Author: Sarah Howson

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Recycling Week Round-up

The aim of #RecyclingWeek is to increase awareness of the social, environmental and economic benefits of recycling. In the Weedon Group, we are committed to environmental protection and sustainability. Everything we manufacture is 100% recyclable. All our manufactured corrugated packaging is 100% sustainable, so our products can be composted and are biodegradable.

All corrugated waste produced within our factory is sent for recycling (nothing goes to landfill!) and we use 100% natural inks which make this possible. At our Hednesford factory alone this year to date, we have recycled 1047.14 tonnes of corrugated waste.

We recognise that we have a responsibility to preserve, conserve and sustain the world we live in, both today and for the future, so sustainability is central to everything we do.

Our 2020 recycling summary

Earlier in the year we identified that LDPE 98/2 plastic film can be separated as a waste stream for recycling so we bought a stand-alone bailer specifically for this purpose. In the first 6 months of 2020 alone, we recycled 5 tons of plastic (equivalent to 5 Shire horses!), that would otherwise have gone to landfill, improving our carbon footprint in the process.

During August and September, we recycled just under half a tonne from the general waste stream.

Images: Baling in house (right), palletising on pallets (centre) and quantity (left).  

How we have adapted during COVID-19… and how it has improved our sustainability!

COVID-19 required us to make certain changes for safety reasons, which at the same time helped us to reduce waste at our Hednesford site still further.

We introduced wash stations in the main entrances to our factory. The additional blue paper towels used for drying created an extra 21 bags of rubbish a week and increased the need to empty the general waste skip more frequently. Now, by installing hot air driers alongside the wash stations, paper towels are no longer required, resulting in a reduction of waste and improving the working environment.

As part of everyday working practices in accordance with our BRC accreditation and to reduce our single use plastic consumption, everyone in our factory is provided with their own reusable water bottle! With over 100 people in our Hednesford factory alone, small changes can make big differences! Here are our (socially distanced) ladies doing their bit to save our planet!

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Welcome to Weedon Direct

John Weedon, Group Managing Director
John Weedon

“Weedon Direct evolved as a way for us to deliver a new product range designed to support businesses and consumers in the COVID-19 situation, from corrugated desks for home-workers to produce trays for businesses which couldn’t deliver their produce to people quickly enough.

It grew from there into stock boxes and eCommerce packaging as we saw a developing need from small to medium-sized companies which trade online to buy cost-effective, sustainable and quality packaging from a reliable source.

We have been manufacturing for over 30 years and we are very excited about our new online development and what we can bring to the market in terms of sustainable packaging solutions and by enabling you to buy direct from the manufacturer.

I would like to welcome you to have a look around and, if you need any more information, just give us a call and we will be happy to help.”

– John Weedon, Group Managing Director

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Weedon Group Partners with Flexi-Hex to Produce Revolutionary Sustainable Postal Packaging for Bottles

Flexi-Hex bottle packaging

The Weedon Group, the UK’s leading independent manufacturer of corrugated packaging, has joined forces with Flexi-Hex in the development of an innovative new Eco Bottle Packaging Kit, a sustainable solution for the safe shipping of individual bottles via courier or through the post.

Bottles are first wrapped in a Flexi-Hex sleeve which expands to form an impact-resistant protective honeycomb layer around the bottle. This is then inserted into a self-sealing pinch-top postal box, designed and manufactured by the Weedon Group, which protects the bottle by suspending and preventing movement during transportation.

Manufactured from eco-friendly corrugated board, the box’s clever design enables easy assembly, with a fold-in cushion to support the base of the bottle and flaps for closing. It has a pinch-top to lock the bottle in place for a snug, secure fit and is suitable for most sizes of bottle. ‘Peel & seal’ tape provides easy closure, making packaging a very quick and simple process.

The design has been adapted to provide Bottle Packaging Kits in three sizes, for the shipment of one, two or three bottles at a time.

The packaging offers other significant benefits throughout the supply chain including  streamlining the packaging system and a reduction in the number of breakages. The compact design means a reduction in the quantity of material used and the attractive style of the package, which can be customised for brand identity, adds value to the product.

Weedon Group Managing Director John Weedon comments:

“Flexi-Hex was founded by brothers, Sam and Will Boex, who recognised the impact that single use plastic was having on the marine environment. The company needed an outer box which would be quick and easy to assemble. It had to be adaptable for various sizes of bottles and to hold them safe and secure in transit.

“But the overriding requirement, in line with Flexi-Hex’s core policy of environmental protection, was that the boxes had to be 100% recyclable and manufactured from sustainable sources. Corrugated board was the obvious solution. Lightweight, compact and strong, our boxes are 100% sustainable and recyclable, with no plastic anywhere in the packaging. Our design ticks all the boxes.”

For further information, please contact:

John Weedon, Managing Director of the Weedon Group, on 01543 423838.

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Are you ready for plastic free July?…

It’s time to think corrugated

As millions of people across the world are developing new routines and looking for new solutions to remove single use packaging from their daily lives for the whole of July 2020 (and hopefully longer), we’re here bevering away to find new ways to help the movement. A delivery box here, a corrugated tray there. We’re ready for plastic free July… we were BORN ready! Plastic free is in our DNA.

‘Throw away’ culture

Unfortunately, we have become not just a nation, but a world addicted to convenience and sometimes it’s ‘easier’ to revert to plastics to accommodate that drive. But there are other solutions! If you receive bag after bag through the post (an increase we have seen through a change in shopping habits due to the current pandemic), what do you do with them?! So much unnecessary plastic has been manufactured for one trip, only to be thrown away and after you’ve fought to open it, it’s not much use for anything else, but there are sustainable solutions out there.

Keeping it green (or brown)

Imagine receiving this box through the post instead…

It lands on your doorstep, it’s easier to open, it might have something nice printed on the inside from the company you bought it from but it’s not just a box! It has been designed to fit EXACTLY around your shoes, or your jars of jam or your record to make sure that not only does it arrive with you in perfect condition, it’s easy to get into (it might even have a little feature to help), the inside has been printed with environmentally friendly inks and there’s nothing extra to ‘throw away’. There’s no void fill, no plastic, just good design. And although it is still disposable, it may have a gizmo to enable multiple trips (an extra strip of biodegradable tape here or there), where the plastic bag has done its job, possibly not even that well and is on its way to landfill, the box is biodegradable and recyclable!

Best of all…through working with certifying bodies like the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®), we know it has come from a sustainable source.

And it’s not just boxes…

Corrugated board is more versatile than you’d think! It’s not just delivery trays, corrugated mailers and boxes (and it’s not always brown), you can make anything, from corrugated furniture https://weedondirect.com/product/corrugated-desk/, to corrugated penguins!

Sustainable solutions

It’s this versatility that enables us to constantly develop new and innovative, sustainable solutions to everyday problems and help companies and customers to move away from single use plastic without compromising on convenience. Through cardboard engineering, the boxes we make are less fiddly than plastic, easier to open than plastic, more secure than plastic, easier to recycle than plastic and better for the environment than plastic. So join us for plastic free July and start thinking corrugated!

Have a look around our shop while you’re here and if you would like any more information, just give us a call on 01543 423838 or email enquiries@weedoncp.com