The two-day event is once again searching for the most sustainable packaging solutions to take part in its highly anticipated Ecopack Challenge, which will run in collaboration with Marks & Spencer.
The competition offers companies that are creating innovative and environmentally responsible products the chance to develop an idea with Marks & Spencer, as well as being crowned Ecopack Challenge champions. The Dragons’ Den style session will see six shortlisted companies demonstrate why they should be voted best in show by not only an expert industry panel, but by the voting audience and will be assessed by the OPRL PREP tool as well.
Entry to the challenge is open to anyone, not only companies exhibiting at the show in the search for truly sustainable innovations. The deadline for all Ecopack Challenge entries is Monday 26th August and can completed by filling out the online application form.
OPRL’s PREP UK tool (the Packaging Recyclability Evaluation Portal) uniquely gives both actionable advice on packaging designs, of any material, and provides an ISO14021 compliant basis for self-evaluated green claims.
PREP UK assesses whether consumers can readily recycle it using WRAP’s LARSU data, and how it will be sorted and recovered at UK MRFs and reprocessors using data researched for OPRL by Axion Consulting. It also checks whether design details such as colour, inks, seals and separability affect the value of the recyclate.
At Packaging Innovations NEC earlier this year there was strong competition between the 6 finalists. Crowned the overall the winner was Flexi-Hex, founded by two Cornish entrepreneurs who showcased their recyclable and biodegradable packaging sleeves with its patented design and distinctive honeycomb structure, created by brothers Will and Sam Boex who recognised the impact that single-use plastic was having on the marine environment.