Page 8 - Packaging News Magazine July-August 2018

NEWS
www.packagingnews.com.au July-August 2018
IN BRIEF
Tube maker goes solar
AUSTRALIAN family-owned pack- aging company, Impact Interna- tional, has opened the first so- lar farm in Sydney designed for industrial use. The installation at its tube manufacturing plant in Smithfield was officially launched in June by Hon Chris Bowen MP, the current Shadow Treasurer of Australia, and the Hon Dr. Hugh McDermott MP.
The solar farm occupies more than 800 square metres and is designed so customers and oth- er visitors can tour the installa- tion to see the system at work. Smart Commercial Solar in- stalled and will monitor the ef- ficiency of the 5B Maverick solar array, a world-first technology developed and manufactured in Alexandria, Sydney.
On the eve of the launch, Im- pact managing director Aleks Lajovic told PKN the move should see at least 30 per cent of the Smithfield plant’s total ener- gy use covered by solar energy.
“We operate our plant 24 hours a day, so while the sun shines, the 290kw installation will supply 100 per cent of the power for the manufacturing site,” he said.
It’s estimated this will eliminate 300 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually and gen- erating 395 MWh’s of electric- ity per year, enough to supply all the power needs of 90 Aus- tralian homes.
Lajovik said the installation is just one of a series of steps taken at the plant to reduce en- ergy usage. Over the last 18 months, the company has up- graded the motors on machin- ery to more energy efficient models and re-designed its fac- tory layout to improve produc- tion efficiency.
“In the last two months, we’ve installed LED lighting and on top of this we have also changed our production sched- ules to further reduce energy consumption,” Lajovic said.
“Our decision to boldly in- vest in green energy comes from our commitment to our customers for whom sustain- ability deeply matters,” he said.
Impact International sup- plies local and export markets
with around 250 million squeeze tubes per annum pro- duced at the Smithfield site (approximately 80 million) and through subsidiary operations in Indonesia and Slovenia.
Key industries serviced by Impact are food, cosmetics, personal care and pharmaceu- ticals, and Lajovic says the big- gest growth sectors for the company are natural tooth- pastes, animal care, personal care, and sunscreens.
“Our customers choose Im- pact because of our quality, product knowledge, service and the superior barrier prop- erties of our tubes. In other words, they care greatly about the quality of the tubes they use. By extension, the energy used to produce these tubes re-
ally matters. We want to add to our customers’ story of quality and care – our groundbreaking solar farm does exactly that,” Lajovic said. ■
ABOVE: Technicians roll out the ‘solar farm in a box’ Maverick solar array.
LEFT: The Hon Dr. Hugh McDermott MP (left) with Impact International MD Aleks Lajovic (right) at the launch.
8
START-UP TAKES
ON LANDFILL
Two Melbourne entrepreneurs have launched a start-up supplying landfill biodegradable plastic packaging. Dr Ross Headifen and John Mancarella launched BioGone to create a suite of landfill biodegradable plastic packaging they could use themselves, while also offering them to other businesses and consumers wanting to reduce waste. Biogone Plastics will be consumed in landfill by naturally occuring microorganisms.
BIOPAK LAUNCHES COMPOSTING SERVICE
Café patrons in Perth will be encouraged to compost their disposable coffee cups as part of a national composting service launched by BioPak. Perth cafés are joining forces with the sustainable packaging company in a move designed to divert food scraps and food service packaging from landfill.
DETPAK RECYCLES CUPS
A program that sees paper coffee cups collected, sorted, and recycled locally – instead of sent to landfill – has been launched in Australia. Detpak’s new coffee cups, which were announced late last year, will now be commercially recycled into paper with the introduction
of its RecycleMe program.
AUSTRALIA’S TOBACCO PACKAGING VICTORY Australia has triumphed in a major trade dispute over its pioneering tobacco packaging law. A World Trade Organisation panel ruled
that the Australian “plain packaging” law contributed
to improving public health
by reducing use of and exposure to tobacco products, and rejected claims that alternative measures
would be equally effective.