Replacing single-use plastics
Project title: Technical challenges associated with reducing or replacing single use plastic packaging within the food and drink industry
Member Funded Research project number: 147091
Why are we undertaking this project?
Plastic packaging is widely used for food and drink products. There is growing awareness of the environmental impact that some plastics can have when discarded irresponsibly – most noticeably with ‘single-use plastics’. There is a need to reduce or remove these plastics, but in doing so businesses often face significant technical challenges.
What are we doing as part of this project?
Testing alternative materials for a range of food/drink applications and producing practical case studies. We’ll also explore consumer understanding of recycling and their acceptance of alternative packaging materials.
Current status of the project
We have created an information sharing link resource to act as a ‘go to’ window to find useful documents and research carried out by specialist companies. We have been speaking with members across the supply chain Inclusive of each stage of the life span including packaging manufacturers, packers, retailers, waste management and consumer to gather information on where their technical challenges lie.
Our first case study has focused on ‘black plastic’ with testing commenced to include ready meal type applications involving potential alternative to CPET. Testing has been carried out on CPET, aluminium, paperboard and bagasse trays to assess their performance using a range of test methods at different test environment conditions. The final piece of work within year 1 includes a consumer study to allow for an in-depth perception into consumers attitudes and behavioural characteristics, alongside knowledge of materials. We have received the surveys back and analysis is currently on-going with the results will be published at the end of year 1.
Information sharing links updated December 2022
Alternative materials
-
Siegwerk and Henkel join forces to create a new solution for recyclable flexible packaging
Siegwerk -
HSMG an HB Fuller combine technologies to create ‘recyclable’ barrier solution for single use paper cups
Packaging Europe -
Worlds first energy bar with edible packaging
Nurhu -
Biodegradable moisture control pouch gives berries and lettuce extended shelf life
Packaging Europe -
Coca-Cola collaborates with tech partners
to create bottle prototype made from 100% plant-based sources
Coca-Cola Company -
Smurfit Kappa opens up a new world of possibilities with water-resistant paper
Smurfit Kappa -
Introducing: Amcor LifeSpan® Performance Paper
Amcor -
Packaging made from apple waste
IOM3 -
Ecological coating for bananas
EMPA - Materials Science + Technology -
Alternative and novel packaging: 4 key considerations
Campden BRI Blogs -
Rethinking polymers: The challenges of commercializing biobased materials
Packaging Europe -
Tri-Star
Packaging introduces home compostable Notpla coated kraft food boxes
Tri-Star -
EPS equivalent made from maize
Plant Pack -
Why paper bottles may be the best way
to sell a Pepsi
Packaging 360 -
Podcast: SIG launch of tethered caps for carton packs three years ahead of EU regulatory requirements
FoodBev Media -
Nestle – Smarties
switch to paper packs
Nestle -
Amcor – recyclable pouch
Food Manufacture -
WRAP - Evaluation of a
plastic-free/loose fresh produce trial
WRAP -
Suntory – Ribena progresses it sustainability
journey by rolling up its sleeve
Suntory -
Navigating disposables and reusables
REfill -
Packing
Ritter Sport in paper
Interpack -
Plastic packaging alternatives – what you need to know | Campden BRI Blog
Alternative materials consideration blog -
Could this innovative technology replace plastic coatings and PFAS?
Packaging Europe -
New ‘PET-like plastic’ made directly from waste biomass
Packaging Europe -
TIPA & Aquapak collaborate for new innovative circular packaging solutions
British Plastics Federation -
Parkside leads sustainable packaging expertise to Innovate UK-funded mono-material project
Parkside Flexibles -
Titos launches empty refillable can
The Sprit Business -
The cup you can eat with your coffee
Cupffee
Circular economy
-
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation: Working towards a circular, global vision for plastics
Packaging Europe -
4evergreen launches recyclability evaluation tool for fibre-based packaging
Packaging Europe -
The UK Plastics pact annual report 2021-2022
WRAP -
Uplift: Upcycling bio plastics of food and drinks packaging
Uplift -
How can the packaging industry navigate increasing supply shortages?
Packaging Europe -
What does the European commission circular economy action plan mean for the packaging sector?
Packaging Europe -
What do rising commodity prices linked with the war in Ukraine mean for glass, metal and plastic packaging?
Packaging Europe -
CEFLEX launches EPR ‘Criteria for
Circularity’ in flexible packaging
CEFLEX -
The missing link in plastics circularity
Packaging Europe -
A historic
moment: the adaption of a mandate to negotiate a legally binding UN treaty on plastic pollution
Ellen Macarthur Foundation -
What actions have packaging companies been taking in the reaction to the war in Ukraine?
Packaging Europe -
WRI predicts ‘dramatic change’ to European wood trade due to declining harvest and Russia invasion of Ukraine
Packaging Europe -
Life cycle assessment of
beverage packaging
Alice Brook and Ian D Williams -
Reusable test
in 10 restaurants
Food Service International News -
edie: 2020 Roadmap for
sustainable business
edie -
Plastic & Climate: The Hidden
Costs of a Plastic Planet (May 2019)
Center for Environmental Law (CEIL) -
The UK Plastics Pact | WRAP (The Waste and Resources Action Programme)
Circular Economy -
Eliminating problem plastics | Ellen Macarthur Foundation
Circular Economy -
Towards a circular economy
| European Commission
Circular Economy -
Flexible Packaging Europe
Sustainability key facts | CEFLEX
Circular Economy -
Completing the
Picture: How the Circular Economy Tackles Climate Change | Ellen Macarthur Foundation
Circular Economy -
New Plastics Economy Global Commitment -
June 2019 | WRAP (The Waste and Resources Action Programme)
Circular Economy -
The new
plastics economy rethinking the future of plastics | Ellen Macarther Foundation Report
Plastic materials future resourcing -
Sustainable Manufacturing: A Guide For The Plastics Processing
| BPF (British Plastics Federation) Guidance
Sustainable manufacturing guidance document -
Ellen Macarther Infographic Circular Economy System
Diagram | Ellen Macarther Foundation Information
Circular economy -
Measuring environmental change – draft indicators framework for the 25 Year Environment Plan | DEFRA (Department for
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) Report
Circular economy -
The UK Plastics Pact | WRAP (The Waste and
Resources Action Programme) Information
Plastic materials future resourcing -
The UK Plastics Pact | WRAP
(The Waste and Resources Action Programme) Information
Circular economy -
The Courtauld Commitment 2025 | WRAP (The Waste
and Resources Action Programme) Guidance
Circular economy -
A Green Future: Our 25 Year Plan to Improve the
Environment | DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) Government report
UK government document - future plans -
Designing for a Circular Economy | CEFLEX
Circular economy -
Perspectives in boosting value and
keeping materials in the economy | CEFLEX
Circular economy -
Our journey towards a circular economy for flexible
packaging
| CEFLEX
Circular economy -
Closing the loop for multilayer flexible packaging - barrier analysis Final Report | CEFLEX
Circular economy -
The Jevons Paradox and the
Myth of Resource Efficiency Improvements | John M. Polimeni, Kozo Mayumi, Mario Giampietro and Blake Alcott
Circular economy -
The Courtauld Commitment Annual Report 2021 |
WRAP | WRAP (The Waste and Resources Actin Programme)
Circular economy -
Addressing the challenges of plastic waste: Circularity and leakage
McKinsey & Company -
Tetra Pak tests an industry first: a fibre-based barrier to replace the aluminium layer
Tetra-Pak -
Ball Aluminium Cup set for UK debut as alternative to single-use cups
Packaging News
Consumer
-
Video – Bioplastics: What do people think? – usable packaging
(usable-packaging.eu)
Usable plastics -
Sustainable packaging. Has the Covid pandemic changed everything?
DS Smith -
A throwaway world.
The Challenge of Plastic Packaging and Waste
Ipsos Mori -
Straw Wars. Plastic
Reduction – a new battleground for Brand Reputation
Ipsos Mori -
The Third
moment of truth. Why Sustainable packaging became a corporate necessity
Ipsos Mori -
Global Mapping and Assessment of Standards,
Labels and Claims on Plastic Packaging
Consumers International -
Research study into consumer plastic recycling
behaviour
| RECOUP (RECycling Of Used Plastics limited)
Consumer -
INCPEN and WRAP: UK survey 2019 on citizens’
attitudes and behaviours relating to food waste, packaging and plastic packaging
| WRAP (The Waste and Resources Action Programme)
Consumer -
Research study into consumer plastic recycling
behaviour
| RECOUP (RECycling Of Used Plastics limited)
Consumer -
Deposit Return Schemes, Consumer insights research 2018
| RECOUP (RECycling Of Used Plastics limited)
Consumer -
Consumers interpretation of on-pack communication:
findings from focus group research and literature review | Campden BRI R&D report
Consumer interpretation of on pack labelling -
The relative importance of environmental
concerns and ethical practices when consumers make food and drink purchasing decisions (Part 1) | Campden BRI R&D report
On pack labelling and consumer choices -
The relative importance of environmental
concersns and ethical practices when consumers make food and drink purchasing decisions (Part 2) | Campden BRI R&D report
On pack labelling and consumer choices -
An evaluation of extrinsic cues when designing
product packaging | Campden BRI R&D report
Packaging influences on consumer choice -
On-pack labelling and citizen recycling
behaviour | WRAP | WRAP (The Waste and Resources Actin Programme)
Packaging influences on consumer choice
Recycling
-
Scientists develop new process to upcycle plastics and reduce greenhouse gas emissions
University of Illinois - Urbana Champaign -
ValueFlex- plans to launch for commercial scale plant to recycle flexible plastic packaging
CEFLEX -
Coveris launches recover
Coveris -
Recycling plastic packaging in the UK- Who owns the bottleneck?
RECOUP -
Walmart’s Circular Connector
Walmart Sustainability Hub -
PolyREC® launches RecoTraceTM
Polyrec -
Government confirms EPR scheme roll out delayed to 2024
Food Manufacture -
Its “Crunch Time” for UK Plastic
Packaging Recycling (includes link to- Household Plastics Collection Survey 2021)
Recoup -
Research from DS Smith identifies packaging types disrupting paper recycling streams
Packaging Europe -
What are supermarkets doing about plastics
Which -
INCPEN’s 2021 Survey on Public Confidence in Recycling – Slides presented at RtF Conference – 21 October 2021
INCPEN -
Pepsi MAX makes switch
to 100 percent recycled plastic bottles
Pepsico -
Recycling targets 2021-2022
Environment Agency -
National Packaging
Waste Data base, Recycling carried out so far in 2021
Environment Agency -
Introduction of the Plastic Packaging Tax
Gov.uk -
Recyclass Pack Certification - Certification system for plastic packaging recyclability
RECOUP (Recycling of Used Plastics Limited) -
Recyclass - Recyclability Product Certification
Recyclass -
British Plastics Federations
– Recycled content used in plastic packaging applications
British Plastics Federations -
Recoup – 2019 Household recycling survey
RECOUP (Recycling of Used Plastics Limited) -
Compositional analysis of Local Authority collected and non-Local Authority collected non-household municipal waste (England)
WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) -
Reuse - Rethinking Packaging | Ellen Macarthur
Foundation
Recycling -
REFLEX Project - A summary
report on the results and findings from the REFLEX project | CEFLEX
Recycling -
Understanding the debate about plastics | British
Plastics Federation (BPF)
Recycling -
Recyclability by design | RECOUP (RECycling Of Used Plastics limited)
Recycling -
RECOUP (RECycling Of Used Plastics limited) | RECOUP (RECycling Of
Used Plastics limited)
Recycling -
Defining what’s recyclable and
best in class polymer choices for packaging | WRAP (The Waste and Resources Action Programme)
Recycling -
OPRL
Recyclable Packaging Design Tool | OPRL (On-Pack Recycling Label)Press release
OPRL logo and information -
UK Plastics Pact: Six Month
Update on OPRL’s Ten Commitments | OPRL (On-Pack Recycling Label) News release
OPRL logo and information -
More Materials
'Widely Recycled' Under New OPRL Rules | OPRL (On-Pack Recycling Label) News release
OPRL logo and information -
Material flows in the UK | WRAP (The Waste and Resources Action
Programme) Guidance
Waste management information -
WRAP's vision for the UK circular economy to 2020
| WRAP (The Waste and Resources Action Programme) Guidance
Waste management information -
Rigid Plastic Packaging in the Commercial and
Industrial Sectors | WRAP (The Waste and Resources Action Programme) Report
Waste management information -
Minimum thickness of plastic bottles to be
recycled | WRAP (The Waste and Resources Action Programme)Report
Waste management information -
Design tips for making rigid plastic
packaging more recyclable | WRAP (The Waste and Resources Action Programme) Guidance
Waste management information< -
Composition of plastic waste collected via
kerbside | WRAP (The Waste and Resources Action Programme) Report
Waste management information -
End market
applications for household polyethylene film pellets | WRAP (The Waste and Resources Action Programme)Report
Waste management information -
Developing End Markets For
PET Pots, Tubs and Trays | WRAP (The Waste and Resources Action Programme) Report
Waste management information -
End Markets for recycled detectable
black PET plastics | WRAP (The Waste and Resources Action Programme) Report
Waste management information -
Development of NIR Detectable
Black Plastic Packaging | WRAP (The Waste and Resources Action Programme) Report
Waste management information -
A State-by-State Assessment of Containers and Packaging Recycling Rates - Technical Appendix - Eunomia | Eunomia
Waste management information -
Chemical
recycling and its CO2 reduction potential | Geert Bergsma – CE Delft
Waste management information -
Recyclability by design 2021 | Recoup (RECycling Of Used
Plastics)
Waste management information -
Recycling Tracker Report 2021: Behaviours, attitudes and awareness around recycling | WRAP | WRAP (The Waste and Resources
Actin Programme)
Waste management information -
RecyClass Design Book- A step-by-step guide to plastic packaging recyclability
RecyClass -
Little Freddie- We have launched the UK’s first fully recyclable pouch
Little Freddie -
Parkside collaborates with Iceland on worlds-first recyclable paper pack for frozen food
Parkside Flexibles -
Mondi opens laboratory that tests paper product recyclability
Mondi
Suitability
-
Adapt or die: The ecology of plastics
Packaging Europe -
Single-use plastic ban in European Union
Campden BRI Blogs -
Eliminating problem plastics (Version 4)
WRAP -
BPF releases
online tool to identify what qualifies for the plastic tax packaging tax
BPF -
Packaging for people, planet and profit - a sustainability
checklist | INCPEN (Industry Council for Packaging and the Environment)
Suitability -
Packaging issues relevant to product reheating | Campden BRI Blog
Reheating considerations -
Are your packaging specifications suitable? | Campden BRI Blog
Packaging specification considerations -
Ensuring that your packaging is fit for purpose | Campden BRI White paper
Packaging testing overview with downloadable whitepaper -
Smart and sustainable: Can packaging be both?
Packaging Europe -
The Complete Package: Modular systems and sustainable materials
Food Manufacture
Waste
-
Active packaging innovation include edible coatings and nanotechnology
Food Navigator -
Packaging World -
The Plastics waste hierarchy- a review
WRAP -
‘We
need composting, but compostable packaging is still single-use’
Packaging Europe (Ellen MacArthur Foundation) -
UK household food waste tracking survey Winter 2021: Behaviors, attitudes and awareness
WRAP -
Reducing household food waste and plastic packaging
WRAP -
An inshore–offshore sorting system revealed from global
classification of ocean litter
Nature Sustainability -
Eliminating Problem Plastics (Version 2 -
August 2019) | WRAP (The Waste and Resources Action Programme)
Waste -
Reducing food and packaging waste | Campden BRI Blog
Waste reduction -
Reduction of food
and packaging waste within the supply chain | Campden BRI R&D report
Waste reduction -
Waste and resource use in the
food and drink industry: A review of processing and packaging waste, energy and water issues | Campden BRI R&D report
Waste reduction -
Better package seals for
reducing food waste | Campden BRI R&D report
Waste reduction -
The retail industry response to the Resources and Waste Strategy Consultations | BRC (British Retail Consortium) Press
release
Waste management information -
Local authority collected waste management - annual results | DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Report
Waste management information -
Household waste duty of care: fixed penalty notice guidance | DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Report
Waste management information -
Importing and
exporting waste if there’s no Brexit deal | DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and RuralAffairs) Guidance
Waste management information -
ENV18 -
Local authority collected waste: annual results tables | DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) Report
Waste management information -
Resources and waste strategy: at a glance | DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) Guidance
Waste management information -
PlasticFlow 2025 - Plastic Packaging Flow Data Report | WRAP (The Waste and Resources Action Programme) Report
Waste management information -
Understanding
plastic packaging and the language we use to describe it | WRAP (The Waste and Resources Action Programme) Report
Waste management information -
Counting the Cost of UK Waste Crime -
Eunomia | Eunomia
Waste management information -
Waste in the Net-Zero Century: How Better Waste Management Practices Can Contribute to Reducing Global Carbon Emissions - Eunomia | Eunomia
Waste management information -
Mimica touchcap
United Caps
Project outputs
MIG updates and webinars
RSSs, R&Ds and project updates
