SIRANE’S new plastic-free, recyclable sandwich pack has been shortlisted for an environmental award in the British Sandwich Industry Awards, The Sammies.
The Earthwedge has been shortlisted by the judges who are looking at – and for evidence of – work done to reduce the sector’s impact on the environment.
Simon Balderson, Sirane MD, said: “Our Earthwedge has been in development for some time, and its rewarding to have that work recognised in this way.
“Traditional sandwich packs are difficult or impossible to recycle, PE-coated and laminated packs invariably end up in landfill, despite any claims on the packs, and this is a chance to really offer the market a genuinely recyclable alternative.“
The other five shortlisted companies/products are Cauli Ltd (Cauli Box); M&S (M&S Skillet); Around Noon (Reducing carbon footprint); Boots (Remove of plastic cutlery), and Deli Lites (Reducing their environmental impact).
Sirane will have two different types of sandwich packs on offer – heat-sealable, for use in commercial sandwich packing, and tabbed for use in delis/sandwich shops where the packs are made up and sold the same day.
Rigorous testing has been done on the packs to make sure they offer the shelf-life required for use in commercial operations as well as running on machines.
Our tabbed Earthwedge will soon be added to our Field & Fare site, where customers will be able to buy direct for use in their own sandwich shops etc.
The Earthwedge has been developed using a combination of coated boards and papers. This means that the whole pack can be recycled as part of the paper stream.
Simon Balderson, Sirane MD, said: “Our Earth Packaging range now includes many ways to replace plastics effectively in the supply chain. Many plastics can be replaced, and new materials and technologies are coming on board all the time.
“Earthwedge is a great example of somewhere it is possible to remove the plastic entirely whilst allowing the product to still be functional and fit for purpose. And end of life is important – these packs will be able to go in with the paper recycling.
“We’ve put them through extensive trials, to make sure they offer the necessary ease of use as well as the needed shelf-life. Coated boards are used for a reason – commercially the sandwiches need a certain shelf-life to make the supply chain work – but we can now offer a viable alternative which is environmentally friendly.”
They are suitable for heat-sealing as well as in-store assembly and can be supplied fully printed/branded or plain, as required, in standard and custom sizes.
The whole pack can be easily recycled in the paper stream – there’s no need to try to separate layers, or remove films from the pack, a system which makes some packs on the market technically recyclable but practically impossible to do so.
Sirane is an innovative packaging development-to-manufacture company, with expertise in absorbency and material science. Specialisms include board, bags and pouches, absorbent products, shelf-life extension and dual-ovenable products.
The Sammies 2021 are organised by the British Sandwich & Food to Go Association. All of the category winners will be announced in May. For more information on the awards, click here.
