Stories relating to packaging and sustainability that got my attention during the last week or so.
Finally, a Ban on TCE Looks Possible
It has been known for decades that Trichloroethylene (TCE) which is often found in plastic packaging, is harmful to health, but the Federal government has done nothing about it – despite TCE being mostly banned in Europe.
Finally, the EPA is proposing to ban this harmful chemical.
Read more here at the EPA website.
Herma’s More Sustainable Label Material
From Herma GmbH comes a new pressure-sensitive label material made from 50% post-consumer recycled material.
HERMA rPE white rv PE film (grade 857), is corona treated and is designed to be printed by any of the common print technologies.
It can also be overprinted with thermal transfer printers, although it states that testing should be done first to ensure compatibility.
Information on this label is on the Herma Website.
Updated Domino TTO Printer
Domino has updated its compact thermal transfer overprinter range to the new Vx Series.
More modern design, updated HMI and vastly improved and simplified ribbon threading are highlights.
With 38mm and 53mm print widths and continuous and intermittent operation, the Vx Series can handle many applications.
More information at the Domino site.
AI-powered Fruit Sorting and Grading
Tomra Spectrum X grading system for fruit products uses the power of AI and deep learning to improve sorting and grading performance.
The company’s LUCAi™ Deep Learning capability allows for quick adjustment of grade tolerances, allowing customers to adjust to season and market changes and maximize yields.
See more at the Tomra site.
New Protein Promises to Speed Up PET Recycling
Scientists in Barcelona have developed a protein that could potentially speed up the recycling process of PET.
Not only can the protein help with PET recycling, it can also assist with dealing with tiny microplastics.
There is a lot more information on this topic to found here.
Amazon Plant Eliminates Plastic Packaging
Making e-commerce packaging more sustainable is a challenge and it’s encouraging that Amazon is taking this seriously.
This article (from the About Amazon) site shows how paper-based packaging is replacing plastic in one of their locations.
Hopefully, this will be rolled out across their complete organization.
Plastic-Free Poppies for Poppy Day
With Remembrance Day coming up soon, I was interested to see this story that the Royal British Legion has switched to plastic-free for this year’s poppy appeal.
As well as bing a poignant symbol of remembrance, the new poppy is said have 40% less carbon footprint.
Now, there’s progress.
Full story at The Guardian.