The use of salt-modified starch as a binder could assist the production
of compostable carbohydrate-based polymers with varied properties, say
researchers at Leicester University in the UK.
DEFRA, which funds WRAP, will be forced to cut £162m from its budget under new Chancellor George Osborne’s £6.2bln savings plan, while at the same time recycling targets are set to rise. Gary Price asks key representatives from the sector how they think the cuts will affect industry and what they wish the new Government to achieve.
Software that may help retailers, as well as packaging manufacturers and designers, reduce the costs and CO2 emissions associated with transporting, storing and shelving packed products is said to have been used for the first time by a major UK retailer.
A process that enables blow moulders to co-extrude high-density
polyethylene (HDPE) bottles layered with thermoplastic elastomers
(TPEs), has been developed by PolyOne, headquartered in Cleveland, USA.
The amount of food that UK households and businesses waste could be significantly reduced with the help of nanotechnology in packaging, concluded speakers at the Food Packaging and Waste event, held in London, UK, on 29 June.
PackSource, the unique and indispensable sourcing guide to today's UK
packaging
industry, is now available online in collaboration with Ten Alps Media.
A printable nano-based tag that can be invisibly embedded in packaging
could provide a cost-effective tracking solution, say researchers at Rice University, USA, and Sunchon National
University (SNU) in Korea.
Coatings that enhance the barrier properties of bio-based polymers and improve the recyclability of conventional packaging materials for dried food and pharmaceutical blister packs are being explored at VTT Technical Research Centre in Finland.
An automatic tuning system for drilling, originally developed to aid
space exploration, has found application in the packaging industry. The patented device is said to be able to shape thin sheets of aluminium into cans, reducing raw material requirements by 12%.
‘A mandatory reporting requirement’ for research conducted into nanomaterials in food or food contact materials ‘could... act as a deterrent for companies and other laboratories to carry out research and development in the UK’, claims the UK Government.
