DS Smith has announced its partnership with Romanian agricultural cooperative Serele Super to replace ten million of its plastic packages with recyclable, fibre-based and FSC certified corrugated cardboard solutions.
The DS Smith design team assessed a variety of Serele Super’s single-use packages, previously used to hold the producer’s fresh tomato products, and created a selection of four fibre-based corrugated cardboard punnets as a replacement. The new punnets are said to be faster and easier to pack on the production line and 100% recyclable at the end of their lifespan.
The new punnets also feature an angled corner design to hold specific cherry tomato varieties with different dimension requirements. The shape of the punnets is intended to ensure that any volume of empty space is reduced, while simultaneously supporting packaging and production processes within a hybrid environment. DS Smith’s solution is also wrapped in a recyclable and flexible film to enhance on-shelf appeal and for consumers in-store.
As a result of the new packaging solution, Serele Super claims to have achieved ‘significant benefits’ within a three-year trial period, including -46% less CO2 compared to PET packaging and up to 21% increased optimization of material consumption without compromising on product protection.
The DS Smith design team applied the company’s ‘industry-first’ Circular Design Principles incorporating the use of their Circular Design Metrics (CDM) tool, to measure and quantify a packaging design’s sustainability performance across eight key indicators. The indicators range from carbon footprint, reuse, supply chain optimization and recyclability to materials utilization and recycled content.
Last summer, Coveris collaborated with the Metis plums brand to debut its new LinerlessLid and punnet packaging in Tesco, aiming to align quality, environmental responsibility and consumer appeal. According to the company, the packaging provides an alternative to plastic whilst achieving efficient packing speeds using automated Ravenwood machinery.
More recently, Metsä Group’s innovation company, Metsä Spring, unveiled new punnet products as part of its Muoto Uncoated Fibre Series, featuring two punnet sizes designed for berries, fruits, and vegetables. The punnets are made from renewable wood pulp and said to be fully recyclable and biodegradable.
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