Design

Home compostable packaging
Riverford replaces 1 million plastic bags with TIPA compostable packaging

Organic grocery box delivery service Riverford has switched from plastic bags to home compostable alternatives supplied by TIPA, citing savings of up to 1.25 million plastic bags each year.


Riverford was on the lookout for a high-quality eco-friendly packaging alternative that could still keep the food as fresh as it is when wrapped in conventional plastic.

London flats recycling facilities
£500k boost for UK recycling as Ecosurety Exploration Fund winners announced

Four UK-based innovation and research projects have been awarded £500,000 of funding from the Ecosurety Exploration Fund, giving the waste and recycling sector a boost on its path to a circular economy

Food packaging waste
£8 million investment in sustainable packaging

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has announced that ten university-led projects will receive funding to tackle plastic pollution under the Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging (SSPP) Challenge.

Bathroom products
Cosmetic brands urged to rethink packaging recyclability
By
Emma Love
| 11 November 2020 |
In a report made public this week, RECOUP has made recommendations for the necessary redesign of cosmetic and hygiene product packaging.
Clothing in a shop
UK businesses must commit to decarbonising fashion industry, says WRAP
By
Lidia Creech
| 10 November 2020 |
With over half of the UK public agreeing that sustainability is a key factor in choosing the clothes they wear, WRAP has urged UK businesses to demonstrate their commitment to tackling the carbon footprint of producing clothes by joining Textiles 2030.
WEEE
Tackling ‘shoddy’ electronics can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions
By Resource |
6 November 2020 |
Green Alliance research finds that identifying and penalising producers of low-quality electronics could drive efficiencies annually worth up to 800,000 tonnes of avoided carbon dioxide equivalent emissions.
E-waste dismantling in Delhi
Fund announced to support informal e-waste dismantling in India
By
Fiona Binns
| 6 November 2020 |
Innovate UK’s Global Challenge Fund awards £9.3 million funding to consortium to develop model to develop sector of informal dismantlers of e-waste.
Selection of Tesco cheese
Tesco introduces first recycled food-grade soft plastic packaging
By
Fiona Binns
| 9 September 2020 |
UK supermarket Tesco is set to trial new recycled food-grade soft plastic packaging on a range of cheeses in its stores this week, the first time that soft plastic packaging has been recycled into safe food-grade packaging.
Anna Querault Fuentes, Engagement Manager at Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF)
What is circular design? Q&A with EMF’s Anna Queralt Fuentes
By
Emma Love
| 7 September 2020 |
Resource spoke to Anna Queralt Fuentes, Engagement Manager at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF), about the newly released Circular Design Toolkit and the wider implications of circular design.
Stack of aluminium cans
Emphasis on aluminium at 2021 Student Starpack Awards
By
Fiona Binns
| 2 September 2020 |
The 2021 Student Starpack Awards are set to focus on the benefits of using aluminium in packaging after announcing aluminium recycling organisation Alupro as its latest sponsor.
A pile of old mattresses.
Eunomia to support Scottish mattress EPR project
By
Lidia Creech
| 26 August 2020 |
Eunomia Research and Consulting has announced that it will be providing technical support to Zero Waste Scotland and the National Bed Federation (NBF) on a project to assess extended producer responsibility (EPR) approach to improve mattress circularity in Scotland.
Ellen MacArthur Foundation launches new circular design toolkit
Ellen MacArthur Foundation launches new circular design toolkit
By
Emma Love
| 7 August 2020 |
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation has launched a toolkit to assist manufacturers and designers in developing products with a minimal environmental impact.
Circular initiative gives student halls bedding a new home
New ecodesign principles published by National Bed Federation
By
Lidia Creech
| 4 August 2020 |
The National Bed Federation (NBF) has released an ecodesign guide to ensure the best possible design and sustainability outcome for beds and mattresses.
Diageo's new paper-based spirits bottle
Diageo launches paper-based spirits bottle free from plastic
By
Lidia Creech
| 14 July 2020 |
Diageo has announced the creation of its first plastic-free bottle for spirits made from sustainably-sourced pulp in a statement made by the beverage company yesterday (13 July).
The planned refurbishment for the 'living wall' in the City of London.
City of London recycling to be part of riverside refurbishment
By
Lidia Creech
| 23 June 2020 |
Planning permission is in place for a five-storey ‘living wall’ made from recycled drinks cans on the banks of London’s River Thames.
An image of reusable cups
What does the future hold for reusables post-Covid?
By
Olivia Rutherford
| 15 June 2020 |
The Covid-19 pandemic has raised urgent questions about public health and hygiene in almost every sector of society, with packaging no exception. With consumers and retailers turning back to single-use for hygiene reasons, what does the future hold for reusables? Olivia Rutherford investigates.
An artists' impression of river clean ups in Thailand
TerraCycle assists river clean ups in Thailand
By
Olivia Rutherford
| 10 June 2020 |
Two new river plastic capture devices have been installed in Thailand by the TerraCycle Thai Foundation in a bid to clean up Thailand’s waterways.
An image of plastic packaging mixed bottles
Design for Recycling initiative launched to help packaging producers
By Resource |
27 May 2020 |
Pan-European recyclability initiative, RecyClass, announces collaboration with RECOUP, Suez and Plastship to certify plastic packaging recyclability.
An image of a DS Smith hygienic box
DS Smith develops hygienic boxes for essential deliveries
By
Olivia Rutherford
| 30 March 2020 |
Fibre-based packaging company DS Smith has developed hygienic boxes to provide essential provisions and vital medications to those practicing social distancing or self-isolating during the Covid-19 outbreak.
Cassava waste.
UK-India group develops compostable film to extend the life of fruit and vegetables
By
Lidia Creech
| 27 March 2020 |
A consortium of UK and Indian businesses and organisations has developed a new compostable film designed to reduce food and plastic waste backed by Innovate UK and coordinated by the Newton Fund.
An image of green glass bottles
European container glass industry to reduce emissions with green furnace
By
Imogen Benson
| 16 March 2020 |
European container glass federation FEVE has announced an industry-wide project to build the first large-scale hybrid electric furnace that will run on 80 per cent renewable energy.
A screenshot from the EU's Circular Economy Action Plan document
EU unveils Circular Economy Action Plan
By
Imogen Benson
| 11 March 2020 |
The European Commission has today (11 March) published its new Circular Economy Action Plan, outlining measures to ensure that products are designed to last longer and are easier to reuse, repair and recycle. 
Repairing an electronic item
Repair Café Conference to launch new Carbon Calculator
By
Imogen Benson
| 5 March 2020 |
A ‘Repair Café Carbon Calculator’ is set to be previewed at the UK’s first Repair Café Conference on 12 March in Farnham, Surrey.