YESTERDAY’S ‘plastic tax’ announcement made during the budget could be a boost for the plastic-free products within Sirane’s Earth Packaging range.
Chancellor Rishi Sunka announced a tax of £200 a tonne on plastic packaging containing less than 30% recycled content will come into force in 2022.
The recently appointed Chancellor told parliament the move would help tackle the scourge of plastics pollution and boost the use of recycled plastics by 40%.
The tax will apply to both locally manufactured and imported plastics.
Simon Balderson, Sirane MD, said: “Our plastic-free products have already been creating a bit of a stir… yesterday’s announcement will only increase demand.
“We can offer plastic-free pouches, plastic-free absorbent pads, and compostable products such as cling-film, shrink-film, and breathable films.
“We also have range of board products – such as cake boards, patisserie boards, pizza boards etc, which can be offered in a plastic-free eco-friendly version.”
Our range includes the award-winning Earthpouch, a plastic-free pouch suitable for dry and moist foods, which can also be supplied as flow-wrap film. It is a coated barrier paper which can be used for flow-wrap or formed into a pouch – and can be recycled with the paper.
And Sirane recently completed the acquisition of a UK-based manufacturer of board products – and now has ambitious growth plans for the new site, as well as plans to enhance the Earth Packaging range, by combining technologies.
Olympic is a highly respected and successful manufacturer of board products supplying the bakery, fish and cake/snacks industries among others.
Simon added: “We plan to extend this product range into all areas of food packaging which currently use plastic-coated and laminated boards.
“Plastic-free cake boards, patisserie boards, pizza boards, U-cards and sleeves are all possible using Olympic’s existing technology and Sirane’s know-how. These are products where the use of plastic coatings & laminates is absolutely avoidable.”
An eco-friendly and plastic-free sandwich pack is another development which the acquisition will allow Sirane to manufacture. The packs – branded as Earthwedge – will combine recyclable boards with our plastic-free coated papers.
“The result is a sandwich pack, with a window, which gives the required barrier, but which is completely free of plastic,” added Simon Balderson, “Earthwedge can remove a lot of unnecessary plastic from supermarket shelves.”
Sirane welcomed the TV cameras to our Telford headquarters in January – with filming taking place ahead of the second series of BBC One’s War on Plastics.
Presenter and environmental campaigner Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall interviewed MD Simon Balderson and other members of our team as he discovered more about range of sustainable packaging solutions, which includes plastic-free.
Sirane is an innovative packaging development-to-manufacture company, with expertise in absorbency and material science. Specialisms include bags and pouches, absorbent products, shelf-life extension and dual-ovenable products.
It has four main divisions: food packaging; medical & healthcare; horticultural and industrial. The company is based in Telford, Shropshire, with additional manufacturing in Guadalajara (Mexico), Wroclaw (Poland) and Moscow (Russia).
Simon Balderson, Sirane MD, is among the speakers at the Plastic Free World Conference & Expo in Cologne, from June 16-17, where we also have a stand. He will also be speaking at the inaugural US event in Atlanta, October 27-28.
