Norske Skog Skogn launches food packaging

The CEFLEX initiative brings together more than 180 European companies, associations and organizations that represent the entire value chain of flexible packaging. To help boost recycling rates and expand sustainable end markets, a team of CEFLEX stakeholders developed a Quality Recycling Process (QRP). The scope of QRP is to mechanically recycle a higher percentage of PE and PP than currently done for non-food contact film applications, since flexible packaging from household waste has very low recycling rates in Europe. After five semi-industrial trials, the final objective is to now build an industrial scale QRP waste processing demonstration plant that will run commercially by 2023. The trials show that flexible packaging waste can indeed be sorted and recycled into fractions that can be made into resins to produce film destined to non-food packaging applications. This can include household cleaning products, like dishwasher tablets.

Lacerta Group announced that on December 21 it acquired the production facility and other assets of Portage Plastics Corporation and PPC Investments, LLC (together, “Portage Plastics”), a manufacturer of thermoformed packaging products based in Portage, WI. As part of the transaction, Lacerta has hired over 50 Portage Plastics employees. Lacerta is a leading North American provider of innovative and sustainable thermoformed packaging solutions, primarily made from PET. Lacerta offers a comprehensive product portfolio and in-house design capabilities, with a particular focus on customers in the prepared food and fresh produce sectors. Lacerta is a market leader in fully recyclable packaging containing post-consumer resin, which is increasingly gaining importance as its customers seek out more sustainable options to reduce their carbon footprint. “We are excited to acquire a great manufacturing site in Portage Wisconsin and welcome a talented group of dedicated associates to the Lacerta family,” said Peter Lennox, CEO of Lacerta. “This transaction is an important step in Lacerta’s growth story and will allow us to better serve our expanding customer base in the Midwest and Central United States.”

Neenah, Inc. announces an ultra-lightweight addition to their single-use sterile packaging offering. This innovative, high-performance solution introduces the market to a durable, cost-saving alternative to kraft and synthetic-based medical packaging traditionally used for nasal swabs, syringes, and other single-use applications. “This ultra-lightweight addition brings new opportunities closer in reach with our global sterile supply chain partners,” says Valerie Henderson, Medical Packaging Product Manager for Neenah. Single-use medical devices are gaining popularity as they help lower costs, increase efficiency, and reduce the spread of infection. Most single-use devices have a shelf life of 3-5 years, making it imperative that the sterilization process remain intact from supplier to opening at the final destination. Kraft-based medical packaging, used for single-use devices, can tear or burst due to packing or transportation style. It is essential that medical packaging be durable, especially if it is lightweight.