UK's 'greenest' packaging product gains certification at RWM

Posted: 13 September, 2013. Written by James Beard

REAL helps Robert Cullen Ltd gain official certification for soft produce trays

Trays one of only a handful of certified compostable packaging products made from recycled materials anywhere in the world

Robert Cullen Ltd, trading as Cullen Packaging (“Cullens”), has become the first company in the UK to gain compostable packaging certification for a product made of recycled materials [1]. The Glasgow-based company can now display the Seedling Logo on its soft produce trays for fruit, veg and fungi. The product is one of only a handful of certified compostable packaging products in the world made from recycled materials. REAL’s Gordon Thompson and DIN CERTCO’s Antonia Striewski presented the certificate to Cullens’ Business Development Manager David MacKinnon at RWM yesterday [2].

Cullens recycles wastage from its core business of manufacturing cardboard boxes to make soft produce trays for packaging fruit, vegetables and fungi in grocers and supermarkets. With the Seedling Logo, customers will be able to dispose of the trays in their food waste caddy for kerbside collection. They can then be used in industrial composting projects, including processes certified under REAL’s Compost Certification Scheme. The certification will open up new market opportunities for Cullens and demonstrates the economic and environmental value of organics recycling.

Ken Blake, Manufacturing, Quality & Systems Manager at Cullens, said:

“We’re delighted that our commitment to the environment in producing clean technology products has been officially mandated by this certification. Our cost-effective and environmentally friendly products are designed to reduce labour costs and save space while providing superior protection.

“In line with food industry objectives to replace harmful plastic waste currently going to landfill, our products are now being introduced to fruit packers and supermarket shelves throughout the country, and we are proud to be the first company in the UK to set the standard for the future.

“The support and assistance from REAL and DIN CERTCO in completing this difficult task was invaluable to us, and we would certainly proceed in the same manner with these partners for any future packaging certification requirements.”

The product is certified under the European Bioplastics certification scheme for ‘products made of compostable materials’, which is managed by Berlin-based certification body DIN CERTCO according to the European Standard EN 13432 [3]. The scheme used to be operated in the UK by the Association for Organics Recycling, which last year merged with the Renewable Energy Association (REA) to become the REA’s Organics Recycling Group (ORG). This transferred responsibility for the scheme to the REA’s subsidiary company REAL [4].

ORG Technical Officer Gordon Thompson, who heads up REAL’s work on compostable packaging certification, said:

“Congratulations to Cullens on this unique achievement. There are a lot of companies out there recycling waste materials, and a number making compostable packaging, but Cullens is the first in the UK to gain certification for doing both at once, making this arguably the UK’s greenest packaging product. This is a truly innovative project which really raises the bar for resource efficiency and environmental sustainability. Let’s hope it is the first of many!”

REAL assisted Cullens in interpreting the legislation and implementing the necessary procedures to comply with the EN 13432 Standard.  This included designing a testing program to ensure continuous compliance with the requirements of the Standard.

DIN CERTCO Sales Executive Antonia Striewski said:

“After a smooth certification procedure, DIN CERTCO is delighted to grant the Seedling Logo to Cullens for their soft produce trays made from recycled cardboard. With this certification and the Seedling Logo, Cullens are positioning themselves more effectively in the market for biodegradable and compostable packaging. The certification of these products demonstrates that there are effective routes for deriving best possible value from products at the end of their life.”

ENDS

Please click the links below to download hi-res images

• DIN CERTCO Sales  Executive Antonia Striewski presents the compostable packaging certificate to Cullens Business Development Manager David MacKinnon at yesterday’s certificate presentation at RWM (Amy North/letsrecycle)
• DIN CERTCO Sales  Executive Antonia Striewski, Cullens Business Development Manager David MacKinnon and ORG Technical Officer Gordon Thompson at yesterday’s certificate presentation at RWM (Jeremy Jacobs/REA)
• Cullens’ core business activity is the manufacture of cardboard boxes, which produces significant process wastes (Cullens)
• Cullens is now recycling these process wastes to make soft produce trays (Cullens)
• The trays can be used for the sale of fruit, vegetables and fungi in grocers and supermarkets (Cullens)
• The Seedling Logo means that customers can dispose of the trays in the food waste caddy (European Bioplastics)
• Thanks to this certification, the trays can be used in industrial composting projects at the end of their product life (Cullens)
• REAL helped design a testing programme to ensure ongoing compliance with the EN 13432 Standard (Cullens)

For more information or to request an interview, please contact:

James Beard
Press Officer, Renewable Energy Association
+44 (0)20 7981 0856
jbeard@r-e-a.net

Notes to editors

• Robert Cullen Ltd (trading as Cullen Packaging), a company purchased by its current owner in 2009, has re-invented itself by embracing an environmentally ethical vision, which has enabled a significant growth in turnover, increased workforce and production of excellent financial results. Cullen Packaging is a strong robust and forward thinking Scottish Company which is opening up new market opportunities internationally and within the UK.
  
  Cullen Packaging Ltd is one of the world’s leading innovative conceptual design and packaging manufacturers, producing a large range of products using both corrugate and pulp. Pulp products are made from 100% recycled paper produced to the highest standard in a new 126,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art plant in Glasgow. They are the only company in the UK that can offer both internal and external packaging manufactured from the same facility.
  For more information, please visit: www.cullen.co.uk
   
• Renewable Energy Assurance Ltd (REAL) was incorporated in 2006 and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Renewable Energy Association. REAL carries out a range of certification and consumer protection activities, all of which seek to facilitate consumer access to sustainable energy and resources. For more information, see: www.renewableenergyassurance.org.uk
   
• DIN CERTCO was founded in 1972 by DIN Deutsches Institut für Normung e.V. (German Institute for Standardization) for the awarding of the DIN marks and provides certification for products, persons, services and companies on the basis of DIN standards and similar specifications. Since 1997, at the early beginning of the Seedling Mark, DIN CERTCO has been the Certification Body for compostable products. All certificate holders can be viewed on the DIN CERTCO’s daily updated homepage: www.dincertco.de

1. For more information about Cullens’ compostable fruit trays made from waste cardboard, view the video on the homepage of Cullens’ website: www.cullen.co.uk/index.html
    
2. RWM took place at the NEC in Birmingham from 10th-12th September 2013. For more information, please visit: www.rwmexhibition.com
   
   
3. For more information about the European Bioplastics certification scheme for products made of compostable materials, please visit:
   DIN CERTCO: www.dincertco.de/en/biobased_and_compostable_products.html
   European Bioplastics: http://en.european-bioplastics.org/standards/certification
    
4. For more information about the merger between the REA and AfOR, please visit: www.r-e-a.net/news/afor-members-vote-to-strengthen-advocacy-for-organic-wastes-sector
   For more information about REAL’s compostable packaging certification activities, please visit: www.organics-recycling.org.uk/Compostable-Packaging-and-Plastics