Eye on the environment- August 2008

NatureFlex scores Australian packaging first
Two years ago, Karen Sharman and her husband, Dominic Mason in the Blue Mountains (NSW), decided to make their gingerbread business, Gingerbread Folk, as sustainable as possible from the sourcing of the ingredients through to the packaging.

Innovia Films’ biodegradable, compostable and flexible packaging material, NatureFlex is an integral part of a packaging first for the gingerbread biscuit producer. The NatureFlex pack used for the Gingerbread Folk range of biscuits is the first of its kind in Australia to be certified compostable and carries the “seedling” logo to confirm this.

To be certified the material must undergo a stringent test regime, carried out by independent accredited laboratories only, in order to confirm that their inclusion will have no negative effect on soil or compost quality.

Explaining why Gingerbread Folk opted for NatureFlex, Sharman said, “We were looking for environmentally sound packaging to complement our all natural gingerbread and ethical business philosophy. We tried many films but loved the look and feel of NatureFlex and found the material’s properties the most suitable for our purposes. The key factor was home-compostability because we wanted to show the Australian public that it was okay to put these bags in their own home compost bins.”

All NatureFlex films are cellulose based, derived from renewable wood pulp, and are certified to meet both the European EN13432 and American ASTM D6400 standards for compostable packaging. The wood pulp is sourced from managed plantations from referenced suppliers operating Good Forestry principals (FSC or equivalent). NatureFlex films typically have a renewable biobased content of some 95 per cent by weight of material.

Spicers Paper puts green brands under one roof with The Green House
Spicers Paper has announced a way for printers, designers and end users to choose environmentally friendly papers.

An Australian first, The Green House is a tool that encompasses environmental credentials, paper samples, and product specific information in one publication.

The demand for both forest certified and recycled stocks within the Australian market has increased notably and the green message that Spicers has been touting for some years is experiencing greater uptake. Environmental papers are quickly becoming regarded not as an alternative, but as the norm.

National marketing manager at Spicers Paper, Richard Collins, said, “We devised The Green House to help designers, printers and end user corporate specifiers make informed, accurate choices. It does not rate or rank papers, it simply presents pertinent, detailed information and allows customers to select the right paper for their specific requirements.”

A selection of Spicers extensive range is categorised and colour-coded according to their environmental credentials – – Recycled, Environmental Certification (FSC, PEFC, and eco-labels), Renewable Energy, and Carbon Neutral. Relevant taglines can also be referenced and used by designers for the brands they have specified.

With samples of every environmentally qualified paper in the Spicers range at their fingertips, designers can compare stocks quickly. Information such as each mill’s environmental management systems, aids printers to market themselves to government departments, green groups, and corporate end users.

HP extends Indigo ink canisters recycling to New Zealand
HP has announced the extension of its recycling programme for HP Indigo ink canisters to New Zealand, following a successful pilot run in Australia.

The programme will be available throughout New Zealand and will be implemented in partnership with HP’s local reseller, AM International. With this program, HP is enabling customers in New Zealand to dispose of their ink canisters in a responsible way.

The introduction of the programme in New Zealand is in line with HP’s commitment to recover (reuse and recycle) 908,000 tonnes of electronic products and supplies globally by the end of 2010.

AM International will arrange to pick up empty canisters and packaging materials from customers and accumulate them for shipment to recycling facilities. Contact sales@aminternational.co.nz or 0800 267 877 for further details regarding the programme or for a pick-up form.

Epson launches large format ink cartridge recycling programme
Epson Australia has launched an ink cartridge recycling programme for its professional printing customers.

Epson is endeavouring to reduce its environmental impact by introducing a recycling programme that meets the expectations of its large format printing customers.

“Like Epson, our professional customers are concerned about the environment and are looking for ways to reduce their impact on the environment, so by introducing a simple way to recycle their ink cartridges we can collectively reduce waste to landfill,” Epson’s business solutions manager, Craig Heckenberg, said. “Encouraging recycling and providing services to enable our professional customers to recycle is just one way that Epson is demonstrating its commitment to the environment,” he said.

In June, Epson Australia’s parent company, Seiko Epson Corporation, announced an ambitious multi-part programme to address some of the most pressing environmental concerns facing the global community and how Epson intends to tackle them over the next ten years. The programme commits Epson to a ten-year plan aimed at the reduction of CO2 emissions by 90% across the entire product life cycle, inclusion of all products in the resource reuse and recycling loop, and elimination of global warming gas emissions other than CO2, restoration and preservation of biodiversity as a member of the ecosystem, together with local communities.

Close the Loop is the recycling company working with Epson, Planet Ark and other printer vendors on the Cartridges 4 Planet Ark programme to recover consumer and business laser and inkjet cartridges for recycling.

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