At Roberts Mart we take our environmental responsibilities very seriously.
At Roberts Mart we take our environmental responsibilities very seriously. We are constantly looking at ways in which we can improve our methods and ways of working so as to reduce the impact on the environment, in terms of energy usage and developing recyclable and recycled products.
We are keen to promote a circular economy for plastic, where every stage of the product’s journey is considered. This approach is not only vital to stop plastic pollution, but offers strong economic, social, and climate benefits.
By 2040 a circular economy has the potential to
Reduce volume of plastics entering our oceans by 80%
Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25%
Generate savings of $200 billon per year
Create 700,000 net additional jobs
*Source: ellenmacarthurfoundation.org
Plastic and Packaging
Plastics provide unparalleled benefits as a packaging material. This is because plastics are lightweight, resource efficient and offer excellent barrier properties. Due to these properties packaging items in plastics significantly reduces waste and saves energy.
Plastic protects and preserves as well as promoting a multitude of goods. Most products we need in our lives are dependent on functional packaging. Plastic meets many packaging requirements related to hygiene, durability
and safety.
So, let’s not be so harsh when considering plastic. Instead, we should work together to make plastic more reusable, more responsibly used and recycled as often as possible.
Did you know
of the world’s oil production is used for plastic
of plastic packaging is recycled
of all plastic is recycled
of post-consumer plastic of all types is recovered
Recycling a single plastic bottle saves enough energy to power a light bulb for 3 or more hours
Replacing all plastic bags used in the EU with paper bags, 2.2 million trees would need to be cut down
Plastic bag production consumes less than 4% of the water needed to make paper bags
For every 7 trucks needed to deliver paper bags, only a truck is needed for the same number of plastic bags
Reduce.
Reuse.
Recycle.
The world of plastic is changing all the time. There are new, modern plastics that are more sustainable, that are compostable or recyclable. At Roberts Mart we have developed a range of solutions and alternative options designed to support a circular economy and meet current sustainable challenges:
Certified compostables
Mono-material laminates
rPE films and bags
Heat Sealable Papers
Design Guidelines for Recycling
We have used the D4ACE guidelines developed by CEFLEX – A Circular Economy for Flexible Packaging to put together a guide to make your packaging recycle ready thereby preventing waste and pollution. If designed correctly flexible packaging can be collected, sorted and recycled. All of which are critical in todays changing legislative landscape and also critical in helping brands and retailers tackle their sustainability goals.
Pigments
Use light and natural colours
Adhesives
Up to 5% total structure weight
Density
<1gm per cm3
Size & shape
>20mm x 20mm to be sorted into target fraction for recycling
Labels
Ideally the same material as the main body pack
Additional features
Same material as the main body pack
Looking towards the future
In the short to medium term plastics can be printed with invisible digital watermarks which are potentially detectable by scanners within recycling sorting plants. This means they can be mixed together by households and then separated and sorted by recyclers.
In the future it is thought that all plastics will be collected together and chemically recycled where mechanical recycling is not deemed possible. They can then be returned to the very beginning of the production cycle and reused as virgin like grade materials making them truly circular. These materials will also be direct food contact safe unlike mechanically recycled materials.
The UK Plastic Pact is a collaborative initiative to help create a circular economy for plastics. It brings together businesses from across the entire plastics value chain with UK governments and NGOs to tackle the scourge of plastic waste. We are committed to helping brands and retailers alike work towards these targets and go beyond.
Packaging should where possible be reduced, reused and recycled.
Zero-waste production
In 2021 we installed a recycling line from NGR.
This machine is designed for sustainable plastic waste processing of scrap plastic materials created during the manufacturing process. This allows us to achieve zero- waste production as all production waste is fed back in and regranulated ready for reuse.
The machine can process up to 300kgs/hour of material, currently producing approximately 750 tonnes a year with capacity to handle more. It currently handles our own process polythene waste but can also handle customers clean polythene scrap and waste too to help contribute towards reducing the amount of virgin plastic in circulation.
