Following Asda’s pledge last year to reduce plastic by 10%, Ultimate Packaging has been working closely with International Produce Limited (IPL) to deliver new sustainable solutions, while maintaining quality, machine efficiency and shelf life of the product. The printer has been given the IPL sustainability award 2018 for this work.
The key areas focused on were own brand potatoes and onions. After extensive trials and testing at various packer sites, LDPE film thicknesses were down-gauged from 27 to 25 microns, a reduction of 60,000kg pa.
‘Working alongside our strategic supply partner Ultimate we have delivered significant packaging weight reduction within the Asda potato category, reducing cost and making improvements to our supply chain. Overall this is a very positive and pleasing result,’ said Darren Surry, senior manager GNFR and packaging at IPL.
Packaging for Asda King Edwards potatoes has also been reworked to reduce greening and extend the shelf life. The material was changed to a black and white co-ex, which enabled Asda to increase shelf life from four to nine days.
‘Continuing to down-gauge provides a technical challenge, however with the multilayer formulation we have developed with our suppliers we have reduced the thickness by 7.5%. With the knowledge we have gained, we will continue to reduce further and introduce the technology in other applications,’ said Adam Bolsover technical manager at Ultimate.
