SIRANE’s recyclable and plastic-free sandwich packaging solution, the Earthwedge, has scooped a top industry prize in the annual Sammies Awards.
The Earthwedge won first place in the Environmental Award category in the awards which were announced online today (May 6th) in a ‘virtual’ ceremony.
The Sammies are organised by the British Sandwich & Food to Go Association.
Simon Balderson, Sirane MD, said: “Our Earthwedge has been in development for some time, and to get industry recognition like this is proof that the hard work put in by our development team to make this happen has been worth it.
“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 offer the market a genuinely recyclable alternative.“
The other five shortlisted companies/products were 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 has two different types of sandwich packs now 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.
Sandwich packaging – and the problems of ‘unrecyclable packs’ was the focus last year of an episode of BBC One’s War On Plastics – which told how 6 million PE-coated packs and laminated board packs flood the nation’s waste bins daily.
And they have one major drawback – in the vast majority of cases they cannot be recycled – despite labelling suggesting they can – as you just cannot separate the plastics from the cardboard, and the packs just end up in landfill.
Sirane is an innovative packaging development-to-manufacture company, with expertise in absorbency and material science. Specialisms include eco-friendly packaging, bags and pouches, absorbent products, board and 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) and Moscow (Russia), and we have a network of agents/distributors around the world waiting to help.
