Greggs, Asda, Lidl, M&S, Tesco, Waitrose and Morrisons have implemented Greiner Packaging’s self-separating packaging solution – which is said to achieve a recyclability rate of up to 98% – into their own-brand instant porridge pots.
The K3 r100’s plastic packaging and cardboard wrap are designed to separate during the waste disposal process without requiring human intervention. This means the end consumer does not need to split the components manually.
Instead, they are set to arrive at a recycling facility in their separate materials; this is then expected to optimize near-infrared (NIR) detection processes, sort the cardboard and plastic elements into their respective material streams, and facilitate effective recycling.
The K3 r100 is the latest version of Greiner Packaging’s original K3 cardboard-plastic cup. As an initial effort to reduce plastic consumption, it features a tear tab to allow consumers to intuitively separate the cardboard outer wrap from the lightweight plastic cup.
Rachel Sheldon, Sustainability and Innovation manager at Greiner Packaging UK & Ireland, comments: “Waitrose, Greggs, Morrisons, M&S, Tesco, Lidl and Asda have all moved their successful ready to eat instant porridge brands to our increasingly popular award-winning K3 r100 packaging solution.
“We are excited to see so many UK retailers realizing the benefits of our self-separating packaging solution, following Symington’s which became the first UK food producer to move over to K3 r100 for its Oatburst instant porridge brand last July.”
All the way back in November 2023, we covered the repackaging of Molkerei Forster’s Milbona brand natural yoghurts sold at Lidl Schweiz into K3 r100 self-separating cups. Symington’s followed suit with its Oatburst instant porridge brand shortly after.
Quaker Oats made a similar move by adopting paper packaging across its porridge pot range at the beginning of 2024. The transition was expected to eliminate an estimated 200 tonnes of plastic from its supply chain annually and improve the pack’s recyclability.
This year, Huhtamaki has unveiled single coated paper cups for dairy products. These are said to contain less than 10% plastic and reduce the polymer content of traditional packs while meeting the high food safety requirements for yoghurt applications.
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