Personal care products manufacturer Kimberly-Clark and Henkel North America have joined the US Plastics Pact.

The US Plastics Pact is a collaborative initiative to create a path towards a circular economy for plastics in the US by 2025.

The pact, which is the first of its kind in North American, is led by The Recycling Partnership, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

As part of this initiative, both the companies will undertake measures to eliminate a list of packaging designated as “problematic or unnecessary” by 2025.

The companies will make all plastic packaging 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable.

Furthermore, they will undertake actions to effectively recycle or compost 50% of plastic packaging and ensure the average recycled content or responsibly sourced bio-based content in plastic packaging is 30% by 2025.

Last month, Henkel successfully completed a plastic waste reduction bond with Japanese insurance companies Dai-ichi Life and Dai-ichi Frontier Life.

Automaker Subaru of America has expanded its existing partnership with TerraCycle to launch a new personal protective equipment (PPE) waste recycling initiative.

The new initiative is in response to the increase in waste due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Subaru will use TerraCycle’s Zero Waste Boxes to collect and recycle disposable masks and gloves. These will be picked up from its 20-plus US offices, as well as ports, regional training centres and its headquarters in Camden, New Jersey.

Subaru of America marketing senior vice-president Alan Bethke said: “At Subaru, our commitment to maintaining a safe work environment is as strong as our dedication to protecting and preserving our environment by keeping it clean."

TerraCycle Zero Waste Boxes offer recycling solutions for all types of single-use PPE, which cannot be recycled in conventional recycling facilities.

The firm will clean, melt and remould the collected waste to make new products.

Flexible packaging company ProAmpac has introduced an online configurator to remotely design solutions.

Branded as MAKR, the offering enables users to develop three-dimensional package designs in both film and paper formats.

Users can choose almost any ProAmpac-produced flexible packaging format and then custom-design their own package. They can use features such as package dimensions, closures, handles and pouch shape, as well as add graphics.

Once done, the finished package design can be submitted online.

The company’s Design and Sample Lab (DASL) team will verify all details and then create and deliver the custom prototype directly to the requester.

MAKR is part of ProAmpac’s valued-added virtual offerings under the brand name Bridge.

Earlier this year, the company launched Bridge Remote Trial Management.

Full-service digitally-based ePac Flexible Packaging and engineered product solutions provider RePurpose Technologies (RPT) have partnered to address plastic waste pollution.

As part of this partnership, ePac and RPT will develop replicable recycling facilities to solve the problem of plastics ending up at landfills.

Beginning from next year, the parties will create the facilities in a bid to achieve a circular solution focused on the community.

The community-based model will provide supply chain transparency to all participants.

ePac runs 14 community-based flexible packaging facilities in the US with mainly small and medium-sized companies as customers.

According to the company, every package can be serialised with a unique code with the help of digital printing. This enables tracking packages from production to reuse.

Data can be collected leveraging IoT/Blockchain technology to provide tracking information to brands and retailers.

Designed to reduce handling and carbon footprint, the platform enables direct consumer engagement and traceability.

Corrugated packaging company Smurfit Kappa and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Colombia have formed a new alliance to improve forestry conservation.

As part of this partnership, the two sides will encourage sustainable practices within the forestry industry.

They will also join forces with Colombian national parks and enhance the use of surveillance systems to monitor illegal logging.

The alliance reflects Smurfit Kappa’s commitment to sustainability standards in relation to both the environment and communities.

Under this partnership, the company will use WWF's iconic panda branding on its commercial paper bags.

Manufactured using virgin papers from renewable wood, the FSC-certified paper bags are 100% recyclable and biodegradable.

Smurfit Kappa Colombia is looking after more than 22,000ha of Colombian natural forests.

Sustainable packaging company DS Smith has introduced its Circular Design Principles to drive packaging sustainability and remove waste.

The company partnered with the non-profit Ellen MacArthur Foundation to develop the design principles.

Through this programme, companies can receive guidance and help to design reuse and recyclability into packaging.

The company has conducted a consumer research that revealed the industry worldwide could save $46bn annually in logistics costs with better packaging design.

The research found that 93% consumers received packages with wasted space and 54% said “excessive space in packaging” would influence their decision whether to order again from a firm or not.

Brewing company Heineken has enhanced its sustainability commitment with the introduction of a 100% plastic-free cardboard topper in UK supermarkets.

The company announced the plans to stop using plastic rings for multipack cans and replace them with cardboard toppers in November last year.

Named Green Grip, the new topper will be initially rolled out on Heineken, Foster’s and Kronenbourg 1664 multi-pack cans before being introduced across its entire beer and cider portfolio.

The combination of the new topper and shrink wrapping on consumer packs will help the company in removing more than 517 tonnes of plastic a year.

The company leveraged augmented reality technology to assist in the installation of the packaging machinery at its brewery in Manchester. This enabled Italian engineers to use smart glasses to support the installation process.

The technology was piloted at Heineken UK’s Manchester brewery, with its Tadcaster and Hereford sites to follow in March 2021.

UK supermarket chain Morrisons is considering eliminating its reusable plastic bags from checkouts and has begun testing a paper alternative.

This plan to remove its plastic ‘bags for life’ is based on evidence that the reusable carriers are being used by customers only once before being disposed of, according to The Guardian.

In view of this, the retailer will pilot reusable paper bags at checkouts in eight stores starting 17 August.

If the trial receives a positive response, the bags will be introduced across all its 494 stores.

The easily recyclable alternative comes with handles and is capable of carrying up to 16kg of items.

The move is expected to save 90 million plastic bags a year, which is the equivalent to 3,510 tonnes of plastic.