A levy on disposable cups could hurt the UK’s manufacturing sector, according to a study report Packaging News.

Campaigners have failed in an attempt to force fast food chain McDonald’s to reveal its use of plastic straws.

The proposal was put forward by a small shareholder and backed by pressure group SumOfUs. However, 92% of shareholders rejected the idea. McDonald’s reportedly said that the measure would be “unnecessary”.

Plastic straws have been targeted by environmental pressure groups as part of a wider effort to cut single-use plastic packaging. This week, hotel group Hilton announced it would be eliminating plastic straws and bottles worldwide.

Tottenham Hotspur’s new stadium, which is set to open later this year, will also ban single-use plastics. Pub chain Weatherspoon is also eliminating plastic straws across 900 outlets while Costa will phase them out over the course of the year.

Environment Secretary Michael Gove claimed that withdrawing from the EU could make it easier to ban plastic straws. However, disability groups have argued that banning plastic straws could have unintended consequences for people with neurological conditions.

Supermarket giant Tesco is to scrap best before dates on its fruit and vegetables in a bid to fight food waste.

The global corrugated packaging market is set to grow to almost $383bn (£270bn) by 2023, with e-commerce providing a prime area of future opportunities.

Nestlé has announced its ambition to make 100% of its packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025.  Its vision is that none of its packaging, including plastics, ends up in landfill or as litter. Nestlé believes that there is an urgent need to minimise the impact of packaging on the environment.

Smurfit Kappa is installing the new HP PageWide C500 digital press – HP’s most technologically advanced digital press for corrugated application.

The press will be installed in Smurfit Kappa’s Interwell plant in Austria, and is designed for greater customisation and flexibility of corrugated printing, the new industrial-scale press will be the first commercial HP single pass press in Europe.

The press will be installed in April and will support Smurfit Kappa’s extensive customer base in the FMCG sector.

With a fully integrated stack-to-stack workflow, the press combines digital simplicity with off-set replaceable print quality on both coated and uncoated paper.

The technology will provide brand owners with customised packaging solutions that can drive sales across both online and traditional sales channels.

Smurfit Kappa will sue the press in conjunction with its ShelfSmart and eSmart services.

The graphic flexibility and quality of the new HP PageWide C500 Press will further enhance the company’s service to drive brand recognition and provide fit-for-purpose packaging.

Furthermore, the HP water-based inks facilitate printing on both primary and secondary food packaging without an additional barrier which can comply with even the most stringent global food safety regulations.

| A PackagingNews release |  ||  April 10, 2018   |||

Leading food company Alliance Group has dispatched its first major shipment of product in vacuum skin tray packaging to Hong Kong following a successful trial.

Unilever has announced a partnership to pioneer a new technology which converts PET waste back into virgin grade material for use in food packaging.

Starbucks is committing $10m to develop a fully recyclable and compostable coffee cup.  The coffee giant said its NextGen Cup Challenge initiative, in partnership with Closed Loop Partners’ Center for the Circular Economy, will provide grants to inventors who are working towards a new cup technology.

Iceland Foods has launched two new major product ranges for the ready meals market packed in Stora Enso paperboard trays.  With its 900 stores, Iceland Foods accounts for 30% of frozen ready meal sales in the UK, and the business is growing.