7th July 2024

Symington’s has switched its Oatburst instant porridge brand to Greiner’s K3 r100 self- cardboard and plastic separating variant.

The K3 cardboard-plastic cup features a tear-tab so that consumers can intuitively separate the cardboard outer wrap from the lightweight plastic cup to enable recycling.

Greiner Packaging said the materials separate themselves before they reach the near-infrared detection (NIR) system at the recycling facility, leading to proper detection, sorting and recycling. K3® r100 therefore enables cardboard and plastic to be assigned to the correct material streams during the initial sorting process, before being recycled.

Rachel Sheldon, sustainability and innovation manager, Greiner Packaging UK & Ireland , said the packaging has ‘made the impossible possible’: “The cardboard wrap and plastic packaging separate from each other without human intervention during the waste disposal process.

“This means that achieving a high recyclability rate (up to 98%) does not depend on proper separation by the end consumer – which was the case with all previous K3® packaging – as it now happens completely independently before the used packaging reaches the recycling facility.”

Julian Wetton, Symington’s finance director, said: “Oatburst is ideal for people on the go, so we are delighted that however consumers dispose of the empty container when they have finished enjoying their instant porridge snack, the two packaging materials will self-separate to enable recycling during the waste disposal process.”

Source- Packaging News, 2024. https://www.packagingnews.co.uk/design/new-packs/symingtons-switches-porridge-brand-to-greiners-cardboard-plastic-packaging-07-07-2024