EnvoNEWS May 2022

It seems like 2022 started only yesterday, but we’re already at the end of the fifth month! May is named after the Greek goddess Maia who loved looking after plants. We’re not sure if humanity shares her passion because global deforestation rates aren’t reducing fast enough. According to a latest article by the BBC, tree planting must triple for the world to hit its environmental goals. Global greenhouse gas emissions, on the other hand, are actually increasing! Despite repeated warnings that have come in the form of the UN IPCC reports, the Earth’s CO2 emissions have just hit the highest recorded level in human history. At such times, we need more initiatives like the UK’s Flexible Plastic Fund FlexCollect project for the collection and recycling of flexible plastic packaging. Going from the UK to the South Pole, as scientists discover groundwater underneath the Antarctic ice sheet and we bring you the details.

The packaging industry recently saw an unprecedented demand for corrugated boxes, which is now subsiding. Taking its place, the demand for folding cartons is slated to exceed supply in 2022. Across the pond from the UK, a report from Rabobank discusses the 12-month inflation outlook in North America for packaging materials in light of the Ukraine war. In some good news, UK household brand Boots is ditching the sale of wet wipes that contain plastic and replacing them with plant-based materials. Ketchup giant Heinz is going to develop bottles made using wood pulp instead of plastic for its condiments.

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