WALKI GROUP LICENSES EARTHCOATING® TECHNOLOGY

WALKI GROUP STRENGTHENS THE ZERO WASTE FUTURE PLATFORM AND LICENSES EARTHCOATING® TECHNOLOGY FROM SMART PLANET TECHNOLOGIES

Walki Group has entered into a license agreement with Smart Planet Technologies, for the use of EarthCoating® in a number of next generation environmental packaging applications. EarthCoating® is a plastic reduction technology providing superior performance and improved recyclability for all types of plastic, paper, and paperboard packaging applications. 

With this technology Walki takes a big step towards a zero-waste future. Today above 80% of our products are made out of renewable or recyclable materials. Our goal is to reach 100 % by the year 2030. 

“The technology agreement will contribute to accelerating some of the developments Walki is working on and further expanding our versatile Zero Waste Future Platform providing sustainable barrier solutions for our customers”, says Annika Sundell, Executive Vice President, Innovation 

The license agreement is valid for the European markets and covers seven product application verticals, spanning from board packaging to flexible packaging. 

For more information, please contact: 

Leif Frilund, CEO, Tel. +358 50 549 0300 
Annika Sundell, EVP Innovation, Tel. +358 40 845 9072 

About Walki Group 
Walki Group is a leading, international producer of engineered materials and protective packaging materials, specializing in the production of fiber based, intelligent, multi-laminate products. Our production facilities are located in Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, the UK, Russia and China. To best cater to our global customers, we aim to continue investing in state-of-the-art production facilities and promoting our tradition of innovation and exceptional service worldwide. Walki’s annual net sales for year 2019 is approaching 400 million Euros and the company has a workforce of about 1100 people. 

About Smart Planet Technologies 
Smart Planet Technologies is a global consumer and industrial packaging engineering company offering new environmental solutions to stakeholders and the packaging industry. EarthCoating® technology enhances sustainability through plastic reduction and improved recycling. EarthCoating® is fully commercialized in the United States, Asia and Europe. It is currently used in high volume consumer packaging products such as cup stock, foodservice, boxboard, flexible packaging, barrier liners, and wet labels. 

Detpak RecycleMe™ System Completes The Paper Chain

The Detpak RecycleMe System provides recyclable cups alongside collection and guaranteed recycling logistics.

Since the ABC TV series War on Waste drew attention to the more than one billion coffee cups sent to landfill every year, consumers, cafés, and companies have taken large strides to reduce single-use cup waste.

One such company is Australian owned packaging manufacturer Detpak, which initiated a rollout of its RecycleMe System with customers in November 2018, providing a solution for takeaway cups. 

Detpak General Manager of Marketing and Innovation Tom Lunn says RecycleMe innovates coffee cup recycling in two ways.

“One, the cup itself has a unique lining which means it can be recycled in a normal paper recycling plant,” Tom tells BeanScene.

“Second, we’ve established a collection system with our [waste collection] partner Shred-X, which guarantees that every cup and lid collected gets recycled.”

Tom says working with Shred-X provides an extra level of reassurance to Detpak and its partners that RecycleMe is successful from end to end. 

“People are pleased to have an assurance and guarantee that cups collected are recycled,” Tom says. “They are keen to do the right thing and they want to understand how it works practically in a café.”

Detpak’s cups use a unique lining the paper recyclers can easily separate form the cup.

Tom says there is still some confusion over whether it is better to compost or recycle coffee cups.

“Compostable coffee cups need to go to a commercial composting facility in order to have effective conditions to break down, and most often are being sent to landfill. Whereas a cup that is recycled can live again and contribute to a circular economy,” he says. “The longer we keep materials at their highest value and use, the better.

“Composting still has a place, but we should be striving toward recycling as the ultimate solution.”

Detpak spent more than three years looking into new linings that it could use in its recyclable cups.

“We came across this coating out of the United States,” Tom says.

“The advantage is it can run through standard paper pulping equipment and doesn’t require any additional investment at the recycling plant.”

To ensure the cups do get recycled, Shred-X collects the cups and lids from specially designed collection points. The stations allow consumers to separate the cups, lids, and liquids at the time they are disposed to minimise contamination.

Shred-X shreds and delivers the cups straight to paper mills, where they are recycled into paper products.

“[Detpak] made a cup that is not only recyclable but can be blended in with our current collections,” Shred-X General Manager Van Karas says. 

Shred-X has a network of trucks across Australia, with more than 50,000 individual collection sites as part of their existing secure document destruction service.

“[Detpak] came to us, knowing our ability with logistics and the collection situation,” Van says. “We’re used to going into sites like where coffee is sold, so we’re able to get in there, collect the waste, and take it away without any hassle to the venue owner.”

Shred-X Sales Manager Renee Pryor says RecycleMe has seen a positive reaction, appreciating the transparency of the system.

“There has been a really positive response with people appreciating the chance to recycle their takeaway cup and lid, rather than have it end up in landfill,” Renee says.

The Detpak team with the staff of Queensland-based Tim Adams Specialty Coffee.

What’s more, Van says the system is easy to explain to consumers.

“You just have to look at the imagery – a cup being turned to paper – to understand that’s exactly what happens. [Consumers] learn that and ask how to get on board,” he says.

In February, RecycleMe received an endorsement from leading environmental foundation Planet Ark for its transparency and holistic thinking. 

“[The endorsement is] an extension of our guarantee,” Detpak’s Tom says. “People trust the brand and research of Planet Ark – and they’ve endorsed this system. It has also confirmed for us that what we’ve created is a valid solution.”

Planet Ark CEO Paul Klymenko says with RecycleMe, Detpak has thought of every link in the chain.

“It’s a genuinely transparent system that considers every element,” Paul says.

“As part of our endorsement, an independent audit occurs annually to ensure the recycling promise is met. When you take the effort of putting the cup in a collection station, you can be sure it’s going to a recycling plant to be turned into new paper, or plastic products in the case of the lids.”

Paul says in order to gain an exclusive Planet Ark endorsement, every detail must be considered.

“How will the product be separated? Where will the material go? Who are the commercial partners? It’s a question of seeing who is going to do all the bits in the chain and making sure there is no stone unturned,” he says.

Paul says systems like RecycleMe are important to maintain a sustainable industry.

“Think of all the effort that’s gone into making a coffee cup. Growing the tree, turning it into paper, using it once and throwing it in a hole in the ground seems ludicrous,” he says. “Capturing and keeping these resources in use for as long as possible is what creating a circular economy is about.”

Coffee roasters who have been early to support the RecycleMe movement include Veneziano Coffee Roasters, Seven Miles Coffee Roasters, Axil Coffee Roasters, Seven Seeds, Tim Adams Specialty Coffee, and Genovese Coffee. 

“There are lots of coffee and food service brands starting to adopt RecycleMe. The foothold is growing very quickly,” Detpak’s Tom says.

“The majority of coffee is actually consumed in business areas, so our next move is to introduce RecycleMe to big corporations, large banks, and institutions that have cafés in the vicinity.

“Then, we’re looking at closed environments like stadiums, and finally, we’ll be tackling public collection points.”

Planet Ark’s Paul says collaboration with the RecycleMe System will help it reach its full potential.

“A system like this is only successful if there’s lots of collection points. People who decide that are cafés, roasters, and corporations implementing it,” he says. 

Huntington Beach, Seal Beach surfers offer alternatives to food-package waste

The four Surfrider pals have developed a line of eco-friendly cups, straws, box and utensils.

Like many beachgoers, Shane Coons and three surfing pals picked up trash during visits. But unlike many, they didn’t walk away satisfied they’ve done enough.

By the spring of 2018, they were plotting, after surf sessions, to make a greener Southern California — and one with bluer waves.

Those plastic straws? The four now manufacture straws that are 100% paper. Plastic-lined coffee cups? Theirs have half as much plastic and can be recycled. Plastic sippy cup lids for coffee? They have “butterfly” cups with self-contained spill-free tops you can drink from.

Their company, 4 blue waves, incorporated in May 2018 and has quickly developed a full line of green — or at least greener — products, including fast food containers, compostable wooden utensils and reusable bamboo plates.

Now it’s a matter helping consumers and retailers catch up with the transition to more environmentally friendly single-use containers, utensils, cups and straws. At beach cleanups, 75% of the trash are food and beverage related, Coons said in a post-surf interview at a Bolsa Chica State Beach snack bar patio.

“We’re on the front edge of the wave,” he said. “Awareness is growing. … There’s a great need to make progress in the food and restaurant industry, and there’s a lot of technology that’s not being utilized.”

The company’s marquee product — the recyclable cup with less plastic content — can be found in some two dozen coffee shops and cafes throughout Southern California so far. Among other possible users is SoFi Stadium — the future home of Rams and Chargers — with a meeting scheduled to discuss the possibility later this month.

The cups are more common in the United Kingdom, where Coca Cola is using them, and Australia. But Coons and company expect that trend of state and local laws limiting the use of food-related plastics will buoy demand in Southern California.

“It’s a fully viable technology that is in use elsewhere,” Coons said. “What we’re trying to do is get it to catch on here.”

‘The passion I wanted’

Coons, a 48-year-old Seal Beach business attorney, had been looking for environment-friendly business clients in early 2018 when he attended the first Rising Tide Summit in San Pedro. The now-annual conference attracts environmental activists and green businesses with a particular focus on the ocean.

At the event, he met the owners of Newport Beach-based Smart Planet Technologies, which doesn’t make the recyclable cup but holds the patent for it and helps those interested in manufacturing the product. That started the ball rolling.

He then recruited three fellow Surfrider Foundation activists: Huntington Beach’s Laurie Hammond, Tony Soriano and a third man who asked not to be named to avoid conflicts with the boss at his day job. The four, who all continue at their primary workplaces, have a combined 40 years of volunteering for Surfrider.

“I was looking for people with the talent and the passion I wanted to work with, as well as sales and organizational skills,” Coons said from a stool outside the Bolsa Chica snack bar, high clouds wafting through the skies while a pair of surfers made their way across the sand. The unnamed co-founder was also on hand after having surfed with Coons earlier.

The four have no employees — any collecting of cups from their clients’ shops for recycling is done by them, for now. The self-funded startup hopes to break even next year and allow all four to begin working full time for the company. Right now, Coons is putting in the lion’s share of work, which he estimates at 60 hours a week.

Obstacles, goals

The 158 million single-use coffee cups used and discarded in the U.S. each day are enough to fill 500 football fields 10-feet high, according to Coons. That’s nearly 58 billion cups a year — if set end to end, enough to go around the Earth 147 times.

With Asia severely curtailing its import of recyclables in recent years, California — like much of the country — finds itself with inadequate infrastructure to process recyclables. As a result, much of it is ending up in landfills.

While many of the 4 blue waves cups suffer the same fate, Coons points out that at least they cut in half the plastic content that will linger in landfills. While the cups can be recycled — and many are — the company cannot officially market them as recyclable unless it is recycling at least 60%, a target Coons hopes to hit within two years.

First, the company needs to win more cooperation from clients’ shops in segregating the cups. And it needs to set up a more formal collection system to get the cups to the specialized recycling centers in Santa Ana and Downey that handle the material.

Coons is also hoping to get more and bigger venues, places where people typically do not take the cups “to go,” like movie theaters, stadiums, resorts, amusement parks and colleges.

While they’re working with a company developing a fully biodegradable cup that can hold hot liquids, Coons and his colleagues are nonetheless eager to promote products using existing technology.

“We don’t want the perfect to stand in the way of the good,” Coons said, glancing at the nearby waves rolling in.

As for the other products, straws are the next biggest seller. A couple dozen cafes and shops are using them now and the company is on talks with other potential users. The company’s paper straws informally tested by the Southern California News Group sat in water for nearly an hour before the first sign of softening. While the cups cost a couple pennies more than their traditional counterparts, the straws cost about twice as much as their market rivals, Coons said.

The cups and straws are among the company’s products manufactured in China, with the company preparing to move those operations to Southern California next year.

Meanwhile, Coons eyes drift back to the ocean. The late morning breeze is light, and a combination of southwest and northwest swells is producing alluring peaks.

“Maybe we need to paddle back out.”

AUSTRALIA’S LARGEST EVER MARATHON RECYCLES PAPER CUPS

Australia’s largest ever marathon saw over 37,000 people take to the streets of Melbourne on Sunday 13 October – and for the first time, a new initiative meant cups from the event could be recycled. As the official sustainability partner of the event, Detpak supplied RecycleMeTM paper cups for all race participant’s drinks.

RecycleMeTM is Detpak’s revolutionary takeaway cup with a next generation lining and a dedicated collection network. The RecycleMeTM System, endorsed by Planet Ark, has enabled the cups collected from this year’s running course to be recycled, allowing the valuable paper fibres to live again.

Like a marathon – there is a lot of work involved in developing a truly sustainable solution for takeaway cups, which is why Detpak spent more than three years investigating new linings to use in its recyclable cups.

“We were looking for a long-term solution for takeaway coffee cups and the RecycleMeTM program is one step closer to contributing to global environmental change,” says Detpak General Manager of Marketing and Innovation, Tom Lunn.

In a bid to continually improve the environmental impact of the Melbourne Marathon, organisers approached Detpak to assist with a sustainable solution for the thousands of drinks supplied to runners on the course.

Festival Director, Marcus Gale remarked on the record participation numbers in 2019 as well as new partnership with Detpak. “Today marks the biggest Marathon in the event’s 42-year history, in fact it will now be recorded in the history books as the largest ever marathon staged in Australia.”

“Working with Detpak and the RecycleMeTM initiative means that we can also celebrate the Melbourne Marathon 2019 as Australia’s largest marathon to recycle paper water cups.” Gale said.

More than 50 trees worth of paper fibre has been saved thanks to the over 200,000 RecycleMeTM paper cups collected during the 2019 Melbourne Marathon, representing 74% of total cups used. All the cups disposed of in the bins and at drink stations during the running festival were delivered to a Shred-X facility in Victoria, where they were counted. The cups will be processed by Shred-X, ready to be recycled into new paper products, that can then be recycled up to 7 times*.

“We are excited to support Detpak and the Melbourne Marathon in improving the sustainability of the festival,” said Shred-X General Manager, Van Karas. “Helping to create a closed-loop recycling process at Sunday’s event further cements the value and credibility of the RecycleMeTM System, backed by Shred-X.”

For more information contact Amy Park on amy.park@detmoldgroup.com or 0426 419 189

About Detpak

A Member of the Detmold Group, Detpak is a specialist paper and board packaging manufacturer dedicated to the food service industry. The Detmold Group has been owned and operated by the Detmold family since 1948. Detpak combines global reach with local expertise and offers a large range of ready-to-go packaging items as well as custom-print, tailored and sustainable packaging solutions.

About Shred-X

For 20 years Shred-X Secure Destruction has been the number one choice for confidential secure destruction, document shredding, office paper recycling and destroying sensitive data. We offer secure destruction solutions for private households through to large global corporations and the highest security government departments. We offer you tailored services including RecycleMeTM cup collection.

* US EPA https://archive.epa.gov/wastes/conserve/materials/paper/web/html/papermaking.html

Coffeebar is paying for your coffee for an entire year!

The coffee company's reCUP giveaway, which has now been extended until November 10, will award three lucky winners with one free coffee or tea drink every day for one whole year.

RENO, NV - November 4, 2019 - Coffeebar is celebrating their new earth-friendly paper cups by giving away the most EPIC prize they’ve ever given! Three lucky winners will be chosen to win one free coffee or tea drink every single day for an entire year.

This giveaway comes after the specialty coffee company announced its use of reCUP, innovative paper cups that contain 40% less plastic. Coffeebar also announced their commitment to establishing a closed loop recycling program, which will allow any used reCUP to be collected for recycling along with other recyclables. The giveaway is designed to promote this initiative, encouraging guests to bring their paper cups back to the cafe in order to be recycled responsibly.

With an estimated value of $2,200, the grand prize is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for coffee lovers. Coffeebar will select one winner in each location they serve: Reno, Lake Tahoe and the San Francisco Bay Area. For a chance to win, entrants must simply post a photo of Coffeebar’s new reCUPs or their favorite Coffeebar reusable tumbler on Instagram and tag #showusyourrecup and #raisingthecoffeebar.

Winners will be announced in conjunction with the opening of the company’s eighth location in Menlo Park on November 11, 2019. Find full details of the giveaway on Coffeebar’s Instagram @coffeebar. Good luck!