2013, compared to an average of 37.3% across all 28 EU member states.

The UK ranked alongside Estonia, Hungary and Luxembourg, which achieved rates of 28.1%, 30.8% and 32.2% respectively.

Better performing member states such as Sweden and the Netherlands recorded plastics recycling rates of 45.6% and 46.2% respectively.

However, plastics packaging recycling was up more than 6% on 2012 in the UK, the largest single 12-month increase in over a decade.

The figures come as the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) consults on whether to amend the UK’s plastics packaging target for 2016 in the wake of market pressure.

The target currently stands at 52%, and is set to rise to 57% in 2017.

But under the proposals, the current target may fall to 48% – increasing by 1% each year until the end of the decade.

With glass recycling the UK performed far better but still failed to meet the EU average, recycling 68.3% of its glass packaging in 2013 against the EU’s overall total of 72.8%.

And on metals, the country also lagged far behind many of its EU counterparts, recycling 57.4% of packaging compared to an average of 73.9%.

The UK did however recycle more paper and cardboard packaging compared to many EU states, achieving an 89.4% rate compared to an average of 84.7%

Across all material streams, the UK performed somewhat better with 64.6% of packaging recycled – ranking it 15th out of 28 states. This compares to an EU-wide average of 65.3% for the year.

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