ProPack Winter 2020

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A FOCUS ON:

And the 2020 PIDA winners are...

The most innovative businesses in packaging get recognised at the PIDAs

unpackedtv.com Packaging in a COVID-19 world COVID-19 has impacted the packaging world, but what are its effects?

Coming soon Aldus Group celebrates 70 years The company’s CEO Frank Floriano revisits its journey, from its humble beginnings 70 years ago to today ALSO INSIDE...

Heidelberg News

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EDITOR’S NOTE HAFIZAH OSMAN

Design and innovation is necessary The world of packaging is in constant change – just in the last few years, we have seen trends shift and new trends emerge. And the industry has either been playing catch up or staying ahead of the curve depending on which country, legislation and circumstances it adheres to.

But, one thing is clear. Regardless of which point of adoption you’re at, design and innovation in packaging is necessary to be in the game.

Innovation and design can result in a clear market-winner; one that not only has mastered the art of marketing but also in the craft of packaging itself. In this issue of ProPack.pro we examine some of the works of packaging that have stood out from the rest in design and

innovation, winning accolades for their stellar work.

These solutions have proven that within innovation and design, just having a remarkable aesthetic design is no longer an eye-raiser, but requires further considerations such as sustainability, recyclability, packaging performance for food longevity, as well as ease of use amongst others.

Having these considerations are increasingly becoming pre-requisites, conveying volumes about a brand’s value and what their vision is for the business moving forward.

These businesses who have led the charge in revising their designs to incorporate innovative ways to packaging are seen as thought-leaders

and businesses that are driving changes within packaging.

By changing the way of packaging, these businesses are also, in turn, influencing consumer buying patterns and creating a positive impact on the environment.

Not only are businesses driving change; associations too are doing their part. As outlined in this issue, associations within the A/NZ space are increasingly conducting studies within packaging and releasing reports that identify challenges and areas of opportunity.

We hope this issue conveys the message that product packaging matters and this can only be achieved if all of industry does its part in design and innovation.

Hafizah Osman Editor hosman@intermedia.com.au Ph: +61 431 466 140

Stay informed… visit www.propack.pro and subscribe to receive the latest packaging industry news and views

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Managing Director & Publisher: James Wells Editor: Hafizah Osman Design: Carrie Tong

Sales Manager: Richard Bunting Production Manager: Jacqui Cooper

Pre-Press Manager: Tony Willson Printed by: Hero Print, Alexandria, NSW 2015 Mailed by: D&D Mailing Services

ProPack.pro is published by Printer Media Group, registered in Australia ABN 47 628 473 334. This publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form in whole or in part without the written permission of the publishers. While every care has been taken in the preparation of this magazine, it is a condition of distribution that the publisher does not assume any responsibility or liability for any loss or damage which may result from any inaccuracy or omission in the publication.

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CONTENTS

IN THIS ISSUE...

New guidance addresses confusion over compostable plastic packaging P38-39 RAPCO, ABA and AORA unite behind common approach to compostable plastic packaging

The foundations of Aldus Group’s rich 70year history P 26-27 The company’s CEO Frank Floriano marks the milestone by looking at its journey from humble beginnings and future growth plans

The state of Australia’s packaging future P6-9

A/NZ packaging designs shine in 2020 WorldStar Special Awards P28-29

A new suggested strategic framework outlines the challenges within the packaging space and what needs to be done for Australia to deliver on its 2025 National Packaging Targets

A/NZ packaging innovations get recognised in the 2020 WorldStar Packaging Special Awards

Packaging in a COVID-19 impacted world P10-11

Global 2020 WorldStar Special Award winners’ innovations shown P30-31

Packaging has become more rampantly used as a result of COVID-19’s effects; so how are we managing the change?

In addition to the A/NZ winners, some solutions from global companies won the 2020 WorldStar Special Awards

Winners of the 2020 Australasian Packaging Innovation and Design Awards (PIDA) P12-21

Waste and recycling sector to ride out COVID-19 challenge P40-41 Adaptable larger operators are set to survive - some may even thrive following the coronavirus challenge

The role of resealable packaging in minimising food waste P42-43 Resealable packaging plays a vital role in the reduction of food waste, and there are some things to consider before these solutions get commerialised in Australia

The most innovative of businesses get recognition for winning accolades for their most creative solutions on a global stage

A summary of the 2020 PIDA winners P22

The 2020 Excellence in Flexography Awards P32-34

A summary of all the award recipients for the 2020 Australasian Packaging Innovation and Design Awards

The best flexo-printed global designs of 2020 are put into the spotlight.

Australian company Perfection Packaging Australia makes the list

Heidelberg news Asia Pacific: New leadership for Heidelberg A/NZ P24-25

Soft Plastic Recycling Scheme in New Zealand gets first report P36-37

Heidelberg Asia Pacific operates under new leadership as Richard Timson and Savas Mystakidis are promoted within the company

The Packaging Forum has released the Soft Plastic Recycling Scheme’s first report, shedding light on the state of the latter in New Zealand

www.propack.pro

Fear drives consumer decision, clean messaging can alleviate it P44-45 Underpinning motivations is what drives us to do what we do, and this is no different for the packaging sector

Pack Diary

P46

A guide to some of the rescheduled and upcoming packaging industry events globally Winter 2020 ProPack.pro 5

FOCUS FUTURE OF PACKAGING

Australia’s packaging future This new suggested strategic framework outlines the challenges within the packaging space and what needs to be done for Australia to deliver on its 2025 National Packaging Targets

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he whole packaging value chain collaborates to keep packaging materials out of landfill, and maximise the circular value of the materials, energy and labour within the local economy – this is the vision for Australia’s packaging future, a future that recognises that the planet has finite resources to meet an everincreasing consumption.

It also acknowledges that the traditional make-and-waste approach is not going to sustain communities of the future.

As such, APCO has released a study, Our Packaging Future, which sets out the collective impact framework that is necessary to deliver on the 2025 National Packaging Targets, focusing on three key outcomes: 1. Packaging designed for circularity 2. Rolling out new and improved collection and recycling systems 3. Creating expanded markets for used packaging Driving these outcomes is a series of interdependent strategies co-designed by key stakeholders within the packaging value chain.

The Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) CEO Brooke Donnelly said successful collective impact is predoninantly dependent on all stakeholders within a system taking coordinated action to deliver real change and impact.

“Our Packaging Future is a call to action to all stakeholders in the

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packaging ecosystem to thoughtfully and collectively determine how they can contribute to the achievement of the vision for our packaging future in Australia,” she said.

“How they can work collaboratively to identify the things that are working to improve the system, to stop doing the things that negatively impact the system, and begin to do the necessary things to implement a significant and sustainable system that is cost effective and world leading in terms of government and community impact, job creation and economic growth, is necessary.”

Considering the complex packaging value chain, the report identifies that it is vital that stakeholders from different sectors commit to a common agenda to address these complex social, economic and environmental issues.

The report focuses on a structured approach to problem-solving that consists of five core criteria: 1. All participants have a shared vision for change, including a common understanding of the problem and a joint approach to solving it through agreed actions 2. Consistent and open communication is needed across the many players to build trust, assure mutual objectives, and create common motivation.

3. Creating and managing a collective impact requires a dedicated staff team with specific skills to co-ordinate participating organisations and agencies 4. Participant activities must be differentiated while still being coordinated through a mutually reinforcing plan of action 5. Collecting data and measuring results consistently across all participants ensures that efforts remain aligned and participants hold each other accountable As such, packaging material flow data, infrastructure mapping and

economic analysis completed by APCO in 2019 and 2020 identified a range of systemic challenges and opportunities.

The report identified 14 areas of opportunity, in addition to considerations that need to be addressed across the board: 1. Implementing reuse models Reusable packaging provides a more circular solution than recycling by keeping packaging in use for a longer period of time before it reaches end-of-life.

Reusable packaging formats are already widely used in business supply chains, with consumer applications becoming more popular for food service and specialty stores.

Packaging reuse systems will play an important role across B2B and consumer applications, and further development and collaboration is required to assess the opportunities for reusable packaging across different sectors.

Commercial viability, costs to consumers and life-cycle analysis of reuse options need to be considered to determine if the total benefits to society (environmental, economic and social) exceed the costs.

2. Improving recyclability through redesign and system changes Recyclability is impacted by a range of factors such as format, composition and colour, as well as insufficient collection systems, sorting and reprocessing. www.propack.pro

FUTURE OF PACKAGING FOCUS

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A suite of actions is required to improve recyclability, including reduction and redesign (for example to reduce complexity) of packaging, and new and improved recovery systems. These required actions provide scope for interventions that will present new business opportunities, economic growth and job creation to support improved recovery systems.

3. Addressing significant losses in the recovery chain Design for recycling is necessary, yet insufficient to deliver significant increases in recovery rates due to other losses throughout the packaging supply chain. Losses may include materials not collected, disposed of incorrectly or lost within the recovery process, that end up in landfill due to breakage, contamination or incorrect sorting.

A Material Flow Analysis (MFA) commissioned by APCO in 2019 shows the most significant losses of materials within the system are source separation by households and businesses (with 28 per cent of packaging being incorrectly disposed of in the wrong bin or directly disposed to landfill, either due to lack of access to collection, insufficient financial incentive or inaccurate disposal practices) and sorting facilities, where Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) and secondary reprocessors lose approximately 20 per cent www.propack.pro

1. What lies for the future of packaging and what needs to be done to ensure that Australia meets its 2025 National Packaging Targets?

of incoming materials due to contamination, breakage or sorting technology constraints.

4. Overcoming the risks to the current recycling system The recycling system is facing significant risks that need to be addressed through a collaborative and strategic approach. Current pressures on the waste and recycling industry include: increasingly limited end-markets as a result of contamination restrictions imposed on the import of waste materials by China, Malaysia, Indonesia and other countries; stockpiling of materials while new markets are identified or developed, particularly for mixed materials and glass fines; closures of MRFs in 2019 have reduced capacity and caused temporary stockpiling or disposal of recyclables to landfill; and incoming export bans (in 2020-21) which is expected to tighten the current system’s functionality.

As such, there is a significant opportunity for waste collection and recycling to be recognised as essential services that provide critical infrastructure requiring government oversight, strategic planning, collaborative action and significant investment to ensure that the system is sustainable for all stakeholders.

5. Finding alternative models to address an increasing packaging consumption

Total packaging placed on the market (POM) in Australia is estimated at approximately 5.5 million tons. POM is defined as packaging that has been made available to the end-consumer (including business users), and covers imported and domestic, primary, secondary and tertiary packaging. Current trends indicate that in the absence of major changes, packaging consumption will increase to 6.5 million tons by 2025, a 19 per cent increase on 2017-18. The projection for large increases in packaging consumption reinforces the opportunity to create reuse programs with greater volume capacity of material, with a focus on reduction as well as recycling.

6. Meeting the challenge of the 70 per cent target when it comes to plastic packaging With a current plastics recycling rate of 16 per cent, achieving the 2025 target of 70 per cent recovery of plastic packaging will require a significant capacity increase in domestic collection, sorting and reprocessing of this material. If no action is taken to address the plastics issue, other than to implement the proposed export bans and the current system is maintained, the recovery rate for plastic packaging will drop from the current 16 per cent to 13 per cent in 2025.

To achieve the 70 per cent recovery target for plastic packaging by 2025, the system will need to have the following capacity by 2025: 80 per cent recovery rate for rigid plastics, 60 per cent recovery rate for flexible plastics, and domestic infrastructure capacity for reprocessing plastic packaging of 900,000 tons per year.

The opportunities in this space include major changes to packaging design, significant investment in new processing capacity in Australia and endmarket development through recycled content in packaging and products.

7. Focusing on plastics collection, sortation and design The complexity of packaging types has made sorting and secondary processing challenging, particularly in plastics.

In light of these challenges, businesses are making commitments to improve and accelerate circular design.

Rationalising polymers to PET, Continued on page 8 Winter 2020 ProPack.pro 7

FOCUS FUTURE OF PACKAGING Continued from page 7

HDPE and PP, with the phase out of PVC, PS, EPS and unnecessarily complex composite materials will greatly improve recovery rates and efficiencies for reprocessing.

A greater focus on B2B packaging will capture more of the 350,000 tons of flexible plastics put onto the market each year, particularly LDPE and HDPE, as well as rigid HDPE packaging such as crates and trays.

With the lowest recycled content rate across all packaging at 2.2 per cent by weight (as compared to paper, metals and glass which are all in excess of 30 per cent), increasing the recycled content of plastic is a priority.

8. Growing domestic end-markets Australia’s recycling systems have evolved to increasingly centralised facilities producing large quantities of low-quality material largely unsuitable for domestic processing and markets.

This has seen a shift from a balance between domestic and international markets to a heavy reliance on international markets up until the introduction of China’s import restrictions in 2018.

The Federal Government’s 2019 commitment to ban the export of low value plastic and paper adds greater urgency to the need for domestic market development, including through procurement and investment in new processing equipment and systems. The ban also escalates the risk of more plastic going to landfill.

One of the keys to growth of domestic markets will be greater ‘market pull’ through both government and industry procurement specifications in tenders, as well as increased recycled content in packaging.

9. Increasing recycled content in packaging As Australia has already met the original 30 per cent recycled

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content target, a new all packaging average target of 50 per cent has been co-developed with key stakeholders in the packaging supply chain in order to drive increased demand and endmarkets for post-consumer material collected in Australia.

This increased target will encourage the use of an additional 1.3 million tons of material in packaging, from both local and imported sources. The increased use of post-consumer recycled content in packaging is fundamental for the circular economy and essential to ensure Australia meets the 2025 targets.

10. Recycling packaging from the commercial and industrial stream Most B2B packaging is recyclable but many organisations do not have access to a recycling service or are failing to separate all of their recyclable packaging for collection.

While over 2.2 million tons of B2B packaging were put onto the market in 2017-18, only around 1.2 million tons were collected for recycling through commercial services. Some of the significant losses of recyclable material are from the commercial and industrial sector.

This provides an ideal opportunity for industry and government to collaborate and identify the necessary interventions to ensure recyclable material collected within the system is recycled and reprocessed.

11. Scaling up soft plastics recycling At approximately 449,000 tons, soft plastics represent approximately a third of all plastic packaging placed on the market.

Approximately 29,000 tons (six per cent) were recycled in 2017-18.

As such, developing a circular economy for soft plastics is hampered by the material’s diversity, complexity, single-use nature and low market value.

Multi-material layered composites have also been developed to protect and extend the shelf life of specialty products like meat and dairy; however, these functional requirements pose challenges for reprocessors.

Phasing out or redesigning problematic formats is another important part of the solution with significant research and development required to design mono-material structures that deliver similar functions and avoid perverse outcomes such as food waste, in addition to compromised product safety.

2. The 2025 National Packaging Targets 3. More end-user education is necessary when it comes to what can be recycled

Kerbside collection of soft plastics can cause significant processing problems at MRFs, including entanglement in machinery. Additional research is essential to determine the most effective and efficient way to collect greater volumes of soft plastics, including expanded dropoff systems. Any additional collections would need to be implemented in conjunction with an end-market demand solution.

12. Increasing recycling education Consumers are a vital part of the packaging system and the decisions they make have a significant impact on recovery rates. Recent research found the greatest loss of material occurs at the source, with households and businesses disposing of approximately 2.2 million tons of packaging to landfill. Much of this material incorrectly disposed at source is considered highly recyclable and many consumers and other waste generators are confused about which packaging is recyclable and which is not.

Consumer education and awareness campaigns, consistent services (bin colours and collected materials), feedback to households on bin contents via audits and truck www.propack.pro

FUTURE OF PACKAGING FOCUS

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cameras, as well as nationally consistent labelling via the Australasian Recycling Label (ARL) will be critical when it comes to reducing losses.

13. Increasing glass recovery Separate glass collection systems from kerbside and/or street-based drop off bins, in addition to extension of container deposit schemes to include more sources of glass packaging, could potentially improve recycling outcomes in glass recovery and remove contamination from other kerbside streams.

But MRFs that accept all materials are no longer universal.

A new MRF established by Australian Paper Recovery in Victoria now only accepts material from councils that have introduced a ‘glass out’ strategy for commingled bins. This alternative approach to conventional sorting could theoretically see cleaner and higher value streams for other packaging materials, like paper and cardboard.

14. Using compostable packaging only where it supports the recovery of food waste and foodcontaminated packaging Compostable packaging has the potential to reduce waste and www.propack.pro

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therefore GHG emissions by supporting the recovery of food waste from households and by facilitating recycling of foodcontaminated packaging and food waste through an integrated organics recycling system.

Compostable packaging is considered a potentially important packaging solution in very specific applications, however its role and suitable applications require further in-depth research.

Investment is required in organics collection and processing facilities given the expectation that more packaging formats, particularly in food service applications, may be compostable in the future.

Collection from households would rely on the availability of Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) collections, which may impose additional costs on local government and are not yet widely available yet.

In 2019, it was estimated that fewer than three per cent of the Australian population had access to FOGO services, although this is expected to change in coming years. Even where there are FOGO services in place, commercial composting facilities may not

4. Activities and stakeholders in the packaging value chain

accept compostable plastic packaging with these collected organics. Processing facilities would also need to be able to distinguish between certified compostable and non-compostable materials, particularly for plastics.

The report also addressed ideal outcomes that are necessary for the future of Australian packaging, including packaging designed for circularity, improved collection and recycling systems, and expanded markets for used packaging, in addition to suggested strategies that Australia needs to adopt to get there.

“It’s a vision for our future; it’s a future that recognises that our planet does have finite resources that needs to meet our never-ending consumption,” APCO’s Donnelly said.

“Traditional approaches are not going to sustain our communities in the future and this report is a vision that pays homage to the country’s future generations.

“The vision is a call to action to all key stakeholders in the packaging ecosystem to thoughtfully determine how they can collaboratively work together to identify what works in the creation of a sustainable system in Australia that is cost-effective, worldleading, job creating, and has real economic growth.”

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FOCUS PACKAGING IN A PANDEMIC

Packaging in a COVID-19 world Packaging has become more rampantly used as a result of COVID-19’s effects, so how are we managing the change?

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ackaging is more important today than ever before as more packaging is being requested for and being used as a result of the effects of COVID-19.

In the Impact and Challenges of COVID-19 on the Packaging Industry webinar hosted by Informa Markets, in collaboration with the World Packaging Organisation (WPO), and supported by the Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP), AIP education director and WPO president, Professor Pierre Pienaar spoke about the pandemic’s effects on packaging.

“More home deliveries are happening during COVID-19, which has a direct impact on packaging as all the goods needs to be packed, meaning more plastic is being used than ever before,” he said.

“COVID-19 has resulted in the growth of e-tailers. Many more people are shopping online and we need to understand what the customer’s needs are in this environment because we may not be targeting these customers correctly in a COVID-19 scenario.

According to Pienaar, the term ‘customers’ does not just involve the end user but rather, all ‘customers’ in a supply chain.

“In a supply chain, there are numerous customers and each one has a part to play in global sustainability efforts. As players in the packaging industry, we need to know how to satisfy the needs of these customers within a supply chain,” he said.

With everything driven by COVID-19 moving towards digital, Pienaar mentioned that packaging in relation 10 ProPack.pro Winter 2020

1. Professor Pierre Pienaar recently spoke about the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on packaging

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to digitalised retail systems need to move with the times.

“Food that is available in the various parts of the world is now available to everyone out of the country in a digitalised retail world. How? By the use of packaging,” Pienaar said.

“A changing consumer behaviour is also one to keep an eye on. More customers, especially since COVID-19, are demanding and purchasing fruit and vegetables are packed – and it’s a trend right across the world.

“Packaging has allowed consumers to eat what they want, when they want and where they want it. We are also seeing more of this happening in a COVID-19 world. So, more plastic is required than ever before to protect products that are sent out globally.”

But if packaging is not used responsibly, it is going to impact the world. Pienaar said at the moment, only 40 per cent of plastic produced is packaging but just looking at the Great Pacific plastic patch, for example, there is plenty of waste that collects in that area because plastic is not disposed of or recycled correctly.

“What we see on the surface is only the tip of the iceberg – the waste that accumulates there is now three times the size of France and we cannot allow this to get any worse,” he stated.

“Five grocery bags of plastic trash is sitting on every foot of coastline around the world.

“This is significant and we all need to do something about it. What makes it worse is that only a fifth of plastic is

recycled globally. That’s why we are facing a scenario where the Great Pacific plastic patch is getting larger.”

Pienaar also addressed a growing population and its effects on the world.

“When we look at our population, we are sitting at just shy of 7.8 billion people in the world. Life expectancies are increasing, with people living longer than before. Are we preparing packaging to be able to withstand our population growth? Are we having the correct packaging to compete with a COVID-19 situation?” he questioned.

Food waste is another issue that is directly related to the sustainability of the world.

“With more people spending time at home during COVID-19, we have found that food waste has reduced. People are using whatever they can regarding food to reduce the amount of time that they go out to a grocery store,” Pienaar said.

“We need to adjust our lifestyles, infrastructure and industry to be able to deal with changes. It will be interesting to see how this develops moving forward.”

Deglobalisation is also having an impact on a COVID-19 world.

“Some countries are not seeing eye to eye with other countries. Where there were mutual understandings and mutual trade contracts, they have fallen over and this has impacted globalisation,” Pienaar said.

“We saw this in the early stages of COVID-19 where some materials that are used in protective gear weren’t coming through and food wasn’t getting through to countries that were in dire need. That is why a supply-chain conversation across the entire packaging ecosystem is necessary instead of just in packaging design.”

Is packaging doing harm?

Packaging is actually part of the solution in creating a sustainable future, according to Pienaar.

“Packaging gets a lot of unfair publicity. It is a key part of the solution, when it is used correctly,” he said.

“Following COVID-19, there have been some instances where sustainability has taken a backseat as www.propack.pro

PACKAGING IN A PANDEMIC FOCUS

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there has been an increase in the demand for plastic material because of the increase in home deliveries, which means an increase in packaging.

“People no longer are able to bring in their own cups for hot beverages, which means paper cups are in use again, which is something we were trying to drive away from.

“But there is a silver lining to this – we have fully recyclable cups available.

We just need to ensure that those recyclable cups are moved around the world correctly and that more countries are using them.”

Another area of potential is in countries that have removed BYO bags for grocery shopping because like the case of BYO coffee cups, that could potentially cross contaminate COVID19 bacteria into a public space.

“Where the opportunities lie is for all of us in the supply chain to do things differently,” Pienaar said.

“We can use a lot of recycled material but consumers too need to be aware that they need to correctly place these recycling materials in a receptacle that goes back to a recycling house. This is where education is necessary.

“Recycling houses can cope with the increase in recycled material. We just need to make sure that we put the packaging material in there.”

Compostable packaging presents opportunities, but Pienaar said the only www.propack.pro

2. With people all over the world staying home as a result of COVID-19, the pressure on the packaging industry to deliver on packaged goods has increased

problem with it currently is cost.

“Most compostable packaging is more expensive to produce so it’s not as rampant in the developing countries.

However, in the developed countries, it’s used more often,” he said.

“We need to drive their usage harder in future, so that their usage is more involved in a sustainable world.”

Pienaar also addressed the importance of using smaller packs in retail packaging as a means of reducing food wastage.

“The demands from a grocery store to use larger packaging may be significant, but the only way to compete in an environment with a new product is to be optimistic and have a point of difference,” he said.

Specifically, India, China and Indonesia are the three countries that need to be leading change as a study

by Pira Smithers in April 2019 found that these three countries will account for 74.2 per cent of all packaged goods sales by 2023.

“These are the countries where we need to target our emphasis on to try and kickstart an effective recycling program,” Pienaar said.

“At WPO, we are specifically targeting these three countries to ensure that we are empowering them with the education necessary.

“As one of the steps moving forward, we are creating more digitally

interfaced streams as we are unsure how long COVID-19 will go on for.

“From the statistics that I’ve seen, there is no guarantee that the pandemic will come to an end by the end of this year.

“The Spanish flu went on for three years about 100 years ago, and we need to prepare ourselves for a similar scenario to potentially exist in future.”

Pienaar stressed the importance of education at the secondary and tertiary levels, as well as in the industry as people need to be equipped with the right tools and skills to empower the next generation.

“We will need the younger generation’s help to meet sustainable targets for 2050,” Pienaar said.

“The younger generation also needs to understand that in a COVID-19 scenario, we are educated, correctly equipped and empowered to take on the various challenges that face us in the industry into the future.”

He suggested that countries that are doing better in managing COVID-19 should be the ones taking the lead in change so that others can follow suit.

“We don’t know what lies around the corner and if we will face another pandemic in the future,” he added.

“Globally, all of us in the supplychain need to get our ducks in a row to ensure that we are ready for any sort of pandemic.”

Winter 2020 ProPack.pro 11

FOCUS PIDA

AIP announces the winn

The most innovative of businesses have won accolades for their most creative solutions on a global stage

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he Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP) has announced the winners of the 2020 Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) Awards virtually on the 6 and 7 May, with more than 190 people registered to attend the virtual announcement each day.

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1. Product finalists for the 2020 Packaging Innovation & Design of the Year Award, food category and for the 2020 Sustainable Packaging Design Special Award 2. Planet Protector wins the Design Innovation of the Year, Gold, within the food category

The PIDA Awards are an Australia and New Zealand program that is coordinated by the AIP, in conjunction with Packaging New Zealand, and have been established to recognise companies and individuals that are making a significant difference in their field across Australia and New Zealand.

The PIDA Awards are also the exclusive feeder program for Australian and New Zealand for the prestigious WorldStar Packaging Awards run by the World Packaging Organisation (WPO). All 2020 PIDA winners will be automatically eligible for entry into the 2021 WorldStar Packaging Awards competition.

The Packaging Innovation & Design of the Year company awards recognise organisations that have designed innovative packaging within each of these five manufacturing categories: 1. Food 2. Beverage 3. Health, Beauty & Wellness

4. Domestic & Household 5. Labelling & Decoration The 2020 PIDA Awards also sees finalists in a number of special awards including: 1. Sustainable Packaging Design Special Award 2. Accessible Packaging Design Special Award 3. Young Packaging Professional of the Year Award

And the winners are: Design Innovation of the Year – Food – Gold Winner

The Packaging Innovation & Design of the Year Award – Food Category recognises organisations that have designed innovative packaging and/or materials, within food packaging and processing including fresh, frozen or other. All entries are also judged on Sustainable Packaging Design Considerations and what packaging changes they are undertaking www.propack.pro

PIDA FOCUS

nners of the 2020 PIDA 1

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to meet the 2025 National Packaging Targets. This is a WorldStar Packaging Awards category.

The winner of the Gold award for the 2020 Packaging Innovation & Design of the Year – Food category is Planet Protector Packaging for the Lobster Protector.

The uniquely designed Lobster Protector packaging is a flat-packed, recyclable, biodegradable, renewable and compostable solution made from 100 per cent food safe materials. This is the first time this has ever been achieved in the seafood industry.

The packaging design consists of three key components – that being a wool liner, a fibreboard insert, and a corrugated carton with a unique coating to make the creative carton water-resistant.

The Lobster Protector is 100 per cent certified food safe and is 100 per cent Continued on page 14

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Winter 2020 ProPack.pro 13

FOCUS PIDA Continued from page 13

recyclable and biodegradable, with the critical wool liner compostable (even home compostable). There are no plastic components in this solution.

The materials used in the overall design of Lobster Protector have been brought together to offer the ultimate innovative packaging solution: 1. A corrugated cardboard carton, made from 50 per cent recycled content with an environmentally responsible external outer coating to make it water resistant 2. The recyclable fibreboard insert as it has been designed to ensure prevention of built up moisture and carbon dioxide levels 3. The natural wool liner made with a special blend of wool waste fibres that is felted together to create a robust and performance-based internal lining.

The Lobster Protector packaging has demonstrated to keep live lobsters at between 7 and 12 degrees celsius beyond 36+ hours.

The packaging is also designed to work with technology such as data loggers to enable real time temperature monitoring by the customer during any sort of transit.

Industry testing has also demonstrated that the Lobster Protector design outperforms traditional packaging like polystyrene.

The Lobster Protector has the capacity to remove approximately 1.21 million polystyrene boxes from the supply chain each year, which by volume is equivalent to six rugby fields that are one metre deep, or approximately 58,040 full container load shipping containers.

The winner of the Silver award in this category was a tie between Disruptive Packaging for Uniqcor for cold chain environments and Platypus Print Packaging for the Youfoodz Meal Kit. The judges also awarded a Special Commendation to Primo Foods for the Red Range Slice Pack.

Design Innovation of the Year – Beverage – Gold Winner

The Packaging Innovation & Design of the Year Award – Beverage Category recognises organisations that have designed innovative packaging and/or materials, within packaging and processing for liquid or dry tea, coffee, water and soft drinks including wine, beer and spirits. All entries are also judged on Sustainable Packaging Design Considerations and what packaging 14 ProPack.pro Winter 2020

changes they are undertaking to meet the 2025 National Packaging Targets. This is a WorldStar Packaging Awards category.

AIP announced a tie for the Gold award for the 2020 Packaging Innovation & Design of the Year – Beverage category, between Coca-Cola Amatil and Ecolean.

Coca-Cola Amatil won the award for delivering a world-first by converting all of its single serve PET bottles from largely petroleum-based PET resin to 100 per cent post-consumer recycled PET resin (rPET).

Many other bottlers both in Australia and around the world have converted their water bottles to 100 per cent rPET, however CCA is the first to achieve this on carbonated soft drink (CSD) bottles, sensitive warm filled bottles and aseptic dairy bottles.

By converting all of these stock keeping units to 100 per cent rPET 7 out of every 10 bottles CCA sells in Australia are made from recycled postconsumer resin. This equates to over 55 per cent of CCA’s total PET tonnages.

Coca-Cola Amatil was also able to deliver a small weight saving on the warmfill and dairy packs (Powerade, Barista Bros, Fuze, Mt Franklin flavour, etc.) when it converted the solution to rPEt. This weight reduction of approximately 8.5 per cent was from an already industry leading position and was once again achieved without impacting the existing functionality of the packs.

On average, there was a 50 per cent reduction in CO2 footprint converting the CSD range from virgin PET and for the warmfill and aseptic packs, it achieved an 8.5 per cent weight reduction and a CO2 footprint reduction of over 65 per cent.

This project heavily delivers against the 2025 National Packaging Targets.

By converting its single serve PET range to rPET, the company has achieved well over 55 per cent of its PET resin used in Australia as recycled material. This equates to almost 20,000 tons of rPET used each year. These bottles are 100 per cent recyclable and with CCA’s increased use of rPET demand for this material to be recycled and reused, it is expected to grow further locally.

The Bannister Downs Dairy WA chilled pasteurised range saw Ecolean win gold for its lightweight flexible packaging designed for liquid food products. The solution is designed to reduce its impact on the environment with convenience, innovative and eyecatching packaging.

The unique designs and shapes of the packaging makes it stand out on shelf and present a quality product to consumers. Designed for chilled

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3. Coca-Cola is one of the two Gold award winners for the Design Innovation of the Year – Beverage category 4. Ecolean is the other Gold award winner for the Design Innovation of the Year – Beverage category 5. Pact Group wins the Design Innovation of the Year, Gold, within the Health, Beauty & Wellness category for its Glow Labs solution

pasteurised beverages the packaging performs well in refrigerated and frozen requirements.

The material is non-penetrable by UV light and maintains the product’s ‘coolness’ due to the pouch’s natural composition. When kept at, or below four degrees, the milk stays fresh for longer. It will also not leak when laid down on a fridge shelf, can be frozen when sealed and microwaved safely once the seal is broken.

Packaging can also be microwaved for a short warm up period depending on the range. Every surface of the packaging has printed artwork to communicate to consumers and stand out on the shelf.

Features of the pack include area selfstanding and self-supporting pouch once filled, and inflated air handle completed by filling machine after the pack is filled. This has been designed to enable the customer to handle, hold and carry the package easily. There is a perforated easy-to-open tear-off area at the spout of the pouch.

The packaging can also be easily and fully emptied with no residue or liquid waste in the pack.

The lightweight nature of the packaging and its durability allows the packs to be interlocked and laid down at inter outer carton shippers, reducing weight and space in freight. The lightweight nature of the packaging means less weight, less material, and www.propack.pro

PIDA FOCUS

less logistics costs around weight and size. The Ecolean materials have been approved through REDcycle to provide the option of returning washed out pouches in-store for recycling.

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The winner of the Silver award was Brownes Dairy for Australia’s first renewable gable top milk carton.

Design Innovation of the Year – Health, Beauty & Wellness – Gold Winner

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The Packaging Innovation & Design of the Year Award – Health, Beauty & Wellness Category recognises organisations that have designed innovative packaging and/ or materials, within cosmetics, toiletries, personal hygiene, supplements, vitamins, perfumes, hair body and oral care. This award also covers packaging of all medicines including over the counter medicines, medical equipment packaging.

All entries are also judged on Sustainable Packaging Design Considerations and what packaging changes they are undertaking to meet the 2025 National Packaging Targets. This is a WorldStar Packaging Awards category.

The winner of the Gold Award for the 2020 Packaging Innovation and Design of the Year Award – Health, Beauty & Wellness was Pact Group for the New Zealand Earthwise Glow Labs brand of PCR 100 per cent rPET bottle range.

Pact Group worked with New Zealand’s Earthwise brand to launch a post-consumer sourced (PCR) 100 per cent rPET bottle range for their Glow Labs brand. The new range (body wash, handwash, shampoo, conditioner) consisted of seven 100 per cent rPET bottles and replaced the former virgin PET designs.

Converting to recycled rPET, Pact Group was able to further light-weight Glow Lab’s amber bottles by an average of 27 per cent (approximately 37 tons per annum). Based on Glow Lab’s volumes, this equates to approximately 130 tons of plastic that has been reused and diverted from landfill.

Earthwise household cleaning products are also Environmental Choice certified (New Zealand’s highest independent accreditation eco label). Earthwise pledged support to the New Zealand Plastic Packaging Declaration, committing to have 100 per cent of its packaging recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025 or possibly earlier.

With packaging already recyclable, moving to bottles made from recycled content was the next step.

Continued on page 16

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Winter 2020 ProPack.pro 15

FOCUS PIDA Continued from page 15

Design Innovation of the Year – Domestic & Household – Gold Winner

The Packaging Innovation & Design of the Year Award – Domestic & Household Category recognises organisations that have designed innovative packaging and/or materials, packaging within domestic and household items, toys, stationary, gifts, clothing, garden equipment, and decorating. All entries are also judged on Sustainable Packaging Design Considerations and what packaging changes they are undertaking to meet the 2025 National Packaging Targets. This is a WorldStar Packaging Awards category.

The winner of the Gold Award for the 2020 Packaging Innovation & Design of the Year Award – Domestic & Household category is Sealed Air Brand Protective Packaging for the Korrvu uncompromised product protection.

Korrvu delivers versatility, space efficiency, uncompromised product protection while delivering a unique customer brand experience using a package that is simply is fun and sustainable.

The custom engineered low slip transparent film used with Korrvu keeps the product in place, providing protection against damage during transportation.

It also serves as a display window to showcase products and brands. The efficient design enables packages to be easily opened, reused and recycled.

Beyond designing to protect from damage as well as delivering a solution that uses less material and is recyclable, this innovation helps brand owners grow their brand, particularly as e-commerce growth accelerates.

In addition, it fulfils the requirement to bring the retail experience to e-Commerce.

The customisation capabilities of Korrvu packaging provides an in-store feeling for at-home consumers.

Korrvu offers a completely seamless branded solution for omni-channel retailing, whether orders are fulfilled at a distribution centre or ship-from-store, that incorporates logos and graphic displays within the box.

Korrvu packaging uses highly resilient low-slip film that suspends products in the centre of the package, reducing damage from shock and vibration while maximising the visual appearance.

A wide range of specialty features and non-standard options ensure perfect protection for each application. The product can be easily removed from the box without the need for additional protective shrink wrap which is hard to grasp and open, often requiring scissors or a knife.

This format’s easy disposal also drives brand appeal. Korrvu packaging is recyclable through the PREP tool. The foldat design minimises storage or disposal space. It is also reusable for return shipments, minimising waste at both ends of the distribution cycle.

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The winner of the Silver Award was Birdstone Collective & NCI Packaging for the DuluxGroup Cabot’s Ready Bucket. The winner of the Bronze award was Birdstone Collective & Orora Cartons for the recyclable Telstra Sleeve.

Design Innovation of the Year – Outside of the Box – Gold Winner During the judging for the Domestic and Household category a number of unique and innovative designs were also noted, and the judges decided to introduce a NEW category from this year into the PIDA program called ‘Outside of the Box’.

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This category is also eligible for a WorldStar Packaging Award.

The Gold winner of the inaugural 2020 Packaging Innovation & Design of the Year Award – Outside of the Box category is Outside the Box Caskets for an ecological solution to the traditional timber and MDF casket.

Outside The Box designs have a very different aesthetic and sustainable footprint to current solutions. The distinctive sleek modern design incorporates both straight edges and curves, with the tapered curves on both the lid and side profile giving it a softer and sleeker feel. It has been functionally designed in a way which means it needs no glue, no staples, screws or metal parts.

The design consists of an outer base, an insert which adds to the structural integrity, a rigid laminated cardboard base and a lid, weighing 20kg less than alternatives.

The structural design has been developed to meet the strict www.propack.pro

requirements of the global green burial movement by being fully compostable, which leaves no footprint. While still being functional for its intended purpose, the solution has been rigorously weight tested and has 300kg load bearing capabilities: all the while being cardboard.

This unique innovation is also the first cardboard casket in NZ to meet Natural Burials requirements which means the carbon footprint is even lower compared to a traditional option.

In partnership with Trees for Survival, the company also donates a native NZ tree back to the community.

The winner of the Silver award was Gaprie for the P.C. Nets which is a re-usable alternative for pallet containment. The winner of the Bronze award for this new category was Sealed Air for the Daisy Pool Covers.

6. Sealed Air wins the Gold Award for the Design of the Year Award – Domestic & Household category for its Korrvu solution 7. Outside the Box Caskets wins the inaugural 2020 Packaging Innovation & Design of the Year Award – Outside of the Box award 8. NCI Packaging wins Gold for the Design Innovation of the Year – Labelling & Decoration award

Design Innovation of the Year – Labelling & Decoration– Gold Winner

The Packaging Innovation & Design of the Year Award – Labelling & Decoration Category is designed to recognise the addition of content to a pack which creates a unique or innovative appearance, function or communication.

This may include labels, sleeves, tags, coding/markings, etching, directly applied inks or by any other similar process. All entries are also judged on Sustainable Packaging Design Considerations and what packaging changes they are undertaking to meet the 2025 National Packaging Targets. This is a WorldStar Packaging Award Category.

The winner of the 2020 Packaging Innovation & Design of the Year Award – Labelling & Decoration category is NCI Packaging & DuluxGroup for the Porter’s Paints superior crafted paint can range.

NCI Packaging worked with Porter’s Paints to produce a superior crafted paint can that showcased the brand’s premium quality and differentiated itself within Bunnings stores.

When shopping in paint or hardware stores consumers can be overcome by different paint brands, all fighting for attention using packaging screaming features and benefits, in overwhelmingly bright colours and glossy finishes.

The Porter’s point of sale concept creates a store within a store approach within Bunnings. Porter’s have worked with Bunnings to create a shopping experience, unlike anything seen in the market today. The Porter’s range sits together in the point of sale unit, simplifying the shopping experience.

This differs to other brands, which are grouped in categories.

Knowing that the paint can industry in Australia has never produced a matte can before has allowed Porter’s and NCI to set the tone and be very creative with how they went about using colours, fonts, dyes and materials against a matte finish.

The matte finish created a smoother, more luxurious quality, whilst differentiating the brand in the crowded and glossy retailing environment. This matte finish, in combination with the gold metallic logo and trim, is instrumental in propelling the paint can as a first-class deluxe item.

2020 Accessible Packaging Design Special Award Category The winner of the 2020 Accessible Packaging Design Special Award is

Continued on page 18 Winter 2020 ProPack.pro 17

FOCUS PIDA Continued from page 17

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Ecolean for the Bannister Downs Dairy WA chilled pasteurised range.

Ecolean worked with Bannister Downs Dairy to design innovative and lightweight beverage packaging that is certified as easy-to-open and easy-to-use by people with reduced hand function.

Ecolean’s packages are already praised by consumers worldwide for their convenience in everyday situations and the approval from SRA (Swedish Rheumatism Association) confirms the package’s ease of use.

The Bannister Downs Dairy range has been designed with obvious opening points and the packaging is intuitive to use and open. As the design is shaped like a standard jug, a format well-known for containing and pouring liquids it is intuitive with the ‘tear off’ instructions near the tip of the pack to open the package. The opening tear operates as indicated along the dotted line. The tear-off spout makes the packages easy to open and empty with no need for the use of tools.

The design is also easy to grip, control and manoeuvre with the ‘Firm’ grip Air-filled handle offering stability to hold the package regardless of whether the person is left or righthanded. The shape offers controlled pouring with no drip and the lightweight nature of the design makes it easy to hold with one hand.

Ecolean has considered the sustainable packaging design principles and chosen a lightweight flexible package, which means the Ecolean onelitre pack is 40 per cent lighter than other one-litre pack formats.

In addition, the selection of Polyolefin materials (PE & PP) means the packaging is accepted through the REDcycle recycling program. The ARL and REDcycle disposal logos and a QR codes on pack provide consumers with the helpful information for correctly recycling of the pack.

2020 Sustainable Packaging Design of the Year Special Award - Retail Pack Category

The Sustainable Packaging Design of the Year Special Award is designed to recognise companies that have developed innovative packaging or processing solutions that incorporates sustainability considerations. Elements include Social, Material, Source Reduction, Energy and Recovery. One of the winners will be awarded the custom EcodEX packaging environmental assessment valued at $10,000. Selerant will implement its acclaimed EcodEX assessment and provide the winner a reputable third-party environmental evaluation of the product package or formulation. This is a WorldStar Packaging Awards Category.

The winner of the Gold Award for 18 ProPack.pro Winter 2020

the 2020 Sustainable Packaging Design of the Year category – Retail Pack is Coca-Cola Amatil for the 100 per cent recyclable post-consumer recycled rPET bottles.

Coca-Cola Amatil (CCA) has provided key industry leadership and assisted the drive to the circular economy by making and delivering on a commitment to convert all of their single serve PET bottles to 100 per cent post-consumer recycled PET resin (rPET) by the end of 2019.

Many other bottlers both in Australia and around the world have converted their water bottles to 100 per cent rPET; however CCA is the first to achieve this on the technical difficult carbonated soft drink (CSD) bottles, sensitive warm filled bottles and aseptic dairy bottles.

By converting all of these stock keeping units to 100 per cent rPET, seven out of every ten bottles CCA sells in Australia are now made from recycled post-consumer resin.

This equates to over 55 per cent of CCA’s total PET tonnage or a reduction of CCA’s use of virgin plastics in Australia by around 16,000 tons a year.

Even more technically remarkable after the bottle weight reductions undertaken over the last decade, the conversion to rPET was achieved without increasing the weights of any packs and in the case of the preform used for warm fill and aseptic dairy, they successfully light weighted these bottles by a further 8.5 per cent during the conversion to rPET. CCA’s commitment to increased use of recycled PET has created the important demand in Australia, which will encourage further investment in this area so that all recycled PET used in Australia is sourced from Australia.

Following the launch of the rPET conversion program CCA recognising their own need to source local rPET and they now have announced a joint venture with Veolia to develop the business case around building an rPET plant in Australia.

The winner of the Silver Retail Pack Award was Pact Group for New Zealand’s Earthwise brand of PCR 75 per cent rHDPE household cleaning range. The winner of the Bronze Retail Pack Award was a tie between Brownes Dairy for Australia’s first renewable gable top milk carton and UPM Raflatac & Kiwi Labels for the CUSTOM-PAK rPET Cherry Punnet with selfadhesive label, permanent adhesive that is also washable at the PET recycling plant. www.propack.pro

PIDA FOCUS

2020 Sustainable Packaging Design Special Award – Product Protection Category

The Sustainable Packaging Design of the Year Special Award is designed to recognise companies that have developed innovative packaging or processing solutions that incorporates sustainability considerations. Elements include Social, Material, Source Reduction, Energy and Recovery. One of the winners will be awarded the custom EcodEX packaging environmental assessment valued at $10,000. Selerant will implement its acclaimed EcodEX assessment and provide the winner a reputable third-party environmental evaluation of the product package or formulation. This is a WorldStar Packaging Awards Category.

The winner of the Gold Award for the 2020 Sustainable Packaging Design of the Year – Product Protection category was a tie between Opal Packaging Australia (Formerly Orora Fibre Packaging) for the recyclable moulded paper inserts and Sealed Air Brand Protective Packaging for the TempGuard kerbside recyclable packaging for pre-packaged, temperature sensitive goods.

The Opal Packaging Australia (Formerly Orora Fibre Packaging) inserts provide superior protection and presentation for fresh produce inside the carton and offer a recyclable alternative to standard, non-recyclable PVC plastic inserts.

The recyclable moulded paper inserts are made from responsibly sourced fibre and can be customised with specific colours and branding for a range of products. The inserts are currently available for avocado and mango segments in multiple count sizes. The individually moulded trays provide shock and vibration protection and offers ventilation and moisture control characteristics to ensure fresh produce integrity.

The inserts are fully recyclable and an alternative to the standard plastic inserts as they are a third lighter than the current industry PP/PVC insert, which weighs 24gm compared with the moulded paper inserts at 16gm.

The inserts can also be reused and are space efficient for storage compared to the plastic inserts.

They simplify the recycling process as there is no need to separate inserts from the cartons, saving time and reducing contamination within ‘bale press’ recycling.

Sealed Air’s TempGuard is a fully Kerbside recyclable and ARL compliant paper pouch liner made from virgin kraft paper and is filled with 100 per cent recycled paper. It is used to line cartons that are used for distribution to deliver exceptional thermal insulation for chilled items including chilled www.propack.pro

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9. Ecolean also wins the 2020 Accessible Packaging Design Special Award 10. Coca Cola also wins the Gold Award for the 2020 Sustainable Packaging Design of the Year category – Retail Pack category 11. Sealed Air’s TempGuard is the other Gold winner for the 2020 Sustainable Packaging Design Special Award – Product Protection category 12. Orora is one of the two Gold winners for the 2020 Sustainable Packaging Design Special Award – Product Protection category

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meals, pharmaceuticals and chocolate.

TempGuard flexible liner pads are only 14mm thick yet provides cushioning and protection with greater space efficiency compared to EPS (wall thickness of 30mm) and allowing the opportunity for customers to decrease the size of the outer carton.

TempGuard’s flatpack format enables reduced warehousing costs (space and utilities) and efficiency improvements compared with EPS. TempGuard virgin kraft fibres on the pouch exterior means that the pouch remains unaffected by product condensation which is especially important for chilled applications such as seafood and for other chilled good processors who are looking for

alternatives to EPS. TempGuard is fully recyclable through PREP with on pack communication providing clear information to consumers about what to do with the product at the end of life.

The judges have awarded a High Commendation for the Sustainable Packaging Design of the Year – Product Protection category to Omni Group for the PerformX 100 per cent recyclable stretch wrap.

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FOCUS PIDA Continued from page 19

2020 Young Packaging Professional of the Year Award The purpose of the Young Packaging Professional of the Year Award is to provide incentive and recognition to young professionals who are both currently working in and wish to continue their career path within the Packaging industry.

and how their structure responds to loading and environment.

Wade and his team are targeting corrugated board boxes that fail in supply chains and cost New Zealand and international company’s billions of dollars in damaged goods; he is investigating solutions designed to strengthen boxes before they begin to fail. These solutions will be based on novel box designs incorporating biomimetic principles.

Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP) Special Awards

One of the key objectives of the Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP) is to recognise individuals who are making a significant contribution to the packaging industry and the Institute is pleased to honour some extremely deserving people in 2020.

Joe Foster was awarded the AIP Fellowship title

AIP Fellowship

Kelly Wade won the 2020 Young Packaging Professional of the Year Award

The winner of the 2020 Young Packaging Professional of the Year Award is Kelly Wade, a scientist who works at Scion in New Zealand.

With a Bachelor of Engineering in Chemical and Materials Engineering from the University of Auckland, a PhD investigating intervertebral disc nucleus microstructure and biomechanics relationships Wade was subsequently awarded a number of awards and postdoctoral research fellowships in spine research which found him studying overseas.

Wade then returned to New Zealand in 2018 to work in the Scion Biopolymers and Chemicals team – applying his background of microstructure and biomechanics relationships to innovative packaging solutions. Wade is responsible for managing and operating Scion’s WHITE room – an internationally unique facility designed to replicate the effects of humidity and temperature on boxes under stress in the chilled distribution chain.

Knowing the conditions under which packaging is likely to fail allows manufacturers of packaging materials and packaging to design materials fit for purpose.

He is working with leading global box companies and leading exporters to make sure their products reach the market in perfect condition.

Wade is now combining his previous knowledge around intervertebral disc structure-function relationships with characteristics of paperboard products 20 ProPack.pro Winter 2020

Mark Kelton receives the AIP Honorary Membership award

AIP Honorary Membership AIP Honorary Membership is designed to recognise an individual who has contributed to and significantly supported the Institute and over a long period of time.

The AIP Board recognised Mark Kelton, member services manager of the AIP Australasian office as an honorary member.

The board acknowledged Kelton for his unwavering and tireless input into helping to create the successful Institute that we see today. Kelton has been instrumental in the day-to-day operations of the AIP for close to 15 years and looks after the members, the event bookings, the website, the accounts and so much more with professionalism and ease.

Anyone that is a member of the AIP will receive emails from Kelton in the early hours of the mornings and even on weekends, as he goes out of his way to help each and every member of the organisation.

The grade of ‘fellow’ is the highest recognition to AIP members and is designed to recognise the significant and sustained contribution to the technology, science or application to packaging in the industry.

This year, the AIP awarded the title to Joe Foster, co-founder and director of OF Packaging. Foster has had a passion for flexible packaging for most of his life and has run four businesses across four countries over the last 40 years.

Foster has spent the majority of his career working to not only understand flexible packaging at its core but progress the possibilities of flexible plastics with a continued focus on packaging innovation.

Foster’s true legacy sees nothing revolving around his resoundingly passionate attitude towards flexible packaging.

He sees beyond what flexible packaging is, to what it can be, and hopes to create an evolved understanding of flexible packaging and the place it holds in society.

His goal is to improve the relationship we have with flexible packaging and plastics, helping inspire new respect for packaging and improving consumer and waste behaviours along the way.

AIP Life Membership

The AIP Life Membership title has only ever been awarded five times in 57 years. The Life Member award is designed to recognise someone who has consistently contributed to not only the packaging industry but also to the AIP as a volunteer.

The AIP awarded its newest Life Member title to Terry Waterson. He has been a member of the AIP for over 35 years, is a past president and fellow of the Institute and has been an influential and consistent contributor the wider industry for 60 years. www.propack.pro

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Ralph Moyle wins the Founders Award

Founders Award

Terry Waterson wins AIP Life Membership title

Alysha Baggett is the other 2020 Harry Lovell Award winner

Waterson owns a specialist packaging and processing operation Metalprint Australia, which holds the international licences for several packaging technologies and his contribution to economic development of packaging is exemplified in his perseverance to introduce the Spouted Pouch packaging system to Australia for both baby food and dairy companies.

Outside of his tireless contribution to the industry, in the last 35 years, he has never wavered from helping others and being available to help the AIP whenever needed.

2020 Harry Lovell Award

Alexandra Brayshaw is one of two 2020 Harry Lovell Award winners www.propack.pro

In 2006, the AIP acknowledged the important role of packaging education and training. It established the Harry Lovell Award in recognition of the commitment and contribution of Emeritus Professor Harry Lovell to education and training for over thirty years in the institute, in particular to the Diploma in Packaging Technology.

The Harry Lovell Award is presented to graduates of the Diploma in Packaging Technology who have achieved exemplary results in their examinations.

This award is not awarded each year and is only presented to outstanding students in packaging technology.

The Harry Lovell Award has only been awarded to five students in the last fourteen years – Aleah Back, Maria Indrayati, Misbah Khan, Nina Cleeve-Edwards and Sarah Squire.

The AIP education team has presented not one but two Harry Lovell Awards this year – to Alysha Baggett, a senior packaging technologist within the Global Packaging Support Team of Suntory Monozukuri Expert Ltd and Alexandra Brayshaw, a senior technical and design lead within Arthritis Australia’s Accessible Design Division.

The awards are in recognition of outstanding academic achievement as students leading to attaining the Diploma in Packaging Technology.

This follows their global recognition in late 2019 by the United Kingdom when Baggett was awarded the Best Student Award for 2018/19, while Brayshaw was awarded Best Packaging Related Research Project 2018/19 for ‘Understanding the consumer’s experience of difficult-to-open packaging and the factors contributing to these negative experiences, especially for the ageing population’.

Baggett and Brayshaw are two exemplary young packaging professionals who are making a difference in their fields.

The AIP Founders Award has been named to honour the Foundation Members of the Institute and to recognise their significant contribution to the development of packaging technology and the industry in Australia and New Zealand. The Founders Award has only ever been attained by four other people in 57 years – Professor Harry Lovell, George Ganzenmuller, Llewelyn Stephens, and Professor Pierre Pienaar. The fifth AIP Founders Award now goes to Ralph Moyle.

Moyle is an experienced food-packaging consultant with 40 years in the food processing industry and 25 years focused on packaging. Through a unique range of senior management experiences across packaging, operations, technical and quality assurance in large and medium FMCG businesses, he has brought increased value to many organisations through the value of smarter packaging at less waste. Moyle’s packaging knowledge has resulted in successful contemporary designs and material selections, improved shelf life, lower material costs, shorter supply chains and environmentally friendly selections that have provided greater economic value.

His role as a trainer and lecturer within the AIP Education team has been invaluable and he alone has been instrumental in training over 1000 people in the last 12 months in Sustainable Packaging, 2025 National Packaging Targets, the Australasian Recycling Label and PREP. Moyle is a past president, regional chairperson and fellow of the AIP and a Certified Packaging Professional (CPP).

“The AIP, in conjunction with Packaging New Zealand, would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all of the finalists and the winners for once again showcasing the unique and innovative packaging designs that are created by amazing packaging technologists and designers across Australia and New Zealand,” AIP executive director Nerida Kelton said.

All of the companies who were awarded a PIDA award are now eligible to enter the 2021 WorldStar Packaging Awards.

Continued on page 22 Winter 2020 ProPack.pro 21

FOCUS PIDA Continued from page 21

A summary of the full list of PIDA winners...

The brands that won gold at the PIDAs

Design Innovation of the Year – Food – Gold Winner Planet Protector Packaging for the Lobster Protector

Design Innovation of the Year – Food – Silver Winners • Disruptive Packaging for Uniqcor for cold chain environments • Platypus Print Packaging for the Youfoodz Meal Kit

Design Innovation of the Year – Food – Special Commendation

Primo Foods for the Red Range Slice Pack

Design Innovation of the Year – Beverage – Gold Winners

• Coca-Cola Amatil for its 100 per cent postconsumer recycled PET resin (rPET) bottles • Ecolean for the Bannister Downs Dairy WA chilled pasteurised range

Design Innovation of the Year – Beverage – Silver Winner

Brownes Dairy for Australia’s first renewable gable top milk carton

Design Innovation of the Year – Health, Beauty & Wellness – Gold Winner Pact Group for the New Zealand Earthwise Glow Labs brand of PCR 100 per cent rPET bottle range

Design Innovation of the Year – Domestic & Household – Gold Winner

Sealed Air Brand Protective Packaging for the Korrvu uncompromised product protection

Design Innovation of the Year – Domestic & Household – Silver Winner Birdstone Collective & NCI Packaging for the DuluxGroup Cabot’s Ready Bucket 22 ProPack.pro Winter 2020

The people that won at the PIDAs

Design Innovation of the Year – Domestic & Household – Bronze Winner

Birdstone Collective & Orora Cartons for the recyclable Telstra Sleeve

Design Innovation of the Year – Outside of the Box – Gold Winner Outside the Box Caskets for an ecological solution to the traditional timber and MDF casket

Design Innovation of the Year – Outside of the Box – Silver Winner

Gaprie for the P.C. Nets which are a re-usable, alternative for pallet containment

Design Innovation of the Year – Outside of the Box – Bronze Winner Sealed Air for the Daisy Pool Covers

Design Innovation of the Year – Labelling & Decoration– Gold Winner

2020 Sustainable Packaging Design of the Year Bronze Awards – Retail Pack Category • Brownes Dairy for Australia’s first renewable gable top milk carton • UPM Raflatac & Kiwi Labels for the CUSTOM-PAK rPET Cherry Punnet

2020 Sustainable Packaging Design Special Awards – Product Protection Category

• Opal Packaging Australia (Formerly Orora Fibre Packaging) for the recyclable moulded paper inserts • Sealed Air Brand Protective Packaging for the TempGuard kerbside recyclable packaging

2020 Sustainable Packaging Design High Commendation Awards – Product Protection Category Omni Group for the PerformX 100 per cent recyclable stretch wrap

NCI Packaging & DuluxGroup for the Porter’s Paints superior crafted paint can range

2020 Young Packaging Professional of the Year Award

2020 Accessible Packaging Design Special Award Category

AIP Honorary Membership

Ecolean for the Bannister Downs Dairy WA chilled pasteurised range

2020 Sustainable Packaging Design of the Year Special Award – Retail Pack Category Coca-Cola Amatil for the 100 per cent recyclable post-consumer recycled rPET bottles

2020 Sustainable Packaging Design of the Year Silver Award – Retail Pack Category Pact Group for New Zealand’s Earthwise brand of PCR 75 per cent rHDPE household cleaning range

Kelly Wade

Mark Kelton

AIP Fellowship Joe Foster

AIP Life Membership Terry Waterson

2020 Harry Lovell Awards Alysha Baggett Alexandra Brayshaw

Founders Award Ralph Moyle

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FOCUS HEIDELBERG NEWS ASIA PACIFIC

New leadership for Heidelberg Asia Pacific operates under new leadership as Richard Timson and Savas Mystakidis get promoted within the company

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H

eidelberg A/NZ managing director Richard Timson (RT) has been promoted to a new role within Heidelberg, effective from 1 July. Timson takes on the newly created role of regional project manager for business development in Heidelberg Asia Pacific, with Savas Mystakidis (SM) appointed to succeed him in the role of A/NZ managing director. Both executives caught up with ProPack.pro to talk through the changes in their responsibilities and their vision for the business in these roles.

How does your experience at Heidelberg support your new role?

RT

: I have a 32-year career at Heidelberg and a vast knowledge of the industry having spent eight years as managing director of Heidelberg’s Australia and New Zealand operations. An opportunity, in the form of my new role, presented itself for us to do some work in the Asia Pacific region to develop and grow our contract business, primarily in the emerging markets within the region.

Heidelberg’s offerings in A/NZ are broad in bundling service, consumables and machinery together, whereas in some Asian countries – which includes 11 countries – we tend to supply machinery with limited take up of service contracts. I intend to use my experience to help Heidelberg in some of these other countries to expand their offerings using the tried and tested methods of A/NZ. Obviously with COVID-19, the planned travel will take a temporary backseat for a short while but there’s a wide opportunity in place in those other countries.

24 ProPack.pro Winter 2020

1. Richard Timson takes on the newly created role of regional project manager business development for Heidelberg Asia Pacific

SM

: I have worked for Heidelberg in the Northern Region for 26 years and my experience is particularly in equipment, consumables and servicing. Experience is the key in taking on this role.

After 26 years of learning through Richard and previous management teams that we’ve had in place I’ve picked up bits of everything.

I am my own man and I’m going to do things the way I see fit moving forward, but I’ll be taking a little snippet from each and every person above that I have gained knowledge and experience from. I believe I understand what a good company and a print shop requires to make it tick properly and I want to be able to help them.

One of the best things that I found about the job, having started as a fresh trainee after University many years ago, was seeing a smaller operation develop to a substantial sized one.

Having supported them through 26 years, I feel that I’ve contributed in some way to their success.

And that is what I want to keep taking to the next level and in the managing director role, I can contribute once again by providing advise so that people trust me enough to know that I’m not about making a quick sale.

What are some of your responsibilities within your roles for the region?

RT

: Fundamentally, post COVID19, it involves identifying a few of these countries that can learn from what we established in A/NZ, then travelling over to those countries, doing some due diligence in understanding a bit more about the operations and business there, and making recommendations based on the situation to enhance our business.

I want to be able to share some of my knowledge with some of the other countries, with some of the sales managers and their sales teams.

With the benefit of experience, I can guide them a little bit more in terms of ideas and sharing how to do things.

We have strong in-house service teams in each country; So, we’ve got lots of service personnel and the utilisation of our expertise is really important to us.

We want to maximise that potential and productivity throughout the different sections within the Asia Pacific organisation.

Together with our broad consumables offerings, these services make each press more productive, in addition to adding great value to the printer’s bottomline. www.propack.pro

HEIDELBERG NEWS ASIA PACIFIC FOCUS

Heidelberg A/NZ 2

SM

: I intend to take Australia and New Zealand to the next phase of growth by bringing in fresh ideas. I like the concept of growing with everyone and seeing people succeed. Certainly, in the first few months, I’m going to be figuring out who’s who in the zoo and how I can improve things. I’ll be doing a lot of listening – to our partners and staff as to where we can help them at the next level. Communication is key and this will help us develop stronger partnerships moving forward.

It’s even more important in a time like this – it’s extraordinary for all of us to be living through these times and our customers are saying what everyone is saying out in the streets, that the whole world has stopped. I’m hoping and optimistic that the situation improves bit by bit in the coming six months, so that our customers can see improvements in their businesses. And until then, we will try to help and accommodate as much as we can.

What are some areas of focus for the business in the specific regions?

RT

: For Asia Pacific, it will be to help customers get back to a new normal as soon as possible following the effects of COVID-19. www.propack.pro

2. Savas Mystakidis takes over the helm from Richard Timson as A/NZ managing director

There are no ‘one size fits all’ approaches; we will communicate with our customers and then work on individual action plans. Asia Pacific is a region with many different cultures and business models, and some segments have suffered more than others. While packaging printers were generally busy during lock down periods, commercial printers suffered and this needs to be considered as well. : The daily business of service and consumables is the lifeline and the cash flow that every company requires. I mean, it’s all very nice to sell 10 presses but presses come in big pockets. You will get periods where you have large press sales and everyone says, ‘Wow, look at all these machines’ but you’ll also have a period of machines not being cyclical because no one buys a press every year. So, parts and servicing and consumables is the lifeline. And that’s what we need to focus on to keep going.

SM

What can the industry expect from Heidelberg in the coming months?

RT

: Stability. Although Heidelberg is making some structural changes overseas, it’s actually doing it for a purpose, and that is to strengthen and make us a stronger

organisation. Reducing the product portfolio by removing the Primefire and very-large-format printing (VLF) presses, which was announced in March, will mean that our focus will be on our core products which our customers have heavily invested in.

We’re strengthening our organisation so that we’re sustainable over a longer period, which is a good movement in the right direction. There’s a very strong team at Heidelberg and it is a major player in the marketplace.

Heidelberg will continue its focus on digitisation – our printing presses have gotten smarter with reduced electrical consumption, reduced wash-up cycles and times. What we will see more of is smarter operational systems and smarter technology that remove the touch points in the printing process.

With this comes the business intelligence that we get out of the printing machinery. It enables us to perform analytics and give customers information about where they can improve their business, and maximise their productivity and profitability. : I, personally, will be moving around Australia and speaking to more of our customers.

People within New South Wales and Queensland know me and I want to build on that rapport in the other Australian states. Victoria is our biggest market, so once it is safe to do so, I’ll be doing my best to build their confidence in myself and the Heidelberg brand.

Digitisation is a massive part of Heidelberg moving forward and the basic idea is to have everything revolve around our Prinect Workflow system.

Unfold your potential is a concept that Heidelberg will showcase moving forward with the emphasis being on how our Push to Stop workflow drives our Autonomous technology on the press and post press which helps to increase our partners’ OEE. We are taking out as many manual touch points as possible, as our smarts are software-driven and you’ll be able to get updates in near real-time and that in turn improves productivity.

It’s all about data and about how improvements can be made across the board in all aspects of the business.

SM

Both Timson and Mystakidis will report to Heidelberg Asia Pacific head Thomas Frank, who is based in Singapore.

Mystakidis will continue to work from the company’s Sydney operations.

Winter 2020 ProPack.pro 25

FOCUS ALDUS

The foundations of Aldus The company’s CEO Frank Floriano marks the milestone by looking at its journey from humble beginnings and future growth plans

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A

ldus Group, just like Australian Printer, is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year.

Servicing manufacturing across Australia since 1949, the company has matured to become a global industry leader in printing, labelling and coding.

Originally, when the business was inaugurated, it was named Ronai Engineering and started operations right after World War II. Not long after, the business was acquired by Aldus Stockdale/ Seligson & Clare Australia in the ‘50s. Seligson & Clare Australia was partially owned by Heidelberg Germany and was also the distributorship arm for the latter.

Ronai Engineering was then renamed Aldus Engineering in 1970, with Heidelberg Germany taking a larger stake in the business.

In 2000, Aldus Engineering was acquired by the Moore family.

Bill Moore, who was previously the chairman of Heidelberg Australia, convinced the family to purchase the Aldus Engineering web converting equipment business from Heidelberg when he retired. Moore became a nonexecutive director of the business, a position he held until his death in 2010.

Aldus Group CEO Frank Floriano joined the Aldus business when he started off his apprenticeship under the leadership of Bill Moore.

“I started in the company in 1980.

I left in 1986 after I did my time and then I did a few years as a tradesman.

I later went in a different direction did all kinds of things, then went to Uni to pursue engineering and business,” he said.

“And then, by chance, I went into another business called Tronics which got acquired by Aldus Engineering in 2017. Aldus Engineering’s turnover 26 ProPack.pro Winter 2020

back then was around $7 million and following the acquisition of Tronics, turnover skyrocketed to around $34 million.”

Since the merger, Aldus Tronics went on an acquisition drive – the Australian manufacturer of packaging and labelling equipment purchased Paragon Australia in 2018 and Milford Astor in 2019.

Now known as Aldus Group, the company most recently acquired API Foils Europe in March this year and renamed the acquired business to API Foilmakers.

“For the first 16 years, it was pretty much business as usual at Aldus. The company wasn’t on an acquisition spree except for the purchase of a company called Graftek, which was a Mark Andy distributorship, in 2003,” Floriano said.

“But the company then went on a growth drive and saw acquisitions as the best way forward. All the acquisitions were planned; we looked at gaps in our offerings and went after companies that could fill those gaps.

“For example, we were selling Mark Andy equipment but one of the problems that we faced was Mark Andy

didn’t have any consumables like inks or paper. So that’s when we went on to purchase Paragon Australia.

“On the back of that, we looked at foils businesses as well and have been beefing our play in this space since.

We don’t just buy companies and let them sit; we invest in those companies and that’s what we have been doing with all our acquisitions.”

Aldus’ evolution over the past 70 years is what made it to the business it is today.

The company has a footprint in the US, Europe and Malaysia, in addition to Australian and New Zealand.

“What we did 70 years ago, we don’t do anymore. We were originally in the paper industry but with technological advancements and market needs, we’ve evolved ourselves. Back in the ‘50s and ‘60s, we made flex printing presses,” Floriano said.

“But as the market changed, we moved away from that and started buying presses from Europe and selling them here.

“The opportunities presented themselves and we used them to our advantage as we moved on. And from www.propack.pro

ALDUS FOCUS

Group’s 70-year history where we are today, it probably won’t be where we are in the next 70 years because just like all businesses, we too need to adapt to market conditions.

Nothing stays the same.”

The company currently plays in two areas – its graphics business, which consists of its printing presses, inks, and foils, as well as its packaging business which sells video jet coding equipment, lasers and Tronics label application machines, manufactured in Australia.

“All our acquisitions have been in the graphics side of the business but going forward, it’s packaging for us,” Floriano said.

“In our packaging business we service companies like Nestle, PepsiCo and Lion. We are looking at other products to fill gaps in the market moving forward.

“We work in the business sectors that we know very well and aim to enhance those business sectors. So, our strategy is to continually embark on growth in these areas.”

Aldus is on track to meet its target of selling 300 machines by this year within its labels business. The company aims to sell 500 to 600 machines in the next five to 10 years.

In addition, Floriano mentioned that the company is in full support of local manufacturing.

“Several people have told me that we should consider manufacturing some of our components in Asia, but I have taken a view that we’re not going to do that. While we may make some considerable profits doing that, we’re a proud Australian-run business and we will continue to support Australian manufacturing,” he said.

Aldus also prides itself to be a peoplefocused business. The company had 12 staff in 2016 and has now grown to a team of 320 people.

2

4

1. Staff assembling Ronai components in the 1960s 2. On the shop floor of the business in the 1970s 3. Aldus Engineering’s West Ryde office façade in the 1980s 4. Frank Floriano, who has seen Aldus through its various changes since the ‘80s

The company also recently hired Trevor Campbell, a former senior executive from Arnott’s, as its chief operating officer.

“He has been in manufacturing all his life and has now come on board as COO. He’s actually helping us to improve our processes and systems.

“We’ve also now got our chief financial officer, Tony Scott, in the business, so his leadership of his team gives us a bit more credibility in our finance and manufacturing processes,” Floriano added.

“Their hire has also standardised processes across the businesses within our group, especially since many of these acquisitions have been familyowned and needed to be converted into corporate businesses.”

Key milestones of the business over 70 years 1949 - Ronai Engineering Founded 1954 - Milford Astor Founded in the UK 1955 - Ronai Engineering purchased by Aldus Stockdale 1963 - Milford Astor Australia purchase by Newman Family 1970 - Ronai Engineering changes its name to Aldus Engineering 1983 - Tronics builds its first applicator in a Melbourne garage 2000 - Moore Family purchase Aldus Engineering 2001 - Tronics acquires the Videojet distribution and opens New Zealand office 2003 - Aldus Engineering purchase Graftek / Mark Andy 2017 - Aldus Engineering and Tronics merge forming Aldus Tronics 2018 - Aldus Tronics purchases Paragon Australia 2019 - Aldus Tronics purchases Milford Astor 2020 - Aldus purchases API Foils Europe; renamed to API Foilmakers www.propack.pro

3

Turning 70 marks a major milestone in Aldus’ rich history.

“There’s so much nostalgia in turning 70; not many businesses get the opportunity to turn 70 and we want to recognise that and we’re proud of having achieved that. We’ve been in the same building that we have been in since 1955. It’s part of our history,” Floriano said.

But the company is in the midst of an upgrade, with a $1.5 million fit out at its West Ryde, Sydney premises expected to be completed at the end of the year.

“We’ve expanded and we were running out of room so the renovations to the interior provided us with an opportunity to look at what we can do with the premises. We wanted to create an environment where people are proud to be a part of,” Floriano added.

Moving forward, the company is looking to expand its footprint globally and is actively taking the relevant steps in that direction. Floriano said the company will also continue on its organic growth progression.

“There is a hunger within the organisation to grow and that’s not going to change. When the opportunity arises and the company manufactures in Australia, we will look at it. If it makes business sense for us, we will determine if we’re going to acquire or invest in that business, then do just that,” Floriano mentioned.

Winter 2020 ProPack.pro 27

FOCUS WORLDSTAR AWARDS

A/NZ packaging designs shine in Australia and New Zealand packaging innovations get recognised in the 2020 WorldStar Packaging Special Awards

T

he Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP) has announced that the two Australian and New Zealand companies that were shortlisted as finalists for 2020 WorldStar Packaging Special Awards have won their categories globally.

The other two A/NZ finalists were awarded Silver and Bronze awards, marking an incredible win run for the region.

The Gold winner of the 2020 Packaging that Saves Food Special Award is Hazeldene’s Chicken Farm & Sealed Air for Cryovac Darfresh on Tray vacuum skin technology.

Cryovac Darfresh on Tray aims to deliver a 25 per cent shelf life extension for fresh poultry and that means less food waste for consumers and retailers.

The easy-open, freezer ready format drives a positive consumer experience and is curbside recyclable.

The scrap less packaging system reduces packaging volume by 3 tons per annum.

The solution won for its engineering that addresses food safety, 25 per cent extension of shelf life over the previously used Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) format, and improved on-pack communication.

The Gold winner of the 2020 Sustainability Special Award is PACT Group for the New Zealand brand Lewis Road Creamery PCR 100 per cent recycled PET milk bottle range.

This company won the award for being the first Australasian milk producer to use 100 per cent rPET that is 100 per cent recyclable.

It restores consumers’ faith that its plastic waste is being re-purposed into usable products and a circular economy for plastics is real.

Bottles are manufactured from postconsumer sourced 100 per cent rPET, that saves approximately 340 tons of virgin plastic each year.

A PIQET revealed, saving 273.6 of CO2 emissions per year which is the equivalent to planting 410 trees and savings of 9,719.3 kl of water is equal to the amount needed for four Olympic swimming pools.

The Silver winner in the same

28 ProPack.pro Winter 2020

1

1. A/NZ shines at the 2020 WorldStar Special Awards 2. The Gold winner of the 2020 Sustainability Special Award is PACT Group for the New Zealand brand Lewis Road Creamery PCR 100 per cent recycled PET milk bottle range

2

3. The Gold winner of the 2020 Packaging that Saves Food Special Award is Hazeldene’s Chicken Farm & Sealed Air for Cryovac Darfresh on Tray vacuum skin technology 4. The Silver winner for the 2020 Sustainability Special Award is Woolworths Australia 5. The Bronze winner of the 2020 WPO Presidents Award is Plantic Technologies for the Plantic RV Material

category was awarded to Woolworths Australia for replacing plastic trays with pulp based trays nationally into all stores for over 50 of its in-store bakery products.

Woolworths, one of Australia’s largest grocery retailers, undertook a major packaging project for its bakery products and the end result was the creation of this solution.

Through collaboration with store operations and several packaging suppliers, Woolworths successfully replaced its previously black nonrecyclable plastic trays with a renewable pulp/plant-based fibre sourced from unbleached bamboo (40 per cent) and unbleached sugarcane (60 per cent).

This national change over into all 995 stores for over 50 in store bakery products represents 75 per cent of all products that were previously packed in the black plastic non-recyclable tray.

This reduced over 500 tons of plastic annually from its bakery department, and has improved the recyclability

of the packaging, which was also the reason for the company being awarded the title.

The Bronze winner of the 2020 WPO Presidents Award is Plantic Technologies for the Plantic RV Material that was designed for Moana seafood company to be able to supply fresh fish to the on-line meal delivery company ‘My Food Bag’.

This is the first time to date that an ANZ entry has ever won an award in this category.

Plantic RV high barrier Skin Pack materials uses rPET and Plantic plantbased materials. The rPET is sourced from Australasian recycled waste streams. Plantic high Barrier is extending the shelf life of the product.

The ability to add the Australasian Recycling logo will assist consumers to correctly dispose of the packaging.

Plantic RV material has an Oxygen Transmission Rate of less than 0.05 and is shown to increase the shelf life of the products packed. Reduction in conventional materials of nine per cent www.propack.pro

WORLDSTAR AWARDS FOCUS

2020 WorldStar Special Awards 3

4

5

is achieved because of the stiffness of Plantic. It is also made to use with a wide range of top webs.

Winners from across Australia and New Zealand received the highest number of Special Awards, and won the third highest amount of WorldStar Packaging Awards on the global stage this year.

This brings the total number of A/NZ awards to 18 for the 2020 WorldStar Packaging Awards.

“This global recognition is a significant achievement for the Australia and New Zealand packaging industries and for the Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP) who have led the annual Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design Awards (PIDA) program for industry which are the exclusive feeder program for the WorldStar Packaging Awards for A/NZ,” AIP executive director Nerida Kelton said.

The 2021 PIDA Awards program will be open for entries late 2020 and due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, the winners of each Special Award will receive their awards at Interpack in Duesseldörf, Germany on the 26th of February 2021.

Continued on page 30

Full list of A/NZ 2020 WorldStar Packaging Award winners 1. Impact International for the Sarah, Craig and Margorie 100 per cent recycled PE and sugar cane PE tubes (Health and Personal Care) 2. Nulon Products Australia and Caps & Closures for the Nulon EZY-SQUEEZE fluid transfer system which replaces the traditional rigid packaging with a flexible pouch and applicator that has made accessing hard-to-reach fill points on a car quick and easy (Household) 3. Currie Group for its new transformational printing technology for packaging that showcases high-end printing, finishing, coding, marking and AR technology driving awareness to The Australian Rhino Project (Labelling & Decoration) 4. PACT Group for the New Zealand brand Lewis Road Creamery post-consumer sourced PCR, 100 per cent recycled rPET milk bottle range (Beverages) 5. Stay tray for its reusable drink tray that is designed with 100per cent recycled material sourced from Australian businesses to reduce single use (Beverages) 6. Danone ELN NZ Supply Point for its sachet multipack for both Aptamil and Karicare Infant Formula ranges for sale in Australia and New Zealand (Food) 7. OJI Fibre Solutions for RJ’s Licorice open top and open front Shelf Friendly Packaging that was designed to withstand export from New Zealand to Australia as well as handle stacking from pallet displays straight into supermarkets (Food) 8. Hazeldene’s Chicken Farm & Sealed Air for Cryovac Darfresh on Tray vacuum skin technology that can provide an increase of shelf life by 25 per cent over existing MAP applications (Food) 9. Moana New Zealand & Sealed Air for Cryovac Grip and Tear (including ‘small tab’) was designed to foster ease-of-use for www.propack.pro

packaged meat, poultry, seafood products for processors, food service and retail markets (Food) 10. Plantic Technologies for the NEAT Meat Tray using PLANTIC RV high barrier Skin Pack recyclable material to replace its previous non-recyclable tray made from black High Impact Polystyrene (Food) 11. Woolworths for undertaking a major project in replacing its previous black plastic non-recyclable plastic trays with a renewable sourced pulp/plant-based fibre sourced from unbleached bamboo and unbleached sugarcane (Food) 12. Punchbowl Packaging for the Kaituna Blueberries peelable, re-sealable, tamper-proof top seal fibre punnets (Food) 13. Punchbowl Packaging for the Kaituna Blueberries peelable, re-sealable, tamper-proof top seal fibre punnets (Packaging Materials & Components) 14. Hazeldene’s Chicken Farm & Sealed Air for Cryovac Darfresh on Tray vacuum skin technology (Gold winner of the 2020 Packaging that Saves Food Special Award) 15. PACT Group for the New Zealand brand Lewis Road Creamery PCR 100 per cent recycled PET milk bottle range (Gold winner of the 2020 Sustainability Special Award) 16. Woolworths Australia for replacing plastic trays with pulp based trays nationally into all stores for over 50 of its in-store bakery products (Silver winner in the 2020 Sustainability Special Award) 17. Plantic Technologies for the Plantic RV Material that was designed for Moana seafood company to be able to supply fresh fish to the on-line meal delivery company ‘My Food Bag’ (Bronze winner of the 2020 WPO Presidents Award) 18. Joe Foster (Lifetime Achievement Award) Winter 2020 ProPack.pro 29

FOCUS WORLDSTAR AWARDS Continued from page 29

Global 2020 WorldStar S In addition to the A/NZ winners, some solutions from global companies won the 2020 WorldStar Special Awards

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he World Packaging Organisation (WPO) has announced the winners of its WorldStar Special Award. Bronze, Silver and Gold special award winners were named in categories including marketing, sustainability, packaging that saves food, and the president’s award.

Magna International Singapore’s Vappro VBCI 826 Soluplast solution won Gold for the President’s Award

Magna International Singapore’s Vappro VBCI 826 Soluplast solution won Gold for the President’s Award as its 100 per cent reusable, non-toxic, biodegradable, water-soluble solution will not pollute the oceans as compared to traditional Polyethylene film.

This therefore, promotes a healthy marine ecological system and help to promote the livelihood of fishermen and helps to combat global warming as it promotes zero-waste generation that ultimately benefits humanity.

Made from PVA, which is a watersoluble synthetic polymer, it is not an exhaustible source as compared to film made from an exhaustible source such as crude oil. The film can be dissolved in water and used as a water-based corrosion inhibitor, enhancing recovering value from item that would otherwise go to waste.

Besides functioning as an anticorrosion packaging film, it can be used as a water-based corrosion inhibitor after use by simply dissolving it in water, replacing harmful solvent30 ProPack.pro Winter 2020

based rust inhibitors, eliminating the harmful emission of volatile organic compound (VOC) and promoting Zero-Waste Management.

The method involves reusing or recycling Vappro Soluplast; it does not involve the use of energy as heating is not required. Due to its hydrophilic nature, it speedily dissolves in water, hence it saves energy for recycling and therefore reduces the carbon footprint.

The solution is 100 per cent reusable as Vappro VBCI Soluplast anticorrosion packaging film can be totally dissolved in cold water without any undissolved solids. The development of Vappro VBCI Soluplast is not only an attribute unto itself, but rather a holistic way of thinking about a product’s entire lifecycle.

WPO president Pierre Pienaar, said he chose this solution for the Gold President’s Award as “this revolutionary biodegradable non-toxic water-soluble plastic packaging film is a world first solving corrosion problems of the industry clearly with the environment in mind”.

“It exceeds the 3R’s of packaging philosophy: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. It was developed to replace conventional polyethylene nonbiodegradable anti-corrosion films, without the need for environmentally harmful rust preventives. It is to be noted that it aligns with my objectives of eliminating the plastics pollution of the oceans as it’s completely dissolvable in water,” Pienaar said.

“It can be used in conjunction with any packaging materials such as paper, paperboard, wood crates or plastic films. My personal and heartiest congratulations [to the company] as a standout clear winner.”

These capsules are made from renewable materials and PLA complying with the European Standard EN-13432, and in conditions of industrial compostability become composted in a period between 12 and 20 weeks.

This new packaging also allows the capsule (which is 100 per cent barrier to the migration of oxygen), to preserve the properties of the coffee without the need of any additional wrapping for conservation in a controlled atmosphere; each individual capsule is identified as a compostable certified product.

Coca-Cola Brazil tied for bronze in this category for its lightweighted Refillable PET Bottle

Along with Plantic Technologies, Coca-Cola Brazil tied for bronze in this category for its lightweighted Refillable PET Bottle.

Suitable for all of The Coca-Cola Company’s portfolio at different product categories, the solution uses a distinctive shape. Technology applied to the bottle allows more cycles than prior design, renewable paper labeling guarantees a clean look and the possibility of working with different marketing campaigns.

Past scenario considered one bottle design for each product with heat transfer decoration and using heavier preforms. One single bottle design allows empty bottles stock reduction and less setups on filling lines.

Cafés Novell from Spain won the Silver President’s Award for 2020

Cafés Novell from Spain won the Silver President’s Award for its compostable barrier organic coffee capsules that are compatible with Nespresso coffee makers.

JASA Packaging Solutions B.V. from the Netherlands won Bronze within the Sustainability Award category www.propack.pro

WORLDSTAR AWARDS FOCUS

Special Award winners Within the Sustainability Award category, Pact won Gold while Woolworths nabbed the second spot, winning Silver.

JASA Packaging Solutions B.V. from the Netherlands won Bronze for its Bag-2-Paper solution.

Bag-2-Paper is recyclable and with this paper packaging method, the use of foil is abandoned; instead a selfadhesive technique is used.

This makes Bag-2-Paper a sustainable new packaging. The machine needs less energy, because you don’t have to seal the package, instead a self-adhesive technique is used. The package is also 100 per cent suitable for recycling.

US-based Placon won Bronze for its HomeFresh Entrée solution

US-based Placon won Bronze for its HomeFresh Entrée solution. Designed for modular stacking and leak prevention when the lid is on, it was awarded three patents for both lid and base designs. It provides a vented lid or non-vented lid option to release air if needed and is microwavable and can be used multiple times.

The container can be washed, heated and used again and again for meal or food leftovers to create a circular economy. Once it has been used entirely, it can be recycled via curbside collection. The PET lid option is made from recycled material and is 100 per cent recyclable.

LG Household and Health Care in Korea won Silver within the marketing award category

LG Household and Health Care in Korea won Silver for its O Hui Day Shield Smart Pumping Foundation Cushion solution.

The company said the Smart Pumping Cushion is an innovative packaging for low viscous liquid foundations. It has a form and size that women can grasp easily with one hand.

It maximises convenience and portability by constructing an applicator inside the container.

In addition, the residual amount after use is much less than that of what is found in conventional cushion compact containers.

Beijing YiSide Packaging Design Co. Ltd from China won Silver in the Packaging that Saves Food Award category

As for the Packaging that Saves Food Award category, which Sealed Air won Gold for its Hazeldene’s Chicken Farm and Sealed Air for Cryovac Darfresh on Tray, Beijing YiSide Packaging Design Co. Ltd from China won Silver for the Npop DEQINGYUAN Recyclable Eggbox solution.

EPP environmental protection materials are used in the products, which are suitable for e-commerce transportation, supply chain and community distribution. Compared with the old models, the rate of eggdamage was reduced by 50 per cent, and the shelf life was prolonged by 50 per cent in this solution. The packing efficiency increased by 20 per cent.

Its modular design also makes the product more flexible, and adaptable to different sales scenarios and supply chain optimisatiosn. The product solves the pain point that can be used only once in traditional egg packaging.

Consumers will no longer immediately throw packaging away after use, which means that it will lead to a “Shared eggbox” model in future. www.propack.pro

PepsiCo Inc. won gold for its Pepsi NFL laces can solution within the marketing award category

Within the marketing award category, PepsiCo Inc. won gold for its Pepsi NFL laces can solution.

To celebrate 16 years of Pepsi and NFL partnership as well as Super Bowl LIII, PepsiCo Global Beverage Packaging R&D and PepsiCo Design and Innovation teams developed a limited-edition can that was launched the week leading up to the big game.

This Limited-Edition Pepsi NFL Laces Can includes a decorative Pepsi can enthroned in a specially-designed custom carton. Inspired by a football, the Pepsi NFL Laces Can is textured and shaped to mimic the laces on an actual football in order to evoke excitement and enhance the recipient’s sensory experience of the package.

US-based Placon won Bronze within the marketing award category

US-based Placon won Bronze within the same category for its Paclock Bi-Fold Clamshell solution.

The new bi-fold Pacific Lock Company (Paclock) clamshell package provides the consumer with the ability to touch the product without risk of theft prior to purchase.

The open and fold back panel design gives Paclock 100 per cent more marketing and graphics space to convey important product and brand information. The package was designed to allow the consumer to open and close the back panel to read and help better understand the product.

A special ceremony is expected to take place during Interpack 2021, on 26 February, to present the special awards to the respective recipients.

Winter 2020 ProPack.pro 31

FOCUS FLEXOGRAPHY AWARDS

The 2020 Excellence in The best flexo-printed global designs of 2020 are put in the spotlight The Best of Show (Wide Web) winner: Eta Uppercuts Corn Tapas Bag printed by Perfection Packaging Australia Kodak Flexcel NX plate user, Perfection Packaging Australia, has just scooped the prestigious FTA Best in Show wide web category award for print excellence. Its Eta Uppercuts Corn Tapas Bag was hailed by the judges as a “truly exceptional piece of print”, specifically mentioning the excellent overall tonal range, standout ink coverage and highlight reproduction.

Selwyn Hyman and Hylton Hodes, managers at Perfection Packaging spoke about the application and what it takes to produce award-winning print: Established in 1978, we have expanded over the years and now

Eta Uppercuts Corn Tapas Bag won the Best of Show (Wide Web) award

Perfection Packaging’s facility in Dandenong South, near Melbourne 32 ProPack.pro Winter 2020

occupy a purpose-built 10,000sqm facility in Dandenong South, near Melbourne. We have five state-of-theart flexo presses and offer flexible packaging solutions for the FMCG industry, including food, health and personal care.

We’re focused on providing quality innovative products with unrivaled customer service and produce work that regularly wins local and international printing awards – though this recent Best in Show win at the FTA is the icing on the cake!

The first thing you need to know about the production of the winning bag is that the job was printed as any job that goes through our plant.

This included normal press speeds together with the standard process controls that are applied to every job printed at Perfection Packaging.

This job was not treated any differently. It’s printed at 133lpi screen ruling. We don’t push high line screens – that way we minimise the challenges on press.

The key to producing such a highquality job is maintaining consistency on press with ink density targets, which we were able to achieve by using Kodak Flexcel NX plates.

The reprographics, provided by our prepress partner Kirk Group, are produced to a press colour profile specific to our presses and substrates.

This allows proofs to accurately match the press outcomes. The Kodak Flexcel NX plates with advanced surface patterning allow for ink densities to be quickly achieved and maintained throughout the run without the need to increase impression.

This is coupled with the Kodak Advanced Edge Definition technology used on the plates, which keeps the type crisp and clean with both positive and reverse text.

The client did not provide any specific direction – they probably didn’t even realise or appreciate the complexity of the design for the flexographic process. They did have a very similar product that had been produced in gravure, so we knew running a minimum dot across the front of the pack wasn’t an option. This is where Kodak Maxtone SX screening became critical.

The design of the packet is challenging for traditional flexography as the image background of a coloured woven material has large areas where the background softly fades to white, with copy in these areas.

Running a traditional minimum dot across these areas was not an option, as it would have reduced the product’s shelf impact. So, to achieve gravure-like results where the tone starts at zero per cent, Kirk Group utilised Kodak’s Maxtone SX screening – which is tailored to the imaging of the Kodak Flexcel NX plate – to deliver the visual effect of fading to zero. This was applied across the entire job, which allowed for all colours to be very ‘clean’ by starting at zero per cent.

The results we achieved with this job challenges the traditional expectations of a flexible package printed by the flexographic process – something we aspire to with every job we do!

The design of this job placed all of the traditional limitations of flexography in sharp focus, with fine reverse text, fine positive text, images and background that required the tone to start at zero per cent.

The end result could only be defined as being flexo by viewing the result under a magnifying glass, something many brand owners and consumers do not do. www.propack.pro

FLEXOGRAPHY AWARDS FOCUS

Flexography Awards The Best of Show (Mid Web) winner: Eton Mess with Chargrilled Figs Wrapper printed by Sunshine FPC

The Best of Show (Narrow Web) winner: Himalaya Ayurveda Clear Skin Soap Carton printed by iTek Packz

3M Rock Your Workday Box won Best of Show (Combined Corrugated)

Eton Mess with Chargrilled Figs Wrapper won Best of Show (Mid Web)

Sunshine FPC is an award-winning company that has serviced the flexible food packaging industry for more than 20 years.

Environmentally conscious, the brand enhancer offers compostable and biodegradable green packaging.

Sunshine is recognised for its premiere quality in flexible packaging and various other packaging market.

The company won the top accolade for prestine registration, along with good use of stochastic screening to achieve pastel colours. “Ink coverage was very smooth and high densities made the images pop,” said the judges.

Sunshine FPC said in today’s world, consumers expect perfection when it comes to branding images. Being compared to gravure quality from Europe and Asia is quite common, especially regarding colour strength for solvent-based inks. There are always concerns to address: viscosity is too high, pH is too high (on water-based ink), ink pigmentation is either too high or too low, identifying the appropriate anilox cell volume for the application, or the pressure roller setting is inadequate. Yet, we have to find the solution without compromising quality.

It said that it truly takes a team, much like an orchestra, to work in harmony and overcome ink control management issues, data management for viscosity, colourant strength, and adjusting impression to match target.

It took commitment and effort. The management of data and developing good habits allows for an audit trail so that the business can maintain quality print consistently. www.propack.pro

The Best of Show (Combined Corrugated) winner: 3M Rock Your Workday Box printed by Great Northern Corp

Himalaya Ayurveda Clear Skin Soap Carton won Best of Show (Narrow Web)

India-based iTek Packz was formed in 2013, amalgamating the folding carton operations of Wintek after ITW Signode acquired Wintek’s flexo division. The business is a leading print supplier of self-adhesive labels and converter of printed cartons and is headquartered in Bangalore.

The judges awarded the business the top accolade for its stellar execution – “Great screen work, great trap and great register”. They added that the printer’s use of gold cold foil worked out very well, and that the overprint varnish textures add measurable diversity and depth.

According to iTek Packz, the company’s customer was procuring this carton from a sheetfed carton converter. The carton has six to seven colours, gold matte foil and a varnish.

The customer shared with iTek Packz the sheetfed-printed reference sample to enable the latter to match the colour and other effects. It took the company two to three rounds of machine proof and trial to match to the reference, and it achieved close to 96 per cent with the flexo process. This carton has very fine halftone graphics and a combination of Pantone colours. iTek Packz applied cold gold matte foiling with text and finished with a matte and gloss varnish combination.

According to iTek Packz, the customer thought it had been printed on sheetfed because the screen dots halftone smoothness achieved the same as offset.

Great Northern Corp exists to provide solutions that solve customers’ packaging needs. The company’s capabilities include in-store displays and packaging products. Established since 1962, the company prides itself on welcoming new challenges and continuing to provide innovative solutions to the packaging and instore industries. Great Northern Corp nabbed the title within the combined corrugated category for its impressive presentation with very strong graphics.

According to the judges, the box has excellent black/red coverage and the stochastic screening is mostly clean.

Great Northern Corp said the company’s customer didn’t specify any special direction on this job. The files were sent in as 4-colour process plus spot colours.

Some of the obstacles it had to overcome were how to keep a solid black, how to stay at six colours, and how to make this easier for the press guys to keep in register.

It made the following decisions to achieve that: It used a 44-μm stochastic dot (important detail to note: 44-μm equals 128 linescreen); it used two blacks to achieve a dense heavy black; and removed all colour builds where possible to help minimise registration issues for our press operators: black only in the shirts, yellow and black only in the earmuffs, cyan and black only in the hexagon.

“We feel like we achieved a good tonal range on this piece and are extremely happy with the detail you can see in this job,” the company said.

Continued on page 34 Winter 2020 ProPack.pro 33

FOCUS FLEXOGRAPHY AWARDS Continued from page 33

The Best of Show (Preprinted Linerboard) winner: Erie Meats Chicken Breasts Poitrines de Poulet Box printed by Atlantic Packaging

The Best of Show (Envelope) winner: Sky Cinema Announcing Our Christmas 2019 Animation Extravaganza Envelope printed by Encore Group

Sky Cinema Announcing Our Christmas 2019 Animation Extravaganza Envelope won Best of Show (Envelope) Erie Meats Chicken Breasts Poitrines de Poulet Box won Best of Show (Preprinted Linerboard)

Over nearly 70 years in operation, Atlantic Packaging has evolved as the market leader in industrial packaging and in customised converted products, always guided by its customers’ needs.

Its blend of manufacturing and distribution of packaging products meets the needs of the largest manufacturers across North America.

Judges praised Atlantic Packaging’s solution for having one of the best executions, the hardest degree of difficulty, the highest linescreen and the most exact colour match to proof of all preprinted linerboard entries.

“This is the cleanest, tightest example of flexographic printing emulating lithography of this year’s entries,” the judges said.

According to the company, working closely with Atlantic’s graphic department, production determined the best result would be achieved by maintaining full four-colour process throughout. This avoided introducing additional spot colours and allowed for an overall cleaner result.

A line black was incorporated to accentuate the panels and text elements. Utilising 150 HD imaging and a custom-developed ink system, it achieved the desired result.

Customer support on this project was, to a degree, unique.

‘Make it look great,’ was the need and the business did.

“In essence with all the pre-work from graphics, anilox selection, print rotation and press crew engagement, the print approval and run were seamless. From the overall pleasing look, the heavy saturation of colour, tight registration, great definition and contrast, holding consistency on a web more than 8-ft. wide, we recognised we had an award-winning print,” the business said.

34 ProPack.pro Winter 2020

The Encore Group, based in the UK, offers an in-house, one stop solution for all print, packaging and printed envelope requirements. The company produces one in five of all printed envelopes mailed in the UK. As for its printed packaging, it is manufactured in folding box-board and corrugate formats for a protective and attractive solution. The business operates a Heidelberg B1 press which is capable of running at over 16,000 IPH and has built in full colour control.

As for this award-winning solution, the judges said Encore Group won for its outstanding, clean print that is very well executed. This envelope makes use of hybrid screening and excellent crossover (wrap-around) of copy from the seal flap to back, along with a nice gradient that fades to zero per cent.

Encore Group said the job was printed at 250 mpm on a central impression (CI) press using water-based inks (CMYK only) with the repro and plates produced by its in-house prepress team. The printed web was then converted directly inline, which involves cutting, folding and gluing, meaning the inks involved demonstrated high drying rates and rub resistance.

“We are competing directly against the lithographic printing process, so our client expects us to manage the complete printing process and match standard ISO-profiled colour proofs.

The design has every element within the single test form, which only the best flexographic printing teams could achieve,” the company said.

“To print the design you must control the highlighted dot gain (as we have white elements), print a perfect vignette within the drop shadow and maintain the detail. The only way this is possible is by having complete control of all the elements of the flexographic printing process.”

Other awards

Self-Promotion – AccredoFlex RP Gen2 Wrapper printed by Accredo Packaging

College Student Gold Award – Minneapolis Skyline Card printed by Flexographic Tech

College Student Silver Award – Happy Holidays Card printed by Flexographic Tech

College Student Bronze Award – I Love My Dog Stickers printed by Flexographic Tech

High School Student Gold Award – Phoenix Challenge High School Competition Team #8 Label, submitted by Phoenix Challenge Foundation on Behalf of Knox High School

High School Student Silver Award – Phoenix Challenge High School Competition Team #14 Label, submitted by Phoenix Challenge Foundation on Behalf of Southern Indiana Career & Technical Center

High School Student Bronze Award – Phoenix Challenge High School Competition Team #2 Label, submitted by Phoenix Challenge Foundation on Behalf of Asheville High School

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UPDATE RECYCLING PLASTICS

Soft Plastic Recycling Scheme gets first report The Packaging Forum has released the Soft Plastic Recycling Scheme’s first report, shedding light on the state of the latter in New Zealand

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n 28 May 2020, The Packaging Forum released its first product accreditation report under the Soft Plastic Recycling Scheme, facilitating the collection and processing of post-consumer soft plastics. The New Zealand based association set up soft plastics collections in 2015 and the Soft Plastic Recycling Scheme received accreditation as a voluntary product stewardship scheme under the Waste Minimisation Act in March 2018.

The Soft Plastic Recycling Scheme is one of three product stewardship schemes operating under The Packaging Forum umbrella.

Since its accreditation in March 2018, the scope of the scheme has now changed to include paying New Zealand processors for every ton of soft plastic material that they recycle. The report provides data for the period from 1 April 2018 to 31 December 2019.

At the end of 2018, the Soft Plastic Recycling Scheme provided a collection service for an estimated 78 per cent of New Zealanders, with collection bins at all Countdown and Foodstuffs stores across the South Island; and at The Warehouse, Countdown, Foodstuffs and other retail outlets in the Auckland, Waikato and Wellington regions serviced by social enterprises.

In addition, Countdown had introduced collection bins at their Upper North Island stores.

The scheme is 100 per cent funded by industry and meets the expectations outlined in the Section 12 Guidelines for priority product scheme accreditation in that it covers the costs 36 ProPack.pro Winter 2020

1. The Soft Plastic Recycling Scheme is one of three product stewardship schemes that comes under the umbrella of The Packaging Forum 2. Key statistics from the scheme in 2019 3. The interconnected necessities that contributed to a successful scheme in New Zealand

of collection, management and processing of the products. The scheme also represents approximately 70 per cent of the post-consumer soft plastic packaging market.

Chair of the scheme Malcolm Everts said the scheme is a genuine example of a circular economy, which directly funds collection, transport and processing of soft plastics.

The scheme currently accepts materials which are plastics resin code 2, 4, with acceptance of resin codes 5 and 7 in a blended mix with the primary plastic. The range of acceptable plastics is governed by what can be processed at present.

However, the scheme is aware of new projects which will accept a broader range of resins (typically still excluding PVC, PS and compostables).

The scheme has 63 members, having retained its membership levels despite a temporary cessation in soft plastic recycling collections and a re-set which has reduced the geographic coverage.

Members pay a levy based on their company turnover, and an understanding of the volume of soft plastic materials they place on the New Zealand market.

The scheme has defined its membership by the resin codes, which are acceptable to processors.

The scheme also notes that it has measured consumption using available industry market data.

“The report shows a tale of two different years and reflects the massive changes in global recycling conditions,” he said.

“Different times need different approaches and we have evolved from collecting as much as possible and shipping it to offshore recyclers, to collecting what we can process in Aotearoa. Local processing is critical, and we have built close partnerships with Future Post and Second Life Plastics for this.

“We adapted the scheme to match collections with NZ processing capacity, plus we have put further focus on reduce and re-use initiatives like phasing out single use plastic bags. It is pointless collecting waste if there is nowhere to recycle it.”

Unit sales of shopping bags were included in the 2018 consumption data, but have been excluded from the 2019 data in the report as supermarkets voluntarily stopped offering single use carrier bags from 1 January 2019, and a national ban on single use plastic bags came into effect in New Zealand from 1 July 2019.

According to Everts, in 2019, around 13 million bags, enough to fill an www.propack.pro

RECYCLING PLASTICS UPDATE

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Olympic sized swimming pool were collected and recycled in New Zealand – and that’s without the shopping bags that have been banned.

In the report, it mentions that this has removed around 6,424 tons of soft plastic materials from the waste stream. Brand owners and retailers have also increased their efforts to reduce plastic consumption by encouraging an increase in reusable options for the likes of fresh produce, for example.

This is in contrast to 2018 when 100 million bags were dropped off for recycling, but overseas recycling markets dried up and collections were stopped temporarily to deal with the excess material.

An estimated 718 million bags are consumed annually at a combined weight of 4,762 tons of soft plastic packaging per annum.

This equates to around 1kg of soft plastic packaging consumed per annum, per New Zealander.

“Product stewardship schemes must be flexible to adapt to the economic and environmental climate,” Everts mentioned.

“Kiwis are engaged, and happy to clean, collect and deliver material for recycling. Industry is engaged under a voluntary approach and around 70 per www.propack.pro

cent of brands that use soft plastic are scheme members funding the recycling service and taking steps within their own businesses to reduce plastic consumption where feasible.”

Scheme manager Lyn Mayes agreed that flexibility and loyalty of businesses has been critical.

“Since the scheme received accreditation in March 2018, we first had to deal with the impact of China’s National Sword Policy, which resulted in us suspending collections in early 2019 and this year we again suspended collections during COVID-19 lockdown,” Mayes said.

“Throughout these changing times, I would like to thank the ongoing support and loyalty of our members, collection and processing partners and consumers.”

The report identified that the impact of China’s National Sword policy and the collapse of global markets for mixed plastics forced a major re-set of the scheme in 2019.

The scheme re-started in the Auckland region in May 2019 with collections at 40 Countdown and The Warehouse stores, and other selected stores from Silverdale in the North to Pukekohe in the South; Hobsonville in the East to Highland Park in the West; and with a service for Waiheke Island residents.

Collections re-commenced in the Hamilton area on 9 September, and from October collections restarted at selected stores in the Wellington region. By the end of 2019, up to 50 per cent of the population again had access to drop off recycling points for their soft plastics.

However, the report mentioned that until processing capacity increases, expansion will be limited to those areas which are close to the processing plants, and the number of collection points in each region will be limited.

The scheme also notes that targets need to be subject to adjustment.

The impact of China’s National Sword policy, and the decision by the scheme’s Australian processing partner to no longer accept New Zealand soft plastics, forced a change in direction for the scheme.

The report also mentioned that the initial focus on collecting as much soft plastic materials as possible and exporting them overseas for processing is no longer viable.

Instead, the new focus is on working with scheme members to reduce plastic consumption; working with processing partners to support their growth through paying processing fees; and on only collecting the volume of plastic which can be processed in New Zealand or in near shore markets. The report has identified that the principal

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limiting factor for the scheme is that there are only two processors in the North Island of New Zealand which are able to process post-consumer soft plastics and notes that expansion of processing capacity requires: • Demand for the plastic fence posts, garden edging, cable cover and other products currently being manufactured from soft plastic materials; • Investment in new processing facilities around New Zealand by central and local government in partnership with industry; • There needs to be multiple “future posts” to create capacity; and • There needs to be commitment by local and central government departments and industry to purchase products that are made from recycled materials.

Winter 2020 ProPack.pro 37

UPDATE PLASTIC PACKAGING

New guidance addresses confusion APCO, ABA and AORA unite behind common approach to compostable plastic packaging

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he Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO), in partnership with the Australasian Bioplastics Association (ABA) and the Australian Organics Recycling Association (AORA), has published new guidelines to help businesses make informed choices when considering the use of compostable packaging. The guidelines, within its Considerations for Compostable Plastic Packaging report, aims to cut through confusion.

The practical new resource aims to help industry professionals — particularly brand owners, packaging technologists and designers, and food service providers — decide when and where to use certified compostable plastic packaging, and associated items like cutlery.

For example, the report identifies that for an item to be called ‘compostable’ it must be certified to the Australian Standard — AS 4736: 2006 Biodegradable plastics suitable for composting and other microbial treatment (Australian Industrial Composting Standard).

This standard is relevant to industrial and commercial scale composting facilities in Australia that are used to treat our kerbside collected organics and organics from other collections.

Compostable plastics should be able to be successfully collected for organics recycling, and proven to work in practice and at scale.

‘Home compostable’ refers to an item that has been certified to a similar Australian Standard - AS 5810: 2010 Biodegradable plastics suitable for home composting (Australian Home Composting Standard).

Packaging designed for a home composting environment should be certified to the Australian Home Composting Standard.

APCO CEO Brooke Donnelly, said, “With brands facing intense consumer pressure to move away from plastics, coupled with thousands of Australian food outlets turning to takeaway packaging formats for the first time, there’s never been a more important time for businesses to receive accurate and consistent information about compostable packaging. Compostable plastics currently account for around 38 ProPack.pro Winter 2020

0.1 per cent of plastic packaging on market in Australia. In 2017/18, this equated to approximately 1,000 tons, and 0.02 per cent of all packaging placed on the market.

“Yet, we know that it is a market that is growing and one that causes real confusion for both industry and end consumers.

“We are delighted to launch this new guideline today with the two leading industry associations, to provide a clear and consistent approach to the packaging format going forward”.

In the report, AORA identified that compostable packaging (both plastics and natural fibre-based like paper and bamboo) has the potential to play a small but important role in meeting and achieving Australia’s 2025 National Packaging Targets.

Compostable packaging and items may facilitate the recovery of food waste and food-contaminated packaging by enabling it to go to compost facilities instead of landfill.

It added that safe and secure markets are needed for the products that are generated by organics recycling businesses. Recycled organic products, such as compost, are beneficial to support soil health and Australia’s agriculture and horticulture industries.

It is therefore vital that compostable plastic packaging and items have approved certification to the Australian Industrial Composting Standard to ensure they are not contaminating soils, according to the report.

However, it also identified that there are currently a number of issues that mean that compostable packaging is www.propack.pro

PLASTIC PACKAGING UPDATE

over compostable plastic packaging

not always ending up in organic recycling systems.

The four key challenges are: • Limited collection from households to recover certified compostable packaging that otherwise would be directed to landfill. Only an estimated 18 per cent of councils in Australia provide a FOGO collection service, and not all accept compostable packaging.

• Although Australia has an Industrial Composting Standard (AS 4736:2006) much of Australia’s organics recycling infrastructure is not set up to recognise or completely process compostable packaging.

• Conventional plastics contaminate compost and pose a very real risk to the ongoing application of compost to agricultural land and gardens. www.propack.pro

This is particularly problematic in light of growing concerns about the negative impacts of microplastics.

Misleading or vague claims are exacerbating consumer confusion.

• While compostable plastics offer a potential solution in reducing organic waste to landfill, there is a significant challenge in being able to distinguish between compostable plastics and conventional plastics once collected. This poses a challenge for organics recyclers seeking to exclude or remove conventional plastics during treatment to avoid contamination.

Only those compost and mulch outputs of organics recycling that meet the relevant compost quality standards for each state and territory will potentially have viable end markets.

Based on the systems and infrastructure currently available, the guideline identifies the key potential applications and opportunities for certified compostable plastic packaging, with a strong emphasis on packaging that could also facilitate the collection of food waste.

These include food caddy liners, fruit and vegetable stickers and ‘closed-loop’ situations, such as festivals.

AORA chair Peter Wadewitz said, “AORA supports the use of AS4736 certified materials for the source separation of food waste in the home or in commercial settings. It is a suitable alternative to non-recyclable packaging. Compostable coffee cups, capsules and compostable bags can all be successfully utilised through normal organic recycling processes, without concern of contamination”.

Recommendations are also provided about how to correctly communicate with end consumers, including accurate certification and correct language for labelling and marketing.

Statements to avoid are also highlighted, including the misleading terminology and greenwashing claims that are currently contributing to unintentional litter and contamination of the mechanical recycling system.

The report mentions that when choosing to use certified compostable plastic packaging, there are a few key considerations for communication and labelling: • There is currently no widely recognised, consistent labelling or identification system in Australia that communicates how to correctly dispose of compostable packaging.

The only current recognised

labelling system is the ABA licenced logos, available only from the ABA, that provides evidence of certifications for compostability.

Given this system has limitations in consumer reach and recognition, it is vital if using compostable plastics to provide information about disposal, account for waste collection variations at a local level and explain where consumers can find further information.

• Without a consistent organics recycling system in Australia, it is difficult to convey the correct message to the consumer about how to dispose of compostable packaging. The correct disposal pathway will vary between local councils and there will be differing options out of home such as at events, festivals, and at work. This must be clearly communicated to users and appropriate systems put in place.

• If packaging producers are concerned about the littering of their products, simply choosing a certified compostable plastic material is not enough to negate the impact of that packaging on the environment. Instead, the report recommends the use of language that ensures consumers understand that littering is never an acceptable method of disposal no matter what an item is made of.

Certified compostable packaging is not to be littered.

The report also provides decision making guidance depending on if a business is a packaging and product manufacturer and brand owner or a food service provider as guidance differs across businesses.

ABA president Rowan Williams, noted that the report has been an excellent opportunity for peak industry bodies to collaborate on guidelines for industry and consumers.

“The collaborative nature of the work in getting this guideline out has been outstanding,” Williams said.

“The guidelines look up and down the value chain, at where the raw material comes from and also where the finished packaging will go to, such as organics recycling, in the future.

“The ABA, as custodian of the only verification scheme for claims of certified compostability to the Australian Standards, welcomes the advent of the guidelines and looks forward to continuing collaboration with APCO, AORA and other industry stakeholders”.

Winter 2020 ProPack.pro 39

UPDATE WASTE AND RECYCLING

Waste and recycling sector to ride out COVID-19 challenge Adaptable larger operators are set to survive – some may even thrive – following the coronavirus challenge

W

hile no-one could have anticipated the scale of the coronavirus pandemic gripping Australia, the country’s modern and efficient waste and recycling sector is better placed than most to meet the challenge of COVID-19.

Not only does the public rely on these companies to handle hazardous industrial and medical waste, the Australian waste and recycling sector has developed robust protocols to protect the health and safety of its workers.

But industry leaders say that while Australia’s large corporates will survive this changing business environment, smaller operators who rely on the hospitality sector or officebased clients could struggle.

“With so many businesses [across Australia] shutting down, that’s obviously impacting financially on some parts of the waste sector,” National Waste and Recycling Industry Council CEO Rose Read said.

On a more positive note, the waste and recycling industry has proved extremely nimble in coping with higher volumes of both household and medical waste as Australians selfisolate and hospitals go into overdrive.

“People who work in the waste and recycling sector are a resilient and positive bunch. It’s also a very supportive industry; if things get tough, individual companies will help each other out,” Read said.

The waste and recycling industry has moved quickly to implement a range of stringent measures to protect the health and safety of its workers. These include social distancing, the use of protective clothing and even splitting shifts to reduce possible exposure to COVID-19.

Read said while large national operators already have a robust set of safety protocols, these have been further refined in the face of the current threat.

“For major national companies, the focus now remains on keeping their staff healthy and employed,” she said.

Cleanaway Waste Management Limited, Australia’s largest waste and recycling company, with more than 250 sites and 6,500 employees nationwide, has tightened work practices to protect truck drivers from the killer virus.

“We’ve implemented measures such as social distancing, [more frequent] cleaning of the trucks and splitting shifts so that they are not congregating together in the depot,” Cleanaway head of corporate affairs Mark Biddulph said.

In response to the changing business environment, Cleanaway has also reassigned vehicles and drivers from areas of low demand to those where they are most needed, such as the medical sector.

40 ProPack.pro Winter 2020

www.propack.pro

WASTE AND RECYCLING UPDATE

“Luckily, our nationwide fleet provides that mobility and flexibility we need at the moment,” Biddulph said.

With so much of the Australian economy in lockdown mode, it’s hardly surprising many specialist waste collection operators are limping from one day to the next.

Tony Khoury, executive director of the Waste Contractors & Recyclers Association of NSW, said parts of the industry (such as household waste) remain bullish, while some smaller operators face an uncertain future.

“At the moment it’s all about survival and getting the job done in difficult

circumstances,” he said.

Khoury, whose organisation represents 204 operators across NSW and the ACT, said that while some members are struggling, the overall picture is confused since the three primary waste sources (municipal, commercial and industrial, construction and demolition) are performing differently.

“The volumes are all over the place,” he said. “In some parts of the industry, such as municipal, they have gone up a bit because more people are working from home, but most of the commercial and industrial volumes are down.”

Biddulph is similarly cautious about jumping to conclusions about the impact of COVID-19.

“It’s too early to tell with residential [waste] whether we’ve had any increase or decrease,” he said.

“But there will be a significant increase. Where we’re seeing a downward flux is in commercial and industry [waste] because so many SMEs have been impacted.”

Many of Australia’s smaller waste and recycling firms are certainly feeling the pinch. Khoury said operators with clients in the hospitality and commercial sectors are likely to be the most under pressure.

“Our advice to members is to really take a hard-line look at your business if you want your business to be still going in September or October,” he said.

He said one of the consequences of this downturn in business could be a consolidation of the waste and recycling industry as larger firms absorb smaller operators that find themselves with reduced cash flow.

“Some of the bigger operators in the industry are always looking to grow their businesses by making strategic acquisitions,” he added.

On a more optimistic note, Khoury said operators who survive the next few months will be in a good position to thrive in a post-COVID-19 world.

“There will always be a demand for waste collection, processing and disposal services,” he said.

Having been classified as an essential service by the Federal Government, Australia’s waste and recycling industry is well-placed to ride out the coronavirus storm.

Exactly what the industry will look like next year is impossible to predict, but many observers predict consolidation as some smaller operators collapse or are taken over by rival companies looking to expand.

Well-off operators might take advantage of the Government’s $150,000 tax write-off scheme to purchase new plant equipment – that offer expires on June 30.

“If you need an asset and have the cash, I’d advise operators to tip in and buy that asset because you’ll receive an instant deduction,” Khoury said.

Read has no doubt the industry will continue to invest and provide a comprehensive range of services to customers in the country.

“Australia’s waste and recycling sector is highly mechanised and uses the latest systems,” she said.

“We’ve always had a big focus on worker safety; we’re well placed to handle the current challenge.”

Source: Australian Waste and Recycling Expo (AWRE)

www.propack.pro

Winter 2020 ProPack.pro 41

UPDATE AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF PACKAGING

The role of resealable packagin Resealable packaging plays a vital role in the reduction of food waste, and there are some things to consider before these solutions get commercialised

Nerida Kelton, AIP

W

ith Australia producing 7.3 million tons of food waste across the supply and consumption chain and a Federal Government National Food Waste Strategy to halve food waste that goes to landfill by 2030, now is the time for packaging technologists to review pack designs that could minimise food waste and related losses.

According to the National Food Waste Baseline that was launched earlier this year, in 2016-17 (the base year), 2.5 million tons (34 per cent) of food waste and losses were created in our homes, 2.3 million tons (31 per cent) in primary production, and 1.8 million tons (25 per cent) in the manufacturing sector.

Australians recycled 1.2 million tons of food waste, recovered 2.9 million tons through alternative uses for food waste, and disposed of 3.2 million tons. So, what role does packaging play in preventing and or minimising food waste?

The primary purpose of packaging is to contain, protect, preserve, promote and communicate, handle and transport and provide convenience for a product; all the while ensuring the safe delivery of food to the consumer.

Without adequate packaging design features and fit-for-purpose packaging food can potentially be wasted all the way through the supply chain to the consumer. By modifying packaging designs and ensuring that save food packaging guidelines are followed food waste and loss can be minimised.

As a core participant of the newlyestablished Fight Food Waste CRC, the Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP) has been working on producing Save Food Packaging design criteria and communication material for the implementation into food packaging that will lead to better packaging design, material and format selection 42 ProPack.pro Winter 2020

to assist retail, food service and consumers to minimise and prevent food waste.

Resealable packaging to minimise food waste

A very important Save Food Packaging criteria is resealable packaging. Under the umbrella of resealable packaging, there are many intuitive technologies including resealable zippers, resealable lidding films, extrudable reseal adhesives, resealable packaging, sliders, resealable zipper tapes and labels, valves and more.

Resealable packaging provides a myriad of benefits including extension of shelf life, reduction in spillages,

retention of nutritional value and freshness of product, ingress of flavours, prevention of further product contamination, consumer convenience, controlled dispensing and pouring, the allowance for multiple uses of the same pack, and easy storage.

Through this innovative packaging design, consumers have the ability to retain the product in the original pack and not add additional plastic film, foil, bags or containers to maintain freshness and quality of the product.

All of these benefits in turn ensure the prevention of unnecessary food waste and loss.

Here are some things to consider when it comes to resealable packaging: www.propack.pro

AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF PACKAGING UPDATE

ng in minimising food waste 1

• Reseal vs. reclose When selecting the best resealable technologies, ensure that the pack can, in fact, reseal and not simply reclose. There is a significant difference between intuitive resealable designs that guarantee seal integrity and a closure that could compromise the quality of the product. Choosing the wrong solution can potentially stand in the way of preventing food waste in the household, in addition to damaging consumer perceptions of your product.

• Undertaking trials Just like for any other style of packaging, trials need to be www.propack.pro

1. FreshPak’s range of resealable packaging solutions that provides a myriad of benefits 2. Example of a FreshPak Twizzler open and reseal composite

2

undertaken before the resealable packs are commercialised to ensure that the design provides the required freshness, nutritional and food waste objectives for the product. Integrity of seals, freshness, shelf life and barrier, oxygen, contamination, and leakage can be assessed during trials.

• On-pack communication Consider incorporating on-pack communication that explains the key benefits of the resealable option to the consumer. Extension of shelf life, freshness, quality and the ability to minimise food waste in the home are important for consumers. Food manufacturers need to actively engage the consumers in the product journey and to explain the important role that packaging plays in minimising food waste.

• Balancing 2025 and 2030 targets Packaging technologists and designers also need to balance the

2025 National Packaging Targets against the 2030 National Food Waste targets when designing resealable packaging. The decision to move to resealable design must also include discussions about the recyclability of the packaging in the country in which the product is sold. Making the decision to move to packaging that minimises food waste, while meeting the 2025 targets, is the optimum solution and may require undertaking a Lifecycle Assessment to find the sweet spot.

If every food manufacturer made a commitment to incorporate Save Food Packaging guidelines into their packaging development process, then this would be a considerable step in the right direction to minimise and or prevent food waste in Australia.

Nerida Kelton is the executive director of the Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP) and A/NZ board member of the World Packaging Organisation (WPO).

Winter 2020 ProPack.pro 43

UPDATE CLEAN MESSAGING

Fear drives consumer decision, cl Underpinning motivations is what drives us to do what we do, and this is no different for the packaging sector

C

OVID-19 brought the world to a halt, and while we all globally try to return back to ‘normal’, certain legacies will remain. No movement in-countries let alone between countries has changed the way we look at personal safety and health, for the immediate short-term future with possibly follow through in the long-term as human behaviour and motivations have been impacted intensely. Themes for consumer behaviour are likely to include more frozen vegetables and fruit, and preprepared packaged vegetables.

However, the key factor is to understand how fear motivates behaviours, and from that understanding, ‘cleanly’ communicate product attributes that alleviate fears.

Underpinning motivations is what drives us to do what we do. We live in a world of heightened subconscious fears and potential threats brought on by events like 9/11.

Political scientist, Professor John Mueller has been tracking the impact of fear over time.

Prior to 9/11, the last “major fear inducing act” was the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995. Immediately after the Oklahoma City bombing, according to Chang, A. in Americans’ sustained fear from 9/11 has turned into something more dangerous, 42 per cent of Americans were worried that they or their family would be part of an act of terror.

Authors of Chasing ghosts: The policing of terrorism, Mueller, J.E. and M.G. Stewart found that this progressively decreased to 24 per cent in 2001, but peaked to 58 per cent immediately after 9/11. September 11 introduced a new level of fear, distrust, anxiety and increased exposure to security checks to the world that had never been seen before.

Unrestingly, Mueller’s research found that while worry and fear decreased to 40 per cent one month post- 9/11, fear has stayed constant from that point onwards, as shown in Figure 1. In other words, societal fear 44 ProPack.pro Winter 2020

1

Dr Anneline Padayachee

1. Figure 1: Percentage of people who expressed worry that they or their families could be victims of terrorism after the terror attack on 11 September, 2001 to 2016 (extract from Mueller, J.E. and M.G. Stewart, Chasing ghosts: The policing of terrorism. 2016: Oxford University Press) 2. Figure 2: The relationship between uncertainty and tolerance based on the presence of a threat (extract from Haas, I.J. and W.A. Cunningham, The uncertainty paradox: Perceived threat moderates the effect of uncertainty on political tolerance.

Political Psychology, 2014. 35(2): p. 291-302)

2

has not decreased but has remained elevated at the same level as one month post- 9/11, over a decade later.

This is unsurprising as we’ve seen other acts of terror like the Bali bombings in 2002, the Boston marathon bombing in 2013, and the Paris attacks in 2015, reinstating insecurity, mistrust, and selfpreservation behaviours.

Natural disasters like the Indonesian tsunamis in 2004 and Hurricane Katrina that flattened New Orleans in 2005, the Haitian earthquake in 2010, the Thailand collapsed cave rescue, and more recently the Australian bushfires in 2019-2020 are highlighting the fragility of nature and how we are ultimately at the mercy of nature.

Add to this list the potential threat of biological warfare that anthrax in 2001 and rogue-viruses like COVID-19 provide, vulnerability is at an all-time high. Each of these incidences have common elements: uncertainty, a lack of control and personal safety being challenged.

Avoidance behaviour

Uncertainty is a powerful motivator for fear. Fear in turn is a powerful psychological driver that pervades

decision making directly influencing behaviour, particularly avoidance behaviour. Hence there is a direct link between uncertainty and tolerance based on the perceived presence of a threat, as shown in Figure 2. The tolerance for understanding decreases in the presence of potential threat and we become more risk averse.

While there can be a direct link between a known threat and fear, it is essential to understand that there can be inconsistencies between perceived threat and level of fear. For example, it is more common to die from cancer and heart disease (one in seven) and deaths are spread out over time, accustoming us to this threat.

Conversely, an act of terror, biological mutations, a wide-spread devastating act of nature, in which there is a high risk of many lives being impacted at one point of time, has the ability to make us afraid. This behaviour is termed ‘dread-risk’.

The dread-risk is much higher for circumstances that we cannot control and/or do not understand, and directly leads to avoidance behaviours.

In the case of a defined threat, for example COVID-19 or terrorists hijacking planes, the threat can be www.propack.pro

CLEAN MESSAGING UPDATE

lean messaging can alleviate it 3

removed by avoiding certain behaviours such as decreasing interactions with other people and not flying. This also gives rise to other behaviours such as reliance on medical vaccinations, working from home and driving one’s own car. However, when the threat is ill-defined, prone to changing, and partially driven from residual fears from 19 years ago, controlling and alleviating fear is much harder and complex.

Unintentionally, society is a living ecosystem in a constant state of fear of one or more unknown threats.

We’re subconsciously afraid of things we do or don’t know about.

The future has uncertainty in it, but what or who is unknown. In large enough numbers, behaviours are no longer isolated or individualistic but gain momentum, create a movement whether or not the participating individuals realise it or not.

Fear drives decisions

According to University of Pennsylvania decision-making researcher and psychologist Deborah Small, “Fear causes higher perception of risk everywhere, greater precautionary behaviour, greater favourability of action police that prioritises safety over personal liberty”.

Fear impacts our behaviour by: 1. heightening our suspicions (leaders, government, foreigners, things that we do not understand or relate to) 2. exacerbating our prejudices (towards people, things, www.propack.pro

3. “Cleaning up” is so much more than an easy to understand, recognisable, “pantry staple” ingredient list to the consumer

organisations, industries we feel threatened by) 3. over exaggerating our perception of threats from outsiders (foreigners, differing belief systems) 4. decreasing our tolerance 5. changing the way we perceive outsiders we feel threatened by (including dehumanising and/or false accusations) 6. exaggerating threats (can be real or imagined) 7. decreasing our ability to make rational decisions 8. increasing our stubbornness and closing us from finding common ground and compromise 9. increasing pessimism of the future

‘Clean’ is the antidote to uncertainty

So what does this deep dive into the pervasive theme of society’s psyche have to do with the food industry and ‘clean labelling’? Everything.

Food is an oxymoron: it is one of the few things we have complete control over, yet no control over at the same time. While we get to choose what we purchase, eat and feed our family; we are reliant on the food supply to provide it for us. We have to trust them. Hence while food has a direct impact on our health, longevity, wellness, future, and the sustainability of humanity, for most consumers they want to be able to choose foods that alleviate some of their underlying uncertainties. It supports our basic need for survival.

Hence, ‘clean’ can mean different

things to different consumer groups depending on their fear motivations.

When the food industry tries to ‘clean’ up their food products, they primarily have focused on ‘clean labelling’.

However, this approach is fundamentally flawed as ‘cleaning up’ is so much more than an easy to understand, recognisable, ‘pantry staple’ ingredient list to the consumer.

As ‘clean’ embodies the antidote to underlying fears, uncertainties, prejudices and threats (perceived or real) consumers may have, industry needs to communicate ‘clean’ in ways that build trust by alleviating these unmet, intangible motivational drivers.

This can include ingredient listing, but also packaging material, sourcing supply transparency, processing explanations and impact on health.

Consequently, understanding how to ‘clean’ up food packaging requires that we explore what ‘food’ means to consumers and their relationship to the levels of processing in order to gain a better understanding of how to ‘cleanly communicate’ in order to position products that alleviate fearbased motivational drivers.

Dr Anneline Padayachee is an awardwinning scientist and published author named as one of Australia’s leading science communicators. Dr Padayachee is an independent consultant in Australia and overseas, and is also an adjunct senior lecturer with the University of Queensland and Associate Academic with /the University of Melbourne.

Winter 2020 ProPack.pro 45

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