How partnerships are fuelling the circular economy

Welcome to the latest edition of Looped In - a monthly newsletter dedicated to news, views and insights about packaging, recycling, sustainability, and circularity.

To open our first issue of 2024, Looped In caught up with Tom South, Packaging Engineer at QVC to learn about how the retailer’s packaging strategy is helping it to reach its carbon footprint targets, and we also announce the latest industry accreditation for Duo.?

We would love to hear your thoughts and opinions on any of the articles you read in Looped In, including any topics you’d like us to cover in the future. Please feel free to comment or get in touch directly. Enjoy the issue!

How a drive towards a circular economy model has impacted QVCs approach to packaging

With the right strategy in place, plastic is one of the most valuable materials you can use for manufacturing packaging, in terms of its strength, durability and sustainability. Some retailers are making moves towards cardboard in the hope that it will provide a more eco-friendly solution, but they are missing the opportunities that plastic presents in reducing unnecessary waste and creating a genuinely circular economy.?

Multi-platform retailer QVC has taken huge strides in its mission to reduce its carbon footprint in recent years and has created an approach to packaging that has both educated its workforce and boosted its sustainability credentials. And they don’t plan to stop there. Looped In had the opportunity to speak with Tom South; QVCs Packaging Engineer, as well as a Chartered Environmentalist and Fellow at the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3), to learn more.

Looped In: You recently underwent a project to increase the amount of recycled content in your branded auto-bagger film. How did you achieve this?

Tom: We wanted the film to contain as much recycled plastic content as possible, so we called on Duo’s expertise to establish the amount that would work best. We’ve got one of the thinnest autobag films in the industry at 30 microns, so underwent a full redesign and subsequent trials. They gave us lots of trial rolls to test on our machines and made suggestions when we had questions and came up against challenges. Once fully tested, the new autobag film was found to perform as good, if not better, than the previous product. Duo helped us to get the finished product quickly over the line and into use for customer orders.?

Looped In: You’ve worked with DuoUK and Duclo Recycling Limited for a few years now – what is it that works so well for QVC?

Tom: The innovation that Duo brings to the table. They are always working on something and coming up with new ideas - many that have really benefited our business. Duo manufactures our branded auto-bagger film, clear repack bags and branded mailing bags, and had the foresight to install balers for our polythene waste. They arrange for the waste to be collected, recycle it at Duclo Recycling and use it to make new products for us to use, closing the loop on our circular packaging model.

The partnership is helping us meet our CO2 reduction targets and become more sustainable. We’ve got a great relationship with the team and that really shows in our overall performance levels.

Looped In: What impact has the introduction of balers for your waste had on the business?

Tom: Our plastic waste is baled into 500 kilo bales, and once it arrives at Duclo, they analyse the content to make sure there isn’t any unwanted or non-target waste in there. They can track individual bales and report back to us if anything is ever found, so that we can ensure our processes are as neat and efficient as they can be – something we simply wouldn’t know without their input. Since implementing frequent bale analysis, we haven’t had any issues with non-target waste content getting through, which helps both our bottom line and the safety of Duclo’s machinery.

Looped In: QVC employs many people - how does the business inspire action from everyone towards its company objectives?

Tom: As a business we understand the importance of reducing our carbon footprint and have taken big strides in this area, with CO2 per package levels significantly reduced year-on-year.?

We continue to factor in incremental changes that make a big difference and communicate these to the workforce - our employee waste return scheme is one of the many ways we engage our team members to make more sustainable choices inside and outside of the workplace.

Looped In: Can you tell us more about your employee plastic waste return scheme - what impact has it had on the business?

Tom: It’s an idea I came up with at home at Christmas in 2022, when thinking about the shopping bags people get after buying gifts. Most of these shopping bags end up going into general waste, because kerb-side recycling for this material is not available in the UK, and at present there’s no easy way to recycle this type of plastic. I had the thought of bringing those plastic bags into work to put into our baler to be recycled by Duclo in their recycling facility and then suggested that my colleagues all do the same.?

It’s our way of getting our team involved with positive change, making it easy for them to do the right thing and helping to educate them and their families about plastic recycling. The initiative has had great buy in from QVC UK team members and has resulted in a large amount of shopping bags bought in from home being put back into the recycling stream.?

We understand that good quality recycled plastic pellets are harder to get because demand is outstripping supply, as mentioned by Tom McBeth in last month’s Looped In. Our employee recycling scheme means that we are helping as much as we can to increase plastic recycling in the UK and contribute to the recycled plastic we use in our packaging products at QVC.?

Looped In: In the December issue of Looped In we shared the packaging and recycling trends for this year, what are your thoughts?

Tom: The last issue with Tom from RECOUP really hit home. As a Chartered Environmentalist and Fellow of IOM3, I’m hugely passionate about improving recycling infrastructure. The current setup in our country just isn’t adequate and much more needs to be done to enable better plastic recycling.?

There’s a massive demand for good quality recycled plastic pellets, and with the amount of plastic going into landfill, it’s clear that there isn’t enough education from the likes of the Government and local councils to tell people what to do. Equally, even if people do know how to recycle this plastic, they’ve got to travel to a specified recycling plant to dispose of it. It’s just not good enough.?

We have a mis-directed notion that plastic is bad. Plastic isn’t bad. It’s one of the best materials we have for its barrier properties, and its lightweight, tensile strength. It’s how we as society have managed it that needs to improve, and this requires education, which I’m passionate to get across.

Looped In: A huge thanks to Tom for sharing insights into how QVC is prioritising action towards a more circular economy and increased recycling rates. How does your business handle plastic waste and is increasing the volume of recycled plastic content an objective for your business this year? Get in touch and let us know.

Duo secures global standard as it continues to expand into food and beverage packaging

Packaging manufacturer and consultancy Duo has achieved the BRCGS Packaging Materials Global Standard – one of the industry’s most rigorous food and non-food packaging certification schemes.

The global Standard provides a high benchmark for quality assurance, compliance and authenticity. It is used by a range of leading packaging manufacturers and recognised by retailers as a scheme that enhances best practice and strengthens confidence throughout supply chains.?

Duo applied for accreditation as it continues to expand into the production of non-food contact packaging. Dale Brimelow , Operations Director) at Duo explains: “We’re increasingly producing film for applications, such as multipacks of bottled water, for suppliers who work hard to build trusted reputations amongst the UK’s supermarkets.?

“Rightly, both suppliers and supermarkets have exacting standards as they strive to meet shopper demands for continuity of supply, quality, value and sustainability. Securing the BRCGS Standard enables us to demonstrate the high standards we operate to and deliver against.”

The scope of Duo’s accreditation covers the blown extrusion of several different densities of polythene, flexographic printing to produce printed film on reels and the conversion of film to produce bags on reels and loose bags for non-food contact packaging, and film on reels for secondary food packaging.?

Award of the BRCGS Packaging Materials Global Standard is based on performance in key areas of packaging manufacturing. This includes the commitment to continuous improvement by senior leadership, hazard analysis and risk management, production facility standards, production processes and quality control, and staff learning and development, as well as hygiene standards.?

Dale Brimelow adds: “The accreditation process is extremely rigorous and was a really positive opportunity for us as an established packaging manufacturer to challenge ourselves even further. We were able to evolve existing ways of working from being good or great to outstanding.?

“All BRCGS Standards are very shopper centric and highly cautious in terms of mitigating risks to safeguard consumers and provide them with the very best quality. Securing the accreditation is testament to the Duo team’s dedication to innovation and excellence, and their ongoing willingness to embrace changes that meet and exceed customer expectations.”?

Click here to read more about the BRCGS Packaging Materials Global Standard.?

What’s your take on the use of plastic packaging for creating a more circular economy? Do you stand in plastics’ corner when it comes to justifying both performance and sustainability within your business? There are many misconceptions that we aim to discuss in this newsletter and it’s thanks to contributing businesses like QVC, who help by sharing how they are navigating issues. We’re keen to hear your thoughts on the topics covered in this and any previous issues; please do get in touch via the comments.

If you found this issue interesting you may also enjoy the December edition where we heard from Policy and Infrastructure Manager at RECOUP, Tom McBeth, about the importance of plastics recycling in advancing circularity, catch up here.