August Letters

Regarding politician Caroline Jackson’s call for more support for recycled plastics (see page 14), Wells Plastics supplies oxo-biodegradable products under the Reverte brand and is a founding member of the British Plastics Federation group for bio-degradable and degradable plastics.

Wells is in full support of oxo-biodegradable products and feels they are a very useful tool in reducing the environmental impact of plastics in certain applications. However, in other areas other tools may need to be used.

There is, however, confusion in the marketplace over terms. Firstly, hydro-biodegradable products are not just derived from crops. For example, polycaprolactone is a hydro-biodegradable polymer and is derived from oil resources. In addition, the first stage of both oxo-biodegradation and hydro-biodegradation is a degradation process, after which there is a biodigestion stage.

Both of these breakdown routes are dependant on ambient surroundings and it is these that determine the final rate of degradation, so stating six months to achieve complete degradation with an oxo-biodegradable without defining terms is misleading.
Carl Birch
Sales and marketing director
Wells Plastics

Less packaging, more savings
With regards to recent reports on oil prices pushing up packaging and food costs, there is no doubt that over the past year sharp increases in fuel prices have resulted in higher costs for packaging and transportation.
Food and Drink Federation members are working on ways to reduce pack-aging as an environmental priority. However, as fuel prices have increas-ed and led to an inevitable rise in the cost of packaging, initiatives to reduce packaging are increasingly providing a win-win in terms of cost savings.
Keren McCarron
Food and Drink Federation
Posted on www.packagingnews.co.uk

Milk bags leave a sour taste
Packaging designers work hard at innovation, lightweighting, recycling and overall minimisation.
Plastic milk bottles are a great example; they are easy to use, have a handle, are 100% recyclable and more importantly they are recycled, re-sealable and fit for purpose.
Then along comes the milk bag. A bag, a jug, a corrugated transport tray and a set of instructions. I’ve tried this ‘new’ bag, and a considerable amount of milk gets left in it after use. That’s more food waste. Isn’t this the area we should all be focused on, not just packaging?
Anonymous
Posted on www.packagingnews.co.uk