The two companies will work on enhancing the thermo-mechanical and physical properties of many bio-based polymers like PLA.

Called SencorpWhite, the new company will provide advanced custom solutions in the design and manufacture of thermoforming machines, sealing systems, and automated vertical and horizontal storage and retrieval systems integrated with supply chain management software.

“We are able to provide a single-vendor solution for packaging, inventory and management of control-sensitive parts,” said Brian Urban, chief executive of SencorpWhite.

Sencorp has a 60-year history in the machinery industry, and is also the licensed exclusive manufacturer of Enviroshell sustainable package sealing machines.

The information was gathered from waste collection authorities and unitary authorities as part of the 2010 UK Household Plastics Packaging Collection Survey, and found that 84 local authorities are actively collecting non-bottle plastics for recycling (mixed plastics), with more than 40,000 tonnes collected in 2009.

More than 260,000 tonnes of plastics bottles were collected in 2009, with a high increase in material collected through kerbside systems, to more than 215,000 tonnes.

A detailed report will be available in October on the Recoup website: www.recoup.org

58-year-old Crealise has strong sales throughout Canada and a growing presence in the US, and its business is principally focused on 55mm closures for 11- and 18-litre plastics bottles. Novembal operates a network of business units across North America.

“In uniting Crealise’s North American bottled water market expertise with Novembal’s global caps and closures portfolio, we are able to offer our customers in the bottled water market more innovative and cost effective solutions,” said Novembal’s managing director Lorenzo van Haelst.

Crealise, which is based in Quebec and employs 60 people, will be renamed Novembal Canada.

The company reported profits of £100 million ($154m), up from £94.6m ($145.7m), supported by strong growth in North America, which helped offset a decrease in revenue in the UK and Ireland.

Bunzl has spent about £100m ($154m) on eight acquisitions this year, including the purchase of US plastics and pulp packaging distributor Cool-Pak, and Brazil’s AM Supply.

Sources suggest that markets of interest to Bunzl include Austria, Chile, Italy, Norway and Sweden.

Tony Hacker, an industry veteran who previously worked for case erector and sealer manufacturer Endoline Machinery, has been named general manager of the European business.

Hacker is confident that Arpac’s operator-friendly yet versatile machines will deliver a low cost of ownership ideally suited to the European market.

IPC is investing in partnership with St. Louis-based Alpha’s existing management team, led by chief executive David Spence and chief operating officer Dan Creston.

Spence will remain as Alpha’s chief executive following the completion of the deal, while Creston will oversee all acquisition integration as executive vice president of corporate development.

IPC has made several recent investments in the packaging sector, including Multi Packaging Solutions, Chesapeake, and Mold-Rite Plastics and has raised more than $4 billion of equity capital.

Nestlé Waters North America has received a 2010 Gold Connecticut Quality Improvement Award’s (CQIA) Innovation Prize for its Eco-Shape 50cl bottle, which uses 25 per cent less PET plastics than its predecessor Eco-Shape bottle.

Eco-Shape is credited with reducing Nestlé Waters’ carbon emission equivalents by more than 356,000 tonnes since 2007, while the bottle also features a label that is 35 per cent smaller on average than the previous label, saving nearly 10 million pounds of paper annually.

The company commissioned a peer-reviewed life cycle assessment (LCA) in February to better understand the environmental impact of bottled water. The LCA found that Eco-Shape is one of the most environmentally responsible packaging drink choices because it contains the least amount of plastics among the packaged beverage options reviewed in the study. The bottle weighs 9.3g.

The report, PET’s Carbon Footprint: To Recycle or Not to Recycle, also states that waste ‘shipping distances are not footprint critical’, a claim that EuPR says is not consistent with the move towards a recycling society.

This publication is unwise, dangerous for sustainability and goes against the European legislation,” says van den Dungen. “By applying the SRI Consulting results we would lose valuable material in landfills."

Carrier bag consumption has declined by more than 40 per cent

The trade lobbying group fighting environmental misinformation on plastics carrier bags, the Carrier Bag Consortium (CBC), says that the latest report from the UK government’s Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) shows the success of the voluntary scheme by the country’s retailers.

WRAP figures show a total decline in all types of carrier bags issued to 4.5 billion (41 per cent) over the years 2006-2010, saving 39,700 tonnes of material from entering the waste stream.

The biggest decline in so-called single-use bags was in Wales where consumers are being threatened with a bag tax next year.