Berry and stone fruit production marketing group Berry Gardens will launch new recycled packaging for its proprietary punnets this summer, using Prevented Ocean Plastic. Prevented Ocean Plastic is plastic that has been collected from coastal areas that would otherwise risk polluting the ocean. It is found within 50 km of ocean coastlines or major waterways that lead to the ocean.
The rPET packaging will be produced by Sharpak Aylesham; it will contain up to 80% recycled content including 30% of Prevented Ocean Plastic.
Berry Gardens chief executive officer Nick Allen told Packaging Gateway: “Berry Gardens has chosen to work with Sharpak because of their 45+ years of expertise in the soft fruit industry and their ability to invest in forward thinking innovations, which support the packers needs for sustainability. Sharpak recognises the needs of our business and the requirement to support the organisation at short notice, which has been one of the key success for Sharkpak in this industry. As a result of this we have been able to build a long and successful relationship.”
Prevented Ocean Plastic is supplied by Bantam Materials and certified by OceanCycle. The material is made from plastic bottles collected from shorelines which are then converted into raw material. Using this material, Berry Gardens expects to prevent more than 204 tons of plastic from entering the ocean.
Photo source: Prevented Ocean Plastic Research Centre & Dreamstime.com