EDITOUR PETplanet Insider Vol. 23 No. 07+08/22 www.petpla.net 11 the handle is different and so is the cap but it is still made by Paccor. It is designed to present a different image, to differentiate it from the everyday milk and so to maintain a more stable price point, in contrast to the highly competitive, commoditised range of full, semi-skimmed and skimmed. The milk bottle caps are made from HDPE, with an increasing proportion of recyclate. They are twopiece, featuring a liner inside to provide a complete seal. As well as the caps, the Mansfield facility also makes some cream pots, primarily from PP. The primary user of PET in Paccor’s UK operations is the Chester-le-Street factory. As Steve Naylor covers both we were able to discuss themes and issues the two sites have in common. Almost above effective and efficient processes is recycling and waste reduction. The pots the Mansfield site produces for cream and other specialist dairy products are PP, rather than PE. “Polypropylene is used purely to give rigidity to the pot,” said Steve Naylor. “We are challenging ourselves to compete and to give the market what it wants, which is less and less plastic. We are at the limit of our injection ratios and we need to be able to easily inject it, with a very high melt flow and to mould it.” Along with the need to use less material is the drive to make products recyclable. Steve acknowledges the difficulties and we discussed the solutions Paccor is implementing. “Recycled materials in general are now key. There is a huge push from the public and from retailers to look at what are the best options. It isn’t straightforward, though. If you take products that are made from thin polymers, so thin gauge, things like a polythene bag, where it’s very difficult or more challenging to recycle, or where you may have laminated structures, such as with cartons, it’s more difficult to replay the polymer because you’ve got such a thin layer,” he said. “What F.l.t.r.: Nic Hill, Plant Manager, Paccor (Mansfield) Ltd and Steve Naylor, Managing Director, Paccor UK
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