ENVIRONMENTAL
Single-material simplicity
With Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and Simpler Recycling on everyone’s minds, what questions should operators be asking about their packaging supplier? Alex Noake, senior vice president and MD of Sabert Corporation Europe, has some sage advice.
What’s the potential financial impact of new legislation? There’s no way to sugarcoat this: EPR and Simpler Recycling reforms will introduce direct costs to businesses. For many food-to-go operators, this means paying fees based on the volume and recyclability of packaging placed on the market. If you’re using non-recyclable or composite materials, expect those costs to be higher. If your packaging isn’t compliant or correctly labelled,
you could face penalties. The key is to work with your supplier to pre-empt those costs by specifying packaging that’s optimised for recyclability and aligned with the approved waste streams. What changes need to be made to packaging choices? In many cases there will be a basic trade-off between functionality and cost. Packaging choices should now be made not just for food
performance but for end-of-life clarity. Where possible, focus on simplicity and single-material formats. Mixed-material packaging – such as laminated cartons, windowed boxes with glued films or carbon black plastics trays – are going to be penalised. Look for items that use widely recycled materials such as clear PET or uncoated paperboard, are easy to separate (i.e. peelable liners), and have clear front-of-pack recycling labelling.
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