THERMOFORMING packaging specialist Waddington Europe, a division of Novolex, is supplying a full range of soft fruit punnets to the UK market described as easier to recycle and using less plastic than conventional punnets.
Made with Waddington’s MONOAIR cushion technology, the new 100% mono-material punnets are available in large rectangular (WE80), square (WE62) and standard rectangular (WE37) versions.
“We take great pride in becoming the first company to supply a wide selection of soft fruit punnets that are significantly easier to recycle,” said Eduardo Gomes, MD of Waddington Europe. “Our punnets have proven to be immensely popular, so we wanted to broaden our offering to provide an even wider array of choices, including the first large rectangular version (WE80) on the UK market.”
Standard soft fruit punnet bases have traditionally been made of clear rigid PET plastic to show a 360-degree view of the fruit inside. These conventional bases, however, require an additional layer of bubble padding attached with a glue adhesive to protect soft fruit from bruising and spoiling in transit. If consumers do not remove the bubble padding and adhesive, the punnet cannot be recycled and must be sent to landfill or incinerated.
“Thanks to our new MONOAIR technology, our punnets do not require this extra bubble padding, reducing plastic content and making them much easier to recycle,” Gomes added. “Consumers can effortlessly place the punnet into their recycling bin without the hassle of separating the padding. That simplifies life for consumers while increasing the number of punnets that are recycled.”
The MONOAIR punnet is made to showcase the fruit inside. It is said to be lightweight, offers ‘rigid’ protection for fruit and won’t turn ‘mushy’ from contact with fruit juices. The punnets can be manufactured with up to 100% recycled PET (rPET), and are fully recyclable back into food-grade rPET.
Waddington Europe’s UK partner and distributor Produce Packaging is stocking the full MONOAIR range of soft fruit punnets.
