RPC - Sustainability Initiatives

RPC’S SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVES

Plastics have a strong environmental profile.  They are lightweight, durable and recyclable and their low carbon footprint makes a significant contribution to companies' CSR commitments.  For this reason, sustainability plays a key role in RPC's new product design and development process. 

In the UK, RPC has worked with the Ellen MacArthur Institute and IDEO to develop a designers' toolkit for the circular economy. This is a freely available website with a host of methods and techniques that can be used by designers to ensure they consider the circularity of products.  RPC has also developed its own internal checklist to ensure sustainability is taken into account in all its project work.

All plastics can be recycled but it is essential to make this process as easy as possible.  RPC initiatives have included the removal of glass and metal components in packs such as trigger sprays and pump dispensers to create single material solutions for personal care and household applications.

RPC is also a leader in the manufacture of products incorporating recycled material, focusing on the development of useful and relevant second-life applications.  As part of this, RPC is one of Europe’s leading plastic recyclers, reprocessing over 70,000 tonnes of waste from industrial, commercial, agricultural and domestic sources.

The company pioneered the reprocessing of highly contaminated agricultural waste, using the recovered material to develop The Green Sack, which is now the leading refuse sack brand in the UK.  In addition, recycled material is used in the production of the company’s innovative range of Plaswood outdoor products and plastic lumber that provide a no-maintenance, sustainable and cost-effective alternative to using traditional materials such as concrete, steel and wood.

Elsewhere within the group a wide variety of other products including storage boxes, wheelie bins, and watering cans, planters and other garden products are all manufactured in 100% recycled plastic.  RPC also led the introduction of paint pots incorporating 25% post-consumer recycled plastic, and recently took part in a trial to explore the viability of establishing a closed-loop system for the collection and recycling of plastic paint containers.

Material developments play a similarly significant role in the creation of sustainable solutions.  Recently RPC developed its Modul one litre milk bottle made entirely from a non-oil based polymer produced from sugar cane; and its market-leading Politainer™ combi pack can be specified with an internal container that uses PE manufactured from sugar cane.

RPC’s leadership in the manufacture of single drink system capsules has seen the company take the lead in the introduction of a new material for the capsule that is able to be industrially composted over a 12 week period, while still offering the barrier properties that maintain drink quality along with the strength to withstand the high-pressurised operation of the machines.

Another major focus for sustainability is the importance of resource efficiency in helping to reduce carbon emissions.  The lightweighting of products and packaging can make a significant contribution in this area and RPC has spearheaded initiatives across its design work and manufacturing technologies to minimise the use of material.  Examples include the world’s first lightweight 130g UN approved free-standing 5 litre jerry can, and the CSD Lite closure for carbonated beverages that offers a 20% weight saving over current market alternatives.

What is critical about the development and introduction of both lightweighted products and those containing new materials is how RPC uses its technical and design skills to ensure that sustainable benefits are achieved with no loss of performance.  In this way, all products remain fit for the purpose intended.  Just as important, this also means they can maximise plastics’ other sustainability benefits, such as the shelf-life protection and portion control that contributes to a reduction in food waste, and the re-use of containers.