Business in Brief - 25/11/21
Paper Round acquires Reef Environmental Solutions
Paper Round has made public its acquisition of Reef Environmental Solutions, which will see the recycling company extend its reach along the South Coast.
Operating currently across London and the South East, the expansion of Paper Round will allow the Brighton-based business to spread its activity further into East Sussex, as well as into Kent for the first time. Through acquiring the commercial waste and shredding enterprise, Paper Round will also observe increased coverage area, facilities, and overall capacity.
Managing Director of Paper Round, Bill Swan, commented: ‘The acquisition of Reef reinforces our commitment to business growth and allows us to expand our coverage throughout Sussex and Kent. Our Brighton business posted its best ever month in September, despite the pandemic, so now is the perfect time to expand our South coast business.
“We’re looking forward to building on the high-quality service that Reef Environmental provides its customers. This announcement comes at an exciting time for the business, as we commit to net-zero by 2030 and start to electrify our entire fleet, with the purchase of three electric dustcarts costing over £1m.’
Richard Taylor, Director of Reef Environmental Solutions, said: ‘It is great to now be part of Paper Round, who share our key values of service excellence and reliability, but with the added benefit of bringing a wide range of new recycling services to our customers and the South East. ‘
AMCS Launches AMCS Platform Winter 21 Release
AMCS has announced the introduction of a range of new recycling features in its Winter 21 Release, which, according to the company, will include overhauled ‘processes, workflows, and functionality to manage end-to-end service operations for scrap metal recycling companies’.
Highlights from the release include new touch screen scale stations, extended inventory management, and inventory valuation including support for adjustments and automated period closing. AMCS has also announced the launch of an API Accelerator Programme which will see third-party application integration for customers and partners further supported.
Other announcements from the provider of waste management software include the following:
- Streamlined processes for customer service to manage changes to order quantity and frequency
- Event-based SMS customer service notifications providing real-time updates on service activity
- Smart Dispatch functionality to manage and track container jobs.
- Extension of the multi-level price hierarchy to Scale and Material grading
Elaine Treacy, Global Product Director at AMCS, commented: “2021 has been an exciting year in the progression of the AMCS Platform, as a key technology enabler for the circular economy. The new advanced recycling features in this release will not only accelerate the digitalization of services but also allow our customers to generate added value through the entire process.
“Support for Metal Recycling is a significant evolution of the AMCS Platform and we are pleased to have built a strong foundation in this release which will evolve further in 2022.”
Iceland unveils plastic bag collection service
Iceland has announced the launch of a new plastic bag collection service for home delivery customers ordering produce from the company’s ‘The Food Warehouse’ stores.
The supermarket chain will provide drivers with purpose-made liners to store the bags collected from customers – these do not have to be from Iceland originally. The drivers will then return the bags to The Food Warehouse locations, before being sent back to the depot alongside the company’s daily deliveries.
This initiative follows the allocation of plastic recycling bins across all ‘The Food Warehouse’ stores, at which customers can discard used flexible plastic film. These new bins, which will be located at the front of each store, will be accepting carrier bags; bread bags; produce mags; and magazine wraps.
Richard Walker, Managing Director of Iceland and The Food Warehouse, commented: “Reducing the production of plastic remains an absolute priority for Iceland but we are also aware that so much of the plastic that is already out there ends up in landfill. We are tackling plastic pollution by providing a solution that ensures old, unused plastic bags are reliably recycled and contributing to the circular economy rather than leaking into the environment.
“The new collection service will be rolled out nationally and help our customers dispose of their all plastic bags in a responsible way while also providing added convenience and additional space under the kitchen sink where the majority of plastic bags lurk.”
Westpak designs plastic punnet alternative
Westpak has revealed its new series of punnet and tray designs, presenting a paper-based alternative to traditional plastic packaging.
The punnets are made of heat-sealed card and comprise the option of either a 500g microflute punnet or a 250g pressboard produce tray – both items are fully recyclable. The 500g microflute contains side ventilation holes and is manufactured from recycled content; the 250g pressboard contains a polyethylene (PE) lining which adheres to On-Pack Recycling Label (OPRL) guidelines and is compatible with K37/SPS tooling, as well as being Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified.
Seth Hicks, Managing Director at Westpak Group Ltd, commented: “The development of our heat seal card punnets really lies at the core of what Westpak is all about – bold innovation that is firmly rooted around driving long-term sustainability enhancements across the food packaging industry.
“The development of this new technology is something the industry and consumers alike have been eagerly anticipating for quite some time and we’re proud to be at the forefront of this change.
“The potential for this technology to be utilised across the industry is huge and represents a significant step forward in helping some of the best-known retailers work towards their ambitious corporate sustainability goals”.