Greiner Packaging participates in first live UK food-to-go show since pandemic

Greiner Packaging is not shy about showing that sustainability is where its heart is. During the upcoming National Recycle Week in the UK, the company will be exhibiting at the lunch! trade show for the food-to-go industry, where its theme will be ‘We love sustainable plastics’.

It is the first live event in the sector since the pandemic and Greiner Packaging is exhibiting there for the first time, noted Greiner Packaging Market Development Manager Rachel Sheldon.

Greiner Packaging has been producing sustainable packaging for the food industry for more than 60 years, she added. With the UK Plastic Packaging Tax taking effect from 1 April 2022, the company is now eager to demonstrate the plastic tax-exempt packaging solutions that are available. The tax will apply to all plastic packaging manufactured in, or imported into, the UK produced with less than 30% recycled content.

“Plastic is a must for cups, bottles, and similar types of packaging, as it allows their contents to be transported and extends the shelf life. But it doesn’t make sense to use it once and then discard it,” said Sheldon. 

Four years ago, the company signed the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment launched by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, committing to, by 2025,  making all its plastic packaging 100% recyclable, reusable, or compostable; using as much recycled material as possible; and eliminating problematic and unnecessary plastic packaging.”

“Greiner Packaging is committed to moving from a linear economic system to a circular economy, and our aim is to keep plastic out of nature and in the economic cycle for as long as possible so that today’s consumer goods become tomorrow’s raw materials,” Sheldon emphasised.

The company has therefore developed, among others, a fully recyclable cardboard-plastic combination, which consists of a cup made from PET or recycled PET (r-PET), wrapped in a removable cardboard sleeve that can also be made from recycled materials.This K3 packaging solution is exempt from the upcoming plastic tax and has an improved CO₂ footprint.

Greiner Packaging UK & Ireland also recently invested over £3,700,000 in a new PET decontamination and extrusion line to enable the use of more recycled materials in its market leading cup and tub ranges.

Until now, PET has faced the major challenge of heat resistance and has not been used for dairy packaging, as the dairy industry applies high-temperature steam sterilization (HTS) to disinfect cups before filling. Greiner Packaging has now successfully developed cups made from PET and r-PET that are heat resistant up to temperatures of 120˚C. This not only allows their use for dairy products, but also for hot drinks and dry soup or noodle ready-meals that are filled up with boiling water before consumption.

The company will also be showcasing a food cup made of polyolefin materials from the Bornewables portfolio developed by Borealis, based on second-generation waste and residue streams. These materials offer the same properties as virgin polyolefin materials, but with a substantially reduced carbon footprint. Life cycle analysis has shown that using Bornewables substantially reduces a product’s carbon footprint by at least 2.7 kg CO₂eq for every kilogram of polymer, representing a saving of up to 120% in comparison to fossil-based PP.

The lunch! food-to-go trade show will take place from Thursday 23 to Friday 24 September at the London ExCeL exhibition centre in the Royal Docks area of Newham, East London.