SCA to increase kraftliner prices by € 50 per tonne

Smurfit Kappa has approved transformational investment plans for its Mold plant in North Wales, that will further expand capacity at the facility, make it the largest box factory in the UK and allow the company to meet the growing demand for sustainable packaging. The investment in state-of-the-art equipment will reduce CO2 per tonne emissions by 15% at the plant. Commenting on the announcement, Smurfit Kappa UK and Ireland CEO, Eddie Fellows, said, “This investment in North Wales will increase our capability, flexibility and speed of response to deliver unrivalled, innovative packaging solutions to customers across the UK and Ireland. We are determined to meet the future needs of our customers in a sustainable way. It is vital that our investment has benefits for the local community and the environment.”

As the result of a successful Challenge Brief presentation at the 2021 Aptar Global Supplier Summit, we are excited to announce that Aptar has joined Nextloopp. Nextloopp is a multimember project that is comprised of a diverse group of companies with the common goal of creating a circular pathway for post-consumer Polypropylene (PP) packaging. Aptar will help play a key role in validating the use of this technology, which includes proprietary decontamination and marking technology developed by Nextek. Participation in the project gives Aptar access to early production materials from Nextloopp pilot facilities that can be tested using Aptar’s resin validation control process. These materials have the potential to obtain food-grade approval in addition to inert grades that could be used for cosmetic applications. Aptar will also be able to influence the development of specific types of material that are relevant to our key customers as well as support dossier preparation to regulatory agencies. Delivery of pilot material is scheduled before the end of 2021 and the project will last until October 2022.

Anthony Pratt, Executive Global Chairman of Pratt Industries and Visy, often refers to Pratt’s material recovery programs and circular strategy as harvesting the urban forest. “Through our closed loop process,” says Pratt, “we harvest the urban forest to divert 3 million tons of paper, other recyclable materials and waste-to-clean energy materials from the landfill each year.” To better explain what it means to harvest the urban forest and why it is important for Pratt, our customers and their end-users, we spoke with two leaders and experts on sustainability, material recovery and recycling. Between Cathy Foley and Shawn State, there are 50 plus years of experience and accumulated knowledge on recycling and sustainable initiatives for the paper and packaging industry. Foley has served as the Executive Vice President, Industry Relations & Supply Chain for Pratt since 2016, but she previously spent more than 20 years at the American Forest and Paper Association, including as Group Vice President. She was also elected to serve as the Chairman of the Fibre Box Association from 2020-2021.