FAQs

We take great care ensuring that the materials we select enable all of the packaging we produce to be recycled after it has been used.

All of the plastic waste created during our manufacturing process is carefully collected and returned to our material suppliers to be reprocessed into sheet for further production of packaging.

Even the polythene wrapping used to protect the rolls of material prior to processing is now recycled thanks to our arrangement with Leeds-based Duclo Recycling.  

Our managing director, Nigel Coates said: “The lack of a local recycling outlet for polythene waste was a real thorn in the side of our aim to recycle 100 per cent of all waste generated during and after manufacture.”

“Teaming up with Duclo has allowed us to achieve a level of recyclability that few would even consider a plastic packaging manufacturer could come close to achieving.”

Read how we hit our 100% plastic waste recycling target

We use only derivatives of PET in the production of our packaging as it is widely accepted as being the most versatile material as well as being the polymer most likely to be recycled after use.

Mono PET as the name suggests is PET with nothing added and is widely used in the production of packaging in all market sectors.

PET/PE is a PET base material with a thin layer of Polyethylene laminated to the surface, this is widely used in the packing of meats where a lidding film will be sealed to a tray, the PE layer helps to maintain the integrity of the seal in an environment where fats and moisture may be present.

Ecopet is a material that is becoming ever more popular, it is a material that is produced with a high proportion of recycled PET/PE in the blend which leads to a quite cloudy look to the material, it is however a lower cost alternative to PET.

rPET is quite simply a name used to describe PET containing more than a certain amount of recycled material. 

Given the recent implementation of the UK Plastic Packaging Tax, which requires material to contain a minimum of 30%, it seems sensible to use that as the benchmark.

Read our thought leadership article about the Magic rPET

Breakdown PET is relatively speaking new to the market and is effectively Mono PET with a special ingredient added, which in the unlikely event that the packaging is not recycled, will enable it to break down in landfill into harmless elements

 Read all about Breakdown PET here

Recycle, recycle, recycle.

We’ve been banging the drum about why plastic is the best possible material for packaging for a long time. The issue, as the quote suggested, is not the plastic, it’s the disposal of it.

We need a grown-up and joined-up approach to recycling that creates a close-loop plastic recycling economy. It already works well with bottles, which are manufactured as standard from 100% mono PET, and there’s no reason why this success can’t be replicated across other packaging products.

Read our MD, Nigel Coates' latest opinion piece on plastic pollution in The Yorkshire Post here

Despite all the bad publicity, you can’t escape the fact that plastic is a wonderfully versatile material that can often be made with a high recycled content and can and should be recycled. It is what we do with items of plastic packaging after they have been used that causes the problems.

There are lots of alternatives to plastic packaging such as paper pulp, thermoformable card and fabricated card, but each has its own shortcomings in terms of; sustainability, how much energy is used in their production, how well they protect and maintain the freshness of the product; and how likely they are themselves to be recycled.

We strongly believe that there is indeed a bright future for plastic packaging and that optimism will only increase as the recycling infrastructure improves.