This article was sourced from the British Frozen Food Federation
Plastic Reduction by Design
- Design to fit your trays perfectly to use less plastic
- Reduce entrapment at the base of the bag
- Specialised blending for frozen food applications
- Eliminates seal leakages
Over the last 18 months we have seen all grades of plastic raw material prices increasing significantly and in some instances the costs have more than doubled. With the addition of inflationary pressures across every aspect of manufacturing and the new UK Plastic Packaging Tax, a further £200/t has been applied to virgin food contact Polyethylene (PE) films for all manufacturers and convertors from April 1st 2022.
As a UK manufacturer of PE bags and liners for the food processing sector for over 50 years, we have the innovation and technical capabilities to help in reducing these continuing on costs, and saving plastic usage without compromising performance.
Historically gauge reduction has generally been the first recommendation of the PE supplier to save on costs. Though this has had a certain level of success as polymer blends have developed, many customers have exhausted the down gauging options and fear any further reductions will result in a contamination risk.
Over recent years Hanmere, in close cooperation with food processors, has focussed more on the bag designs and sizing, especially on high volume products such as standard plastic tray and dolav liners.
The Vertical Seal liners are available for both applications and the conversion rates from standard bottom seal bags to vertical seal runs into millions of bags per year.
Why choose Vertical?
Manufactured with the vertical side seal, rather than the more traditional bottom seal which has pockets at the base of the bag where product can be entrapped, these liners provide a custom fit to all corners of the tray. Therefore, a reduction in polythene usage can be achieved by design, usually saving 8% to 10% in bag sizing. With the removal of the bottom seal, fresh and frozen product is easier to decant, and possible fluid leakages are eradicated.
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