In the context of the circular economy, more and more companies are working towards a more eco-responsible approach. Also French pot manufacturer Soparco is, and they are constantly researching to reduce or eliminate the use of virgin plastic material (in the manufacturing). Already over 80% of their production is made out of recycled material and over the last year, they have been investing in putting circular pots on the market. Now, their well-knownDuo® thermoformed range is fully circular, explains Adrien Cohuof Soparco.
Cicular, NIR detectable and Cyclos certified
The demand for circular products is very high and comes from all over Europe. Therefore, they are very pleased with their upgraded Duo range. "Our thermoformed containers are produced from polypropylene which is 100% recycled." On top of that, they are NIR (Near Infra Red detection in wastesorting equipment) detectable as well as Cyclos certified. "We removed the coloured pots with black inside from the range to only produce the "tone in tone" version. This enables detection via NIR optical sorting. The detected pots can then be recycled again." Moreover, the Duo range is a lightweight product using less material.
Range thermoformed Duo® pots
Wide range
The range is wide, explains Cohu. "Growers can choose among the largest choice of trendy colours. With pot sizes from 9 cm to 23 cm this range is suitable for both pot & bedding plant growers and tree nurseries and covers the most common crop productions." Also, the new colours, terracotta 47 tone in tone, taupe FS and the post-consumer-recycled (PCR) grey WG are available from stock for the most common sizes. Thanks to their special rim design to ease destocking, the Duo are perfectly suitable for automation, he adds.
Injection moulded
Injection moulded products
Regarding injection moulded products, Soparco also continues to extend its various ranges to offer more and more products available from stock in seven standard colours. "They are all NIR detectable and Cyclos certified: red WA, blue WB, green WC, taupe WE, grey WD, pine green 54 and terracotta 17. This is also the case for the new eco-friendly bowl Eole 23 cm."
2020: better than expected
2020 has been a challenging year for many companies. How was it for Soparco? "As for lots of companies in our field, 2020 has been a challenging year. During the first lockdown in March/April Soparco kept on producing and remained available for customers. We have been able to keep supplying growers in countries where garden centers were opened. In May we slowly started to recover to finally finish the year better than expected. During this difficult time we strengthened relationships with our clients."
Good outlook for 2021
When looking at 2021,Cohu sees good new opportunities for the coming season. "The demand for green products should remain high."
For more information:
Soparco
+33 (0)2 33 73 30 11
info@soparco.com
www.soparco.com