Québec : Pas de loi contre le suremballage

D’après un article récent publié dans le Journal de Québec, le ministère du Développement durable, Environnement et Parcs n’entend pas sévir contre le suremballage en alimentation. On estime que le système de redevance déjà en place et une sensibilisation viendront à bout de certaines mauvaises habitudes.

Au Québec, l’adoption de nouvelles normes environnementales, en l’occurrence les lois 102 et 130* est susceptible d’amorcer un changement dans la conception de l’emballage. Pour toutes les entreprises du secteur, il devient donc urgent de « produire mieux avec moins ».

Le suremballage coûte cher au fabricant et agace énormément le client. La solution pourrait venir de l’éco-conception, une approche novatrice qui consiste à concevoir et fabriquer des emballages qui répondent « mieux » aux impératifs environnementaux. Avec des emballages éco-conçus, l'entreprise utilise moins de matières premières, d'énergie et de transport, ce qui se traduit non seulement par un gain environnemental mais aussi par un gain économique.

En Europe, « Plus personne aujourd'hui ne met un emballage sur le marché s'il n'a pas été éco-conçu », estime Annette Freidinger, maître de conférence à l'École Nationale d'Agronomie et d'Industrie alimentaire de Nancy.

Cette vision est sans doute très, voire trop optimiste, car il reste encore beaucoup à faire en matière d’emballage et de structures pour recycler les emballages notamment au Québec ; il s’agit plutôt d’un objectif à atteindre dans le cadre de la lutte contre le suremballage.

Vous pouvez consulter ici le dossier consacré à l’éco-conception

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* Loi 102 : régime de compensation au bénéfice des municipalités, qui oblige les entreprises à payer 50 % des coûts nets du recyclage.
Loi 130 : application d’une redevance de 10 $/tonne métrique de matières résiduelles reçues pour élimination. -

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Suremballage au Québec : réduire sans nuire

Je partage avec vous cet article d’Éric Yvan Lemay, publié aujourd’hui dans le Journal de Montréal : Trop d'emballages

Au moment où plusieurs épiceries imposent une «taxe» de cinq cents pour limiter l'utilisation des sacs de plastique et protéger l'environnement, on nous vend de plus en plus de produits suremballés dans du carton, du plastique et du styromousse.

Dans toutes les épiceries, on retrouve notamment des fruits et légumes emballés dans des barquettes en styromousse. Certaines, un peu plus soucieuses de l'écologie, optent pour le Bioxo ou le carton.

Je me permets de faire quelques commentaires :

1- Beaucoup de compagnies nous font miroiter leur tournant vert. On nous taxe les sacs en plastiques, mais on nous vend des produits sur-emballés. Le cas des mandarines chinoises emballées individuellement dans des sachets plastiques est édifiant. Faut-il y voir un paradoxe? Non seulement faire venir des mandarines de Chine semble bien loin d’un véritable engagement vert, mais encore le conditionnement de ces agrumes laisse perplexe alors que la tendance en matière d’emballage est surtout à la réduction à la source (ici et là).

2- En plus de la protection de l’environnement, les emballages alimentaires actuels doivent contribuer à la préservation de la salubrité et des propriétés organoleptiques et nutritionnelles du produit emballé, à la prolongation de la durée de vie des aliments à l’accroissement de la rentabilité, au confort d’utilisation et à la différenciation.

3- L’emballage constitue un atout majeur dans la réduction des pertes de produits périssables. Je cite ici l’exemple des concombres protégés par un film rétractable. En effet, ce film permet de multiplier par 5 la durée de vie des concombres.

4- Encourager ce type de produit va totalement à l’encontre de ce qu’il faut professer en matière de gestion des matières résiduelles : réduction à la source, réutilisation et recyclage. En déresponsabilisant les consommateurs et les distributeurs, on envoie des messages erronés, laissant croire que le produit va « magiquement » disparaître.

5- Les détaillants du Québec seraient bien inspirés de suivre l’initiative "Scorecard de Wal-Mart", un système de notation des emballages qui permet d’évaluer les progrès de ses fournisseurs en ce qui concerne le développement d'emballages "environnementaux". En cas de mauvais score, les produits seront déréférencés.

6- Une piste à explorer pour les entreprises : L’éco-conception. Il s’agit d’une démarche novatrice et préventive, qui vise à minimiser l’impact de ces derniers sur l’environnement tout au long de leur cycle de vie. Essentiellement, il s’agit de privilégier la réduction à la source, d’encourager la réutilisation et le recyclage, et de promouvoir la mise au point de matériaux renouvelables.

7- Avec des emballages éco-conçus, l'entreprise utilise moins de matières premières, moins d'énergie et optimise le transport, ce qui se traduit non seulement par un gain environnemental mais aussi par un gain économique. C’est une démarche volontaire, très valorisante pour l’image d’un organisme ou d’une entreprise et qui permet de crédibiliser sa communication environnementale dans la perspective d’un développement durable.

Vous pouvez consulter ici le dossier consacré au suremballage (Over-packaging)

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Des stations vertes au Québec pour renforcer la consigne ?

Au Québec, le débat sur la consigne des canettes et bouteilles suscite bien des discussions. La Commission des transports et de l'environnement s’est rangée du côté des grandes chaînes de supermarchés, de l'Association des détaillants en alimentation, des propriétaires de dépanneurs, de la Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ) et de l'Association des restaurateurs du Québec, pour éliminer la consigne des canettes d'aluminium et des bouteilles de plastique.

Des initiatives lancées à l’étranger pourraient inspirer le Québec, à l’instar de celle-ci récemment lancée en France.

Le centre commercial La Renaissance propose des bons de réduction au consommateur qui ramène ses déchets d’emballages recyclables

Le nouveau centre commercial La Renaissance Auchan Blois Vineuil, inauguré le 9 septembre 2009, s’est doté, en partenariat avec Coca-Cola Entreprise et BCME (Beverage Can Makers Europe), d’un équipement innovant et inédit en France : une « Station verte » nouvelle génération. Située sur le parking du magasin Auchan, elle permet de récompenser par des bons de réduction, les clients qui trient et rapportent leurs déchets.

Un système de tri efficace

Cette station, est très simple d’utilisation : le consommateur peut y ramener l’ensemble de ses déchets d’emballages recyclables. La station comporte en effet 2 points classiques de collecte en conteneur semi-enterrés pour les cartons, papiers (journaux, magazines…), et les bouteilles en verre mais propose surtout un service innovant pour le consommateur qui ramène ses bouteilles plastique, canettes et boîtes de conserve et les dépose dans l’ouverture prévue à cet effet.

L’automate intégré dans la station, conçu par la société Tomra, reconnaît les emballages déposés, les trie et les compacte sur place. Les bouteilles en plastique d’une part, les canettes et boîtes de conserve d’autre part sont ensuite récupérées par les équipes du magasin et entrent dans le circuit de collecte mis en place par l’agglomération de Blois pour être recyclées.

Une récompense pour le consommateur

En fonction du nombre de bouteilles ou canettes qu’il rapporte, le consommateur reçoit un bon de réduction à utiliser dans l’hypermarché sur la base d’1 ct par contenant déposé. Il a également la possibilité de faire un geste pour l’environnement en renonçant à son gain, le magasin effectuant alors un don du même montant au Comité Départemental de la Protection de la Nature et de l'Environnement (CDPNE) du Loir et Cher.

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Printed Intelligence: Sensor, RFID, e-paper and Photovoltaic

Cheap, sensitive sensors could detect explosives, toxins in water

A sensitive new Stanford-developed disposable chip detects low concentrations of the explosive trinitrotoluene (TNT) and a close chemical cousin of the dreaded toxic nerve agent sarin in water samples. The research appears online this week in the journal ACS Nano.

A nanotube is a rolled-up sheet of carbon atoms that is only one atom thick. Every atom is therefore on the tube's surface. This makes single-walled nanotubes very sensitive to nearby molecules that would drift by in a water sample.

The chip itself is made of an inexpensive, flexible plastic substrate, rather than the more expensive, rigid silicon that underlies most computer chips. The researchers also use a thin polymer gate electrical insulator layer, which allows the device to operate on less than 1 volt of electricity.

Polymer memory products manufactured in roll-to-roll printing process

PolyIC and Thin Film Electronics ASA have jointly manufactured fully functional re-writable polymer memory products in a high-volume roll-to-roll printing process.

The high yield printing process gives leading production performance, and the resulting memory product meets low voltage requirements for consumer products, such as in the toys and games industry.

"PolyIC has developed and built up a roll-to-roll production process for printed electronics, and has successfully demonstrated its first printed RFID tags. Thinfilm's memory technology is complementary to our own technology, and by using our process and production technology, we have been able to successfully manufacture stand-alone Thinfilm memory products that satisfy our current customer requirements," commented Wolfgang Mildner, Managing Director at PolyIC.
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E-paper display market reaches $1.17 billion in 2014

IDTechEx find that the total market size for e-paper displays in 2010 is $131 million rising to $1.17 billion in 2014. This is the value of the display component, not the product. To date, e-paper display technologies have been used in more than $1 billion worth of products. Much of the growth is driven by e-readers following the huge success of Amazon's Kindle. However, much more is to come. IDTechEx find that in 2020 the market value will reach $7.45 billion thanks to the availability of flexible, color displays and faster refresh rates.

Tata group invests in a start-up producing photovoltaic solar modules

Tata group has invested in Flisom (Flexible and lightweight solar modules), a Switzerland-based company, to mark its interest in the solar photovoltaic industry and focus on developing the next generation of clean energy as a future growth area.

The plant will use superior technology and develop high quality flexible solar cells which in turn will produce electricity at ultra-low cost. These high performance and low-cost solar cells will create a significant impact on clean and sustainable solar electricity generation.

The global market for PV has grown at about 30% annually for over 10 years. The cumulative solar energy production still accounts for less than 0.1% of the global energy demand. PV growth is set to accelerate in the coming years as it becomes cost-competitive with the retail price of electricity in many parts of the world.

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Sécurité alimentaire : les emballages intelligents à la rescousse?

La sécurité alimentaire est aujourd’hui devenue une préoccupation constante pour tous les acteurs de l’industrie agroalimentaire. Le non respect des températures maximum de conservation ainsi qu’une rupture de la chaîne du froid sont les principales causes de prolifération des bactéries dans les produits alimentaires. Ces bactéries sont les causes des intoxications alimentaires. Les rappels de produits sont de plus en plus récurrents et la multiplication du nombre d’inspections semble difficilement à même de résoudre le problème.

Les nouveaux emballages dits intelligents pourraient-ils être une solution?
Le secteur de l’emballage alimentaire est devenu un secteur dynamique où l’innovation est un vecteur incontournable du développement. Le temps où les emballages ne jouaient qu’un rôle de barrière inerte et imperméable entre l’aliment et l’environnement extérieur est désormais révolu. Aujourd’hui, « emballer, c’est penser » ou, autrement dit : penser au-delà de la boîte (Emballage alimentaire : Penser au-delà de la boîte)

Les progrès technologiques ont permis le développement d’emballages dits intelligents intégrant de nouveaux systèmes d'étiquetage (Mettez de l’intelligence dans votre étiquette). Ces nouvelles étiquettes mettent à la disposition du consommateur une information claire et objective sur l’état de conservation d’un produit.

Les emballages intelligents devraient connaitre, dans les prochaines années, une croissance rapide, grâce notamment à l’émergence d’indicateurs temps-température (ITT) à prix abordable. À cela s’ajoute une véritable prise de conscience par le consommateur du rôle que peuvent jouer ces ITT dans la sécurité alimentaire. Ces indicateurs sont généralement irréversibles, constituant une méthode sûre et infalsifiable pour contrôler la chaîne du froid. Ils apportent finalement une valeur ajoutée aux produits et garantissent un lien de confiance entre le consommateur et le produit, voire la marque.

Plusieurs exemples des derniers progrès technologiques réalisés dans le domaine des étiquettes intelligentes seront présentés lors d’une conférence que je donnerai à l’occasion du colloque sur les emballages alimentaires : «Tendances et Innovations » qui aura lieu à l’ICGQ (Montréal) le 8 octobre 2009 (Programme de la journée Inscription).

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Packaging of the week: Tri-Ply's Right Triangle Box

Via TheDieline

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A right triangle prism-shaped box for Lakeland Tri-Ply pots and pans. Designed by UK-based Nicepond, these close-packing boxes set themselves apart by making unusually efficient use of space and materials. (Also opens up a number of different display options.)

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Conférences emballantes : Colloque emballage et demi-journée certification

Deux événements seront organisés à l'ICGQ (Montréal) durant le mois d'octobre 2009:

1- Colloque sur les emballages alimentaires: Tendances et Innovations

L’Institut des communications graphiques du Québec (ICGQ) et Initia organisent le 8 octobre 2009 un colloque sur les emballages alimentaires : « Tendances et Innovations ». Ce colloque est destiné aux acteurs de l’industrie agroalimentaire du Québec, aux fabricants d’emballages, aux papetiers, aux imprimeurs, aux designers, aux diverses associations et aux organismes et ministères provinciaux et fédéraux, ainsi qu’aux étudiants.

Huit spécialistes renommés prendront la parole lors de cette journée, dont Thierry Varlet (président de France Emballage, France) et le professeur Yves Grohens (Université Bretagne Sud, France). Parmi les thématiques abordées durant ce colloque figurent les tendances du marché de l’emballage, les nouveaux matériaux (bio et nano) et procédés d’emballages, l’éco-conception des emballages, l’avenir de l’emballage dans un environnement marketing hostile et les emballages intelligents.

Programme de la journée Inscription

2- Conférence sur les certifications: démystifier les systèmes de certification papier

L’industrie forestière s’est dotée d’outils de certification pour une gestion durable de la ressource. La certification est même devenue une condition d’accès au marché. Cependant, avec la multiplication des systèmes de certification, les designers, créatifs, imprimeurs et même les consommateurs ne savent plus où donner de la tête et en vient à s’interroger sur leur fiabilité. Comment se retrouver dans cette « forêt » de logos?

L'ICGQ présente le 15 octobre 2009, une demi-journée d'information sur les différents systèmes de certifications du papier au Canada. L'objectif de cette journée est de démystifier les différentes certifications afin que les consommateurs opèrent des choix éclairés et durables. Nous avons donc réuni les 3 certificateurs (FSC, SFI et CSA) ainsi que des représentants de grandes papetières du Québec. Le volet contenu 100% recyclé et ses multiples aspects sera également présenté ainsi que la vision de l’imprimeur versus toutes ces possibilités.

Programme de la demi-journée et Inscription

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Sustainable Packaging: save money and the environment

Wal-Mart Packaging Push Saved $3.5 Million
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A senior Wal-Mart executive said Monday a drive to cut packaging on toys saved the retailer some $3.5 million in transportation costs last Christmas, a major gain to the bottom line the company won from its sustainability initiative.

The slimmer packaging, in some cases amounting to as little as a one-inch reduction in the cardboard that houses individual toys bound from Asian factories to the United States, added up to 727 fewer ocean containers for the retailing giant. The company also saved 1,300 barrels of oil.

Abbott to Launch 40 Sustainable Packaging Initiatives

Abbott is in the process of launching more than 40 sustainable packaging initiatives across its nutrition, pharmaceutical and medical product businesses to help achieve its five percent reduction target in the amount of packaging used in key products by 2013.

The initiatives are focused on the increased use of lighter and sustainable materials in package design, which will reduce the company’s environmental footprint through less waste in landfills, more responsible forest management and fewer emissions, according to the company. In addition, it will lower cost and in some cases reduce shelf space, said the company.

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Land Use for Bioplastics

There is an ongoing public, political, and industrial debate, with wide-reaching implications, on the competition between food, animal feeds and industrial markets for agricultural raw materials. This has created a lot of confusion and insecurity within the bioplastics industry. The German automotive industry in particular has decided not to use bioplastics based on potential foodstuffs such as sugar, starch or edible oil. This article offers some basic facts for this debate, which will be back on the agenda as soon as the world economy recovers and food prices rise again. The bioplastics industry should be prepared for this debate.

Read full paper (Bioplastics Magazine, Issue 4, 2009)

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Slow down needed on biodegradable plastics

Here is my article on biodegradable plastics published on Packaging Mag Australia

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In an international context marked by a decrease in fossil resources and an increase in oil price, the development of materials made from renewable resources becomes the main challenge of sustainable development.
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Furthermore, today’s environmentally conscious consumers and brand owners are seeking out eco-friendly products, such as biodegradable plastics.
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Bioplastics are flourishing; a recent Germany-based Helmut Kaiser Consultancy estimates that the global biodegradable plastics market is growing at 20-30 percent/year, and will jump from 400 million pounds in 2006, to 10 billion pounds by 2015.
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A 2007 report from US-based BCC Research forecast the global bioplastics growth rate at 17 percent/year from 541 million pounds in 2007 to 1.2 billion pounds by 2012.

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While biodegradable plastics are being embraced, labelling confusion, scepticism on functional abilities and environmental claims continue to pose challenges and concerns.
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Confusion in terminology
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Terms such as "biodegradable, compostable, oxo-degradable or biodegradable" are widely used as arguments for promoting eco-friendly products.

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Moreover the term "bioplastic" includes both biodegradability as a product property and the use of renewable raw materials.
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A bioplastic can be both, or one or the other. Improper or inconsistent semantic can lead to confusion, which prevent consumers to make clear and sustainable choices.
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End of life hurdles
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The main risks arise at the end of life phase. Instead of being composted, bioplastics may find their way into: a) Recycling facilities where they are likely to contaminate the waste stream, or b) Landfill where they will contribute to increase the generation and release of methane, a greenhouse gas 23 times more powerful than carbon dioxide.

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Renewability and sustainability of bioplastics are questioned
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Biopolymers are made from crops that would otherwise be used for food. However, they cannot be compared to bio-ethanol.

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The percentage of US food production that would be used for worldwide bio-plastics production is 0.0005 per cent.
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This cannot be considered to have an effect on food scarcity, especially when compared to bio-fuels which used approximately 18 per cent of US grain production in 2008.
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In conclusion, biodegradable plastics have a "great potential", but it is "vital" to introduce them while developing and implementing the suitable infrastructure so that they could be properly disposed of.
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I believe that introduction of bioplastics should be done in a more reasonable way which can demonstrate benefit to the environment.
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Composting may be the key to maximising the real environmental benefits of biodegradable plastics. If not, the "Boom" could turn into a "Fiasco".

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La bouteille d’eau biodégradable : un leurre environnemental?

Les bouteilles d’eau biodégradables envahissent le marché. L’organisation de « Miss America » en fait même la promotion:

"We are excited to partner with an innovative and exciting new company, Nature's Bottles(TM), to promote one of the most important and socially relevant causes that face our future generations," said Art McMaster, President and CEO of the Miss America Organization.

Voilà une belle façon de s’acheter rapidement et à moindre frais une belle conscience environnementale, mais qui a aussi peu de valeur que ces bouteilles sont un leurre environnemental. Bref un autre exemple concret de Greenwashing.

1- Gestion de fin de vie des bouteilles biodégradables ?

Les bouteilles qui sont déviés de la voie du compostage risquent de causer plus d’impacts nocifs sur l’environnement ainsi que des dommages au sein de l’industrie de recyclage. En effet, la dégradation d’un bioplastique dans un site d’enfouissement génère du méthane, un des principaux gaz à effet de serre, dont le pouvoir réchauffant est environ 23 fois supérieur à celui du CO2. De même, les bouteilles biodégradables qui finissent dans un bac de recyclage risquent de contaminer la chaîne de recyclage, si l’on ne peut les différencier des pétro-plastiques.

2- Innocuité et espace dans les sites d’enfouissement ?

Même si, chaque jour, 60 millions de bouteilles faites à partir de pétrole finissent dans les sites d’enfouissement, ce n’est pas en soit une catastrophe écologique. Le pétro-plastique est inerte contrairement au bioplastique, qui est susceptible de se dégrader en produisant du méthane.

L’argumentaire semble jouer sur l’idée implicite, mais erronée, que ces bioplastiques, de part leur nature, vont « s’auto-détruire » et disparaître, libérant de l’espace dans les sites d’enfouissement. Or théoriquement, l’enfouissement n'a pas pour but de décomposer les déchets.

Et même si c’était le cas, « l’espace libéré » ne serait probablement pas suffisant pour qu’il y ait un intérêt à ce que des plastiques biodégradables se retrouvent dans ces sites. D’après l’EPIC, la plupart des gens croient que les plastiques constituent la majorité des matières résiduelles solides. C’est totalement faux. Les études ont démontré que les plastiques représentent environ 9 % des matières résiduelles solides relativement au poids et entre 14 et 20 % du volume total. De plus, rappelons-le, le problème majeur des sites d’enfouissement est posé par les matières putrescibles.

3- Encourager la culture de l’abandon ?

Encourager ce type de produit va totalement à l’encontre de ce qu’il faut professer en matière de gestion des matières résiduelles : réduction à la source, réutilisation et recyclage. En déresponsabilisant les consommateurs et les distributeurs, on envoie des messages erronés, laissant croire que le produit va « magiquement » disparaître.

Conclusions

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La promotion des articles et produits compostables doit impérativement s’accompagner du développement et de la généralisation d’infrastructures adéquates permettant le compostage.

Encore une fois beaucoup de compagnies nous font miroiter l’aspect vert de leur produits sans avoir pris la peine d’aborder la question du cycle de vie du produit : toutes les actions intermédiaires, de l’extraction des matières premières jusqu’aux hypothèses de fin de vie.

Il s’avère impératif de mieux informer les consommateurs pour qu’ils comprennent quelle est la véritable valeur ajoutée environnementale de ces produits. Il ne faudrait pas qu’ils leur attribuent des vertus miraculeuses qui les déresponsabiliseraient d’une gestion plus éco-responsable des matières résiduelles commençant par une réduction à la source.

En conclusion, le consommateur et le fournisseur pensent faire un geste éco-responsable, mais ce soit disant « virage vert » s’avère coûteux et contre-productif sur le plan environnemental.

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Compostable and "Biodegradable" Plastics Provide False Sense of Responsibility

It seems everywhere I go these days, another restaurant is serving drinks in "biodegradable" plastic cups and food with potatoware disposable cutlery. And it really bugs me. But why would I be against making wasteful disposable plastic a little greener, you ask? Because without coupling the use of these biodegradable plastics with the ability to recover them, we are reinforcing a false sense of responsibility that we are doing good by the environment when we really aren't. If the composting infrastructure is not in place to recover the bio-material from that corn-based cup, it's really no better than the ubiquitous red plastic keg cup.
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If we are successful in designing products that couple material use and recovery, however, two beautiful things happen. First, more composting infrastructure develops to serve demand, which opens up the recapture of all sorts of other biomaterials. Second, it encourages the responsible transition to more biomaterials, and it spurs the development of the requisite infrastructure needed to supply these products. This virtuous cycle is precisely the type of step that will take us demonstrably closer to a sustainable economy. It's another vivid example that shows us that sustainability is a design problem, and broader design thinking can lead us to solutions.

Read more

A Re-lire :

La fin de vie des bioplastiques : le casse-tête!!!

Plastique «compostable»: mettre fin à l’ambigüité du «biodégradable»

Vaisselle compostable : il faut éduquer le consommateur…

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WikiPak: Printed intelligence in packaging

Demands on packaging are continually changing: increases in functionality, improvements in economics and meeting environmental and legislative measures. Printed intelligence in packaging has potential to influence the packaging sector greatly, as it fits perfectly with the food safety strategy and brand protection.

According to VTT Technical Research Centre : Electronic, bio, chemical, optic, optoelectronic etc. functionalities created and manufactured by printing like 'continuously running' roll-to-roll methods, enabling cost efficient manufacturing/integration/embedding of simple intelligence everywhere.

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Printed intelligence are components and systems, which:

• Extend the functions of printed matter beyond traditional visually interpreted textual and graphical communications
• Perform actions as a part of functional products or information systems

Read more: Printed Intelligence in Packaging: Current and Potential Applications of Nanotechnology (Click here to download the presentation)

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Packaging of the week: CRUSHPAK, yogurt pack without as spoon

CrushPak® is a unique packaging technology that offers consumers a new way to eat dairy and other products without a spoon. It is especially suited for products that are thick or viscous. However, unlike other “spoonless” packaging, CrushPak can also be used with a spoon, giving consumers a choice in how they eat their favorite foods and manufacturers new ways to position products and create new consumption opportunities.

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Bioplastics News: Potatoes Shelf Life, Renewable Resources and Biomaterial

Using bioplastics lengthens shelf life of potatoes by 50%

The company Flevostar from Dronten, Holland announced that the shelf life of potatoes can be extended by at least 50% by using bioplastic packaging. Spokesman Jaap Kodde says that according to their research it takes considerably longer before potatoes turn green when using the recycled bioplastic because the packaging filters specific wavelengths of light.

"We have as a company started with the application of bioplastics because we want to stand out for our quality and are very keen to conserve the environment. After we solved the initial problems, it was surprising to find that the potatoes had a much longer shelf life with no adverse effect on the quality," said Jaap Kodde, director and owner of Flevostar. "We also found that by using bioplastic no condensation formed inside the packaging because the packaging 'breathes'. Droplets of water which come into contact with a fresh product such as potatoes lead to faster rotting and reduction in quality."

German ‘action plan’ will promote bioplastics

A new action plan intended to encourage the use of renewable raw materials in industrial applications in Germany could help boost the country’s bioplastics business, according to Berlin-based trade association European Bioplastics.

European Bioplastics secretary general, Harald Kaeb, said that although the German government has not yet announced firm details behind the plans, bioplastics companies in the country may benefit from a greater level of government aid and there may be incentives for those willing to invest in this area.

“The high-added value of bioplastics is important for the country’s competitiveness,” he told European Plastics News. “We should also remember that even though other countries such as the UK and France have talked about this area, Germany is one of the first countries to draw up an action plan of this nature.”

Global Biomaterial Market (2009-2014)

Biomaterials products had a market size of $25.5 billion in 2008, and the biomaterial device market size was $115.4 billion in the same year, and is expected to reach $252.7 billion in 2014. This massive revenue potential highlights the immense opportunity in the market. In the next five years, the biomaterials market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 15%.

Improvement in fabrication technology and new product development at competitive prices will be the key to future market growth. The U.S. and Europe hold a major share of the global biomaterials market; while emerging economies such as China, India, Japan, Brazil, Russia, and Romania represent a high growth rate.
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WikiPak: What is Sustainable Packaging?

The growing consumer demand for greener packaging alternatives comes not as a huge surprise to industry trend watchers. A recent Pike Research study found that sustainable packaging is expected to grow to 32 percent of the total global packaging market by 2014, up from 21 percent in 2009. On top of that, it’s hard to ignore large global retailers like Wal-Mart, who continue to raise the bar for sustainable packaging on store shelves and throughout their supply chain through such actions as the company’s Sustainability Packaging Scorecard, which measures suppliers on such criteria as GHG emissions, product-to-package ratio and the amount of renewable energy used in manufacture and delivery of products.

According to the Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC), sustainable packaging must meet a variety of requirements that make it eco-friendly while still being cost-efficient and useful for businesses and consumers. The SPC believes that sustainable packaging is that which:

• Is beneficial, safe & healthy for individuals and communities throughout its life cycle;
• Meets market criteria for performance and cost;
• Is sourced, manufactured, transported, and recycled using renewable energy;
• Maximizes the use of renewable or recycled source materials;
• Is manufactured using clean production technologies and best practices;
• Is made from materials healthy in all probable end of life scenarios;
• Is physically designed to optimize materials and energy;
• Is effectively recovered and utilized in biological and/or industrial cradle to cradle cycles.
  
  

The 7 R’s of Sustainable Packaging

In 2006, the Packaging Network announced its desirable principles of sustainable packaging to suppliers through the “7 R’s of Sustainable Packaging.” The “7 R’s of Packaging” are:

1- Remove: Eliminate unnecessary packaging, extra boxes or layers
2- Reduce: "Right size" packaging, use fewer or lighter components
3- Reuse: Use post-consumer recycled material (PCR), reusable plastics
4- Renew: Use materials made from renewable resources
5- Recycle: Recycled, recyclable, compostable materials
6- Revenue: Achieve the above for the same or lower cost
7- Read: Print recycled / recyclable message on packaging

Sources:

Wal-Mart is Taking the Lead on Sustainable Packaging

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Sustainable Packaging Coalition: Definition of Sustainable Packaging

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The Rise of Sustainable Packaging

Pike Research: One-Third of All Packaging Materials to be Eco-Friendly by 2014
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Smart Packaging : printed electronics

Smart packaging – fiction or reality

'Smart packaging', which provides additional information to consumers in different languages, can read out instruction leaflets to visually-handicapped people, or play an advertising spot on printed foil monitors. Already the road to achieving this kind of electronic wizardry is mapped out. The key is intelligent ink. The strip conductors and components are made of organic polymers which are dissolved in a liquid phase, making them processible on a kind of inkjet printer.

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The declared aim of the developers here is to be able to offer such a chip for use in the mass segments of the beverages industry, at a price of under one cent. Within just a few years this should be a reality. These printed RFID labels will then be able to monitor temperature accurately all the time and store and transfer data. And it´s not only this kind of passive data storage that is at the threshold of large-scale industrial manufacture, so, too, are active electronic circuits made up of transistors, resistors, LEDs and capacitors also manufactured with inkjet printers. One idea is even to supply energy from printed batteries or solar cells. That is the key to animated images or advertising jingles.

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Printed electronics is opening up fascinating new potential: According to a report by market researchers NanoMarket, the market volume in electronic inks and substrates used in the manufacture of printed electronics, will rise from 1.1 billion dollars in 2008 to over 11.5 billion by 2015. And if visions can be valued in money, this shows one thing quite clearly: the smart future is already well under way.

Smart RFID sensors promise cheaper food and less waste

Lower food prices and less waste thanks to low-cost, smart sensors using Radio Frequency ID (RFID) technology could result from pioneering work at the University of Manchester, UK.

Scientists and engineers at The Syngenta Sensors University Innovation Centre (SSUIC) are developing technology that will allow more scientific ‘best before’ dates to be set by food producers and retailers.

Smart sensors integrated with Oyster-card type RFID technology are being used to track real-time stresses suffered by perishable goods from farm gate to retailer’s shelf.

Chemists, engineers and physicists have teamed up at the Innovation Centre to develop a system that uses battery-free RFID tags to monitor and record stress. The tags, costing about 10p to 20p compared with £20 for the current version, could lead to the wide scale deployment of the technology within three years.

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Biopackaging 2009: From Feedstock to Waste Stream

Responding to the needs of the biopackaging industry, Pira International’s annual conference provides a unique forum to learn from key speakers and best practice examples for improving sustainability, assessing business and technical considerations. Plus, gain insight into choosing the right waste strategy, applying regulations and hearing about developments in bioplastics.

Biopackaging from Feedstock to Waste Stream 2009 will incorporate a focus on waste management that will address the key issues relating to landfill, the end user, legislation and European directives. The environment and commercial success of biopackaging relies on the implementation of a well planned waste stream specifically designed to handle these compostable materials. Hear from the experts who will discuss the ways forward in adopting waste strategies that satisfy all links in the supply chain and that comply with established regulations. At this event we will also cover the latest technology developments and uses for bioplastics in packaging from the developers as well as the trade organisations perspective on the use of these materials as a sustainability tool.

CLICK HERE to download the biopackaging agenda

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Printed intelligence: e-packaging and growth opportunities

Novel Applications for Print Technologies Provide High Growth Opportunities

Printed RFID, OLED displays and printed photovoltaics offer the greatest long-term opportunity for print equipment manufacturers, raw material suppliers and printers, according to a new study by Pira International.

The study finds that photovoltaics will offer potential for web-fed print experts to coat, print and finish large volumes to very high specifications. Huge volumes of low-cost, reasonably efficient solar panels will be widely used. Printers could be contract manufacturers in emerging countries with no power utility grid. There will be tremendous opportunities to develop and market the fluids and inks.

The study concludes that the pace of technological change will make the market very different from today, with print products commonly incorporating electronics or biomedical functions along with text and images. Print will be much broader than now, there will be major opportunities for printers and suppliers of printing equipment and consumables, but not in the usual places.

Brand enhancement by electronics in packaging

Electronic packaging, "e-packaging" addresses the need for brands to reconnect with the customer or face oblivion from copying. That even applies to retailer own brands.

IDTechEx has published Brand Enhancement by Electronics in Packaging 2010-2020. This report concerns the market for electronic smart packaging devices, increasingly known as "e-packaging". Global demand for these devices will grow rapidly from a mere $0.09 billion in 2010 to $7.7 billion in 2020. Most of this will involve consumer packaged goods (CPG) and particularly their brand enhancement.

At that time, only around 1% of the global expenditure on packaging will involve e-packaging devices but growth in applications and usage will rocket thereafter and, in the meantime, the prospect of a multibillion market in only a few years is quite enough to attract considerable investment by putative suppliers.

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Bioplastic News : Eyeglasses and Plasma-coated PLA

Teijin Develops World's First Bioplastic Eyeglasses

Teijin Limited and Teijin Chemicals Limited announced the development of eyeglass frames made from plant-based, heat-resistant bioplastic BIOFRONT, the world's first bioplastic to be used for all plastic parts of eyeglass frames, including the temples. The frames were developed in collaboration with Tanaka Foresight Inc., which manufactures and sells approximately 60% of all plastic eyeglass parts in Japan.
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BIOFRONT is an advanced polylactide that offers heat resistance comparable to that of oil-based plastics. Its melting point of 210 degrees, some 40 degrees higher than that of conventional polylactides, puts it on par with PBT, a leading engineering plastic. BIOFRONT also is highly resistant to bleaching and bacteria, making it ideal for the plastic parts of eyeglasses.
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Plasma-coated PLA could challenge PET

The IKV plastics processing institute in Aachen, Germany, believes that plasma coating - a technique already used commercially to enhanced shelf-life performance of PET bottles – could enable polypropylene and polylactic acid containers to meet demanding barrier performance requirements.
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According to the IKV, the market potential of PP and PLA is restricted in the beverage packaging sector due to high oxygen and carbon dioxide permeability. So the institute has initiated a research project to investigate transfer of existing plasma barrier coating technologies used for PET to these alternative materials.

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Emballage alimentaire : Penser au-delà de la boîte

Aujourd’hui, les nouveaux emballages du secteur agroalimentaire permettent de répondre aux exigences environnementales et aux impératifs de traçabilité et de sécurité des produits alimentaires.

Ci-dessous l’article qui vient d’être publié dans le magazine "Québec imprimerie" (Numéro 17, Septembre 2009).
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L’industrie de l’emballage est un secteur clé de l’économie mondiale. Au Québec, cette industrie cumule un chiffre d’affaires annuel de l’ordre de 5 milliards de $ CA dont quelque 60 % émanent du secteur agroalimentaire. Face aux défis de la mondialisation et du développement durable, l’industrie de l’emballage n’a d’autres choix que de s’adapter en développant de nouveaux produits plus à même de répondre aux attentes d’une clientèle plus soucieuse de la qualité, de la sécurité sanitaire des aliments, ainsi que du respect de l’environnement.

Les nouveaux défis de l’emballage

Les emballages alimentaires actuels doivent contribuer à la préservation de la salubrité et des propriétés organoleptiques et nutritionnelles du produit emballé, à la prolongation de la durée de vie des aliments, à la protection de l’environnement, à l’accroissement de la rentabilité, au confort d’utilisation et à la différenciation.

Le secteur de l’emballage alimentaire est devenu un secteur dynamique où l’innovation est un vecteur incontournable du développement. Le temps où les emballages ne jouaient qu’un rôle de barrière inerte et imperméable entre l’aliment et l’environnement extérieur est désormais révolu. Aujourd’hui, « emballer, c’est penser » ou, autrement dit : penser au-delà de la boîte.
Cette phrase slogan cache trois sens. Elle signifie d’abord promouvoir des emballages plus éco-responsables. Il s’agit essentiellement de privilégier la réduction à la source, d’encourager la réutilisation et le recyclage, et de promouvoir la mise au point de matériaux renouvelables. Cette notion se trouve à la base de l’éco-conception des emballages, qui vise à minimiser l’impact de ces derniers sur l’environnement tout au long de leur cycle de vie.

Deuxièmement, elle signifie développer des emballages intelligents intégrant des technologies prometteuses susceptibles d’assurer une meilleure traçabilité et de garantir la sécurité alimentaire au consommateur.

Enfin, elle englobe la conception d’emballages actifs capables d’interagir de façon intelligente avec la denrée alimentaire en vue de préserver ses propriétés organoleptiques et nutritionnelles et de prolonger sa durée de vie.

Pour discuter de ces enjeux, l’Institut des communications graphiques du Québec (ICGQ) et Initia organisent le 8 octobre 2009 un colloque sur les emballages alimentaires : « Tendances et Innovations ». Ce colloque est destiné aux acteurs de l’industrie agroalimentaire du Québec, aux fabricants d’emballages, aux papetiers, aux imprimeurs, aux designers, aux diverses associations et aux organismes et ministères provinciaux et fédéraux, ainsi qu’aux étudiants. Huit spécialistes renommés prendront la parole lors de cette journée, dont Thierry Varlet (président de France Emballage, France) et le professeur Yves Grohens (Université Bretagne Sud, France). Parmi les thématiques abordées durant ce colloque figurent les tendances du marché de l’emballage, les nouveaux matériaux (bio et nano) et procédés d’emballages, l’éco-conception des emballages, l’avenir de l’emballage dans un environnement marketing hostile et les emballages intelligents.

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Séminaire: Innovation and future of flexible packaging

Le 9 septembre 2009, Automatixx Technologies Inc. organise à Montréal un séminaire d'information sur les innovations et les tendances futures en matière d’emballage flexible.

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Les sujets à l'ordre du jour seront:

• Tendances mondiales pour l'emballage en sacs et sachets
• Technologies et machineries
• Matériaux d'emballages
• Emballages refermables
  

Contact :

Jean-Francois Biron
Tel: (514) 425-0010 ext 223
E-mail: jfbiron@automatixx.com
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Anti-Counterfeit Packaging: Market, Holography and Colour-Code Particles

Global Anti Counterfeit Packaging Market Food and Pharmaceuticals (2009-2014)

The global anti counterfeit packaging market is expected to be worth US$79.3 billion by 2014, growing at an estimated CAGR of 8.6% from 2009 to 2014. Bar code forms the largest market segment; and is expected to reach US$26 billion by 2014. However, as the bar code market is attaining maturity it is growing at a very low CAGR of 0.4% for the same period. RFID market has the highest growth potential and is expected to grow with a CAGR of 20.2% for the same period.

North America is the largest segment in the anti counterfeit market and is expected to reach US$49 billion by 2014, accounting for nearly 62% of the revenues growing at a CAGR of 6.8%. Asia is the second largest market and is expected to reach US$14 billion by 2014 with a highest CAGR of 19.7% .

A Genetic Fingerprint in Colour-Code

Like a genetic fingerprint, SecuPack, developed by 3S Simons Security Systems GmbH, can be added to primary and secondary packaging as a legally binding counterfeit protection. Folded cardboard boxes, tubes and blister packaging of different materials secured with SecuPack enable on the spot authentication. Additionally, customary product security systems like seals, labels, holograms and closures can be optimised with the 3S technology.

The SecuPack 3S technology is based on the smallest micro colour-code particles, called SecuTag. SecuTags are made of melamine alkyd polymers, manufactured in different sizes ranging from 8 to 90 micrometers (μm). With the so-called sandwich method, the different colour components are layered on top of each other. The selection of the colours and their sequence make up over 4.35 billion individual company codes. If two or more colour-codes are combined, the number of possible codes is practically infinite. The layers are prepared with normal, ultraviolet or infrared colours and can optionally be provided with magnetic properties. The colour-codes are heat resistant up to 200ºC (392ºF) over a long period of time and up to 350ºC (662ºF) for a short time span. The particles also are resistant to organic solvents and chemicals, such as acids, bases and diluters.

Holographic Packaging The 6th "p" Of Marketing Mix ?

Inherent use of holography against counterfeit helps to build in levels of security and authentication – In reality, all products are subject to counterfeiting. Counterfeiting and tampering can undermine consumers trust in the quality and safety of a branded product, leading to a loss in market share.

Due to the inherent nature of the hologram, it prevents tampering and counterfeiting. Hence proper holographic packaging on consumer goods serves an important way for brand protection and also protection of the brand’s integrity. For e.g. In 1989, Glaxo welcome (then Glaxo) discovered that its ulcer-treatment drug Zantac distributed in the United Kingdom was being counterfeited. The dupe’s packaging was so good, said a Glaxo representative, that it literally took a magnifying glass to prove that it was counterfeit. To prevent this from happening again, Glaxo started using a holographic tamper-evident closure seal for packages sent to the UK and told users that the appearance of a hologram denotes authenticity.

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Active RFID: European fruit supply chain benefits from Cool Chain Monitor

Dutch active RFID provider Ambient Systems and Information Highway Group (IHG), the Spanish RFID system integrator, have conducted a successful project with Bionest, the largest Spanish organic strawberry producer, and with one of Germany’s largest retailers. The use of Ambient’s third generation active RFID allowed Bionest to monitor the condition of strawberry transport from start to finish. The pilot used intelligent tags with a shelf-life algorithm, providing details of the quality of the strawberries per pallet. The integrated solution from Ambient and IHG created a ‘Cool Chain Monitor’ that offered immediate insights to substantially reduce waste and increase profit for all parties involved.

Up to 50% of food products are wasted in the food supply chain, according to a recent report from Dutch Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, Mrs. Gerda Verburg . Strawberries and other ‘soft fruits’ that are highly sensitive to temperature conditions rank among the product categories with the highest loss in the supply chain. With better visibility on temperature conditions during transport and by applying a unique shelf-life algorithm, this loss can be reduced significantly. This was proven in the recent project by Ambient Systems and IHG to implement an integrated Cool Chain Monitor for Bionest and one of German’s leading retailers.

At the start of the transport in Spain, Ambient's SmartPoints (intelligent active RFID tags) were placed in the strawberry pallets. During transport they measured the temperature every 15 minutes. Upon arrival at the German distribution centre the temperature conditions and remaining shelf life of each pallet were communicated wirelessly through Ambient’s wireless network with GPRS connection. A web-based application from IHG made transport conditions and food quality immediately available after arrival to both Bionest and the retailer.

Thanks to the use of intelligent tags with integrated shelf-life algorithm, developed by Ambient Systems in cooperation with the University of Bremen, the usability of active RFID has been extended. By applying this algorithm to the temperature history of each pallet, end users can select the ripest fruit for immediate sale. This provides a feasible solution for ‘First Expire – First Out’ operations. Eelco de Jong, Director of Marketing and Business Development at Ambient Systems: “It is great to be able to contribute to a reduction in the loss of wasted food. The Cool Chain Monitor increases profits for food producers as well as retailers, and addresses the objectives for a more sustainable food supply chain. Our hard work in developing innovative active RFID solutions for the cool chain is paying off in more ways than one.”

Read more...

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Biodegradable waste bags "more damaging" than PE

A detailed life cycle analysis (LCA) study of plastics waste bags carried out by Germany’s Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (IFEU) has shown that traditional PE resins are less damaging in environmental terms than the biodegradable versions currently on the market in Europe.

The study - which was commissioned by Germany’s Association for Plastics Packaging and Films (IK) - shows that, when all environmental factors are considered, the least environmentally damaging option for plastics waste bags is to use recycled PE, followed by virgin PE. The current biodegradable options – including both petrochemical and renewably-sourced plastics – performed the worst in its analysis.

Read more...

A comprehensive summary of the findings of the IFEU study can be viewed here

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