Plastic waste is a problem. More and more across the food and drink industry, we are seeing companies putting waste reduction at the forefront of their strategies to help save the planet and improve their brand reputation.

Leading dairy brands are already taking huge steps to reduce their carbon footprint; in February 2019, Müller revealed a new lightweight recyclable milk cap using 13% less plastic materials, this is another step toward their goal of reducing plastic use by 300 tonnes every year.

Arla is currently testing ‘mimics touch’ intelligent packaging options. Developed by Mimica, it uses an indicator to tell the consumer when a product is beginning to expire. Fresh food packaging will have a smooth surface that reacts to changes in the food and temperature, causing the smooth surface to turn bumpy when it becomes spoiled.

September 2018 also saw emerging dairy brand a2 milk switch from plastic packaging to 100% recyclable paper-based cartons that use 80% less plastic than bottles and carry the Forest Stewardship Council label. That means they are made with pulp from FSC-certified forests and/or recycled sources. This was the first move into UK supermarket chiller sections by a fresh milk brand as a result of their recent partnership with Crediton Dairy.

Introducing these plastic waste-reducing strategies is helping both the planet and business budgets in the long term. According to WRAP.org, many companies are underestimating the true cost of plastic waste from source to production line, such as the cost of recovered plastic vs virgin plastic packaging options.

How can Clearmark help?

Investing in a Clearmark coding and marking solution can help alleviate some of the most significant causes of plastic waste within the dairy industry before it even reaches the consumer. WRAP.org states that machinery performance has a large impact on plastic waste, as well as packaging issues and goods product disposal.

The intelligent primary packaging coding system, the ICE Zodiac Hawk Thermal Transfer Printer is a crucial part of avoiding downtime and product waste on the packaging line. iAssure technology allows the Zodiac Hawk to check its own print, alerting staff when there are any coding issues and stopping the line to avoid printing mistakes, which can lead to the disposal of perfectly good products and longer machinery downtime.

The thermal transfer printing solutions are perfect for flexible packaging; something which is becoming more common not just for solid dairy products, but for beverage manufacturers who want to reduce their carbon footprint (see more about the rise of flexible packaging in our dedicated article).

For secondary packaging, the ICE Vulcan is a revolutionary print and apply labelling solution, which can keep up with high-pressure production speeds without missing packs due to spacing or production line build up.

Ready to make an impact on your production line? Contact our dedicated coding and marking specialist team today on enquiries@uk.interactivecoding.com or 01159 640144.