FC Cartons Develops Closed Loop Recycling of Packaging Waste with Smurfit Kappa Recycling

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FC Cartons, the UK’s leading provider of gluing, folding and window patching services to the carton, print and packaging industries is returning hundreds of tonnes of waste to the packaging chain every year with the help of paper and cardboard recycler Smurfit Kappa Recycling.

FC Cartons, the UK’s leading provider of gluing, folding and window patching services to the carton, print and packaging industries is returning hundreds of tonnes of waste to the packaging chain every year with the help of paper and cardboard recycler Smurfit Kappa Recycling.

As an ISO 14001 registered company that takes the environmental impact of its operations very seriously, FC Cartons has always been keen to ensure any waste board is returned to the UK’s paper packaging chain. Ever since it began working with Smurfit Kappa Recycling, FC Cartons has been impressed with its extremely reliable and flexible collection service that accommodates the fluctuations in its production cycles. Waste board collections can vary from two per month to two or more every week.

“Smurfit Kappa Recycling has always met our requirements, despite the fact that our waste collection demands constantly change due to the seasonal nature of our business. I would happily recommend the company to any other business,” said Debra Woodyatt, quality manager and director at FC Cartons. “It’s a big positive for us and our customers to know that all our waste board is recycled at Smurfit Kappa’s UK mills and used in the manufacture of new packaging. The carbon emissions of transporting the waste locally are kept to an absolute minimum.”

FC Cartons has been working successfully with Smurfit Kappa Recycling for several years, in which time waste board volumes have steadily risen towards the hundreds of tonnes now recycled every year.

“Our strategy has always been to take the responsible approach to waste management,” said Debra Woodyatt. “We are only too well aware that the packaging industry faces criticism from the government, media and the public about the amount of packaging used by manufacturers. We are all very conscious of the impact our business activities have on the environment and want to ensure that we make every effort to minimise that impact. Smurfit Kappa Recycling is helping us to do that and I believe that both companies have a shared vision of and commitment to responsible waste management.”

Additional ways in which FC Cartons is seeking to further minimise environmental impact and carbon emissions include its encouragement of employees to car share or cycle to work, sourcing environmentally friendly cleaning products and for the last four years they have made a commitment to tree-planting through the Tree Appeal scheme. “For every tonne of waste we produce, we pay for one tree to be planted in forests and managed woodland throughout the East Midlands and we intend to continue to support the scheme,” said Debra Woodyatt.