The Last Straw for Plastics
The Xtreme Metal Detector provided by Eriez ensures there is no metal contamination within the paper straws.
Transcend Packaging based in Ystrach Mynach produce sustainable packaging designed to reduce the impact of single-use plastics. A leading product within their range is their eco-friendly paper straws where they’ve won large contracts with leading companies like McDonald’s and numerous other high street chains. This will allow ambitious growth plans to be reached where they hope to expand from 100 employees to 200 by 2021.
According to Eriez Europe the use of plastics within product packaging is at such a high level that continued negligence simply isn’t sustainable for the future of the planet. Plastic straws without a recycling process can take up to 200 years to decompose. With the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) estimating an incredible 7 billion plastic straws being used in the UK each year, this is clearly a problem that must be addressed.
Large organisations serving drinks have started to offer different solutions. This includes McDonald’s who have pledged to replace all plastic straws with paper ones in their UK and Ireland restaurants. This a positive step in the right direction with 1.8 million straws being used in McDonald’s every day.
Transcend Packaging has been successful in winning a contract to supply McDonald’s with paper straws to ensure their pledge is reached. To supply an effective product, Transcend Packaging conducts rigorous quality testing to make sure their products are free from metal contamination.
Confident of its detection abilities, Eriez suggested the Xtreme Metal Detector. With the ability to detect metal contamination as small as 1mm in a bundle of 240 straws, the Xtreme Metal Detector is ideal for the production of paper straws. Any contaminants in the production line would cause an alarm to be triggered with details appearing on a 7” touch screen. This allows any extraneous matter to be removed, and an investigation to the source to be conducted prior to production continuing.
Adoption and installation of the Xtreme Metal Detector has allowed Transcend Packaging to produce a sustainable paper straw free of any potential metal contamination. This will help Transcend Packaging upscale production and win further contracts with large food and drink providers.
Paul Hale, Metal Detection Sales Manager commented “We were very happy to work with a local forward thinking business and to see the large growth they’ve achieved with contracts with organisations like McDonald’s. The Xtreme Metal Detector’s exceptionally high levels of accuracy will allow metal contaminants as small as 0.4mm to be detected and therefore guarantee no contaminants end up paper straws. As Transcend Packaging’s growth continues and plastic reduction initiatives develop further Eriez look forward to a long term relationship.