In a triumph for Australian packaging innovation, O F Packaging's high barrier, kerbside recyclable Muesli Pouch for Brookfarm, using the Roll ‘n’ Recycle program, has won the Diamond award at the prestigious Dow 2021 Packaging Innovation Awards announced last night.
The Diamond award is the highest honour in Dow’s Packaging Innovation Awards, which this year, its 33rd year of running, saw 189 entries leading to 36 shorlisted finalists. The Dow Awards, presented on 31 March, recognise packaging projects from around the globe demonstrating the very best in sustainable innovation.
For O F Packaging, part of the ASX-listed Close the Loop Group which recently announced its expansion in the US market, receiving the award was an honour of the highest order.
Joe Foster, CEO of Close the Loop Group and MD of O F Packaging said his team was thankful and humbled to be recognised by the industry giants that make up the Packaging Innovation Awards judging panel.
“Recovery of end-of-life packaging can be challenging. Flexible packaging is typically not easily recognised by material recovery machines and hand picking such materials is difficult if not impractical,” Foster explained.
“It took a lot of involvement from our team and partners, along with more than 12 months of hard work and testing to make this new packaging a reality,” he said.
The winning packaging solution enables consumers to transform the empty, 100 per cent polyethylene flat pouch into a 3D shape by rolling it up and fastening it with a self-adhesive label already attached to the pack. The rolled pack is suitable for the kerbside recycling bin so it can be recycled through existing processes.
O F Packaging’s high barrier, kerbside recyclable Muesli Pouch for Brookfarm using the Roll ‘n’ Recycle program has previously won two 2021 Packaging Innovation & Design Awards (PIDA) and 2022 WorldStar recognition.
The company's circular solution for the reusable and recyclable ZeroCo spouted pouch packaging was also recognised at the Dow awards with a Gold, and this innovation too has won a PIDA award and Worldstar recognition.
Both the award-winning Brookfarm Muesli Pouch packaging and the ZeroCo packaging will be on show at Stand C170 at AUSPACK 2022, taking place at the MCEC in Melbourne from 17-20 May.
