Spraying sustainably
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With CanTech International’s May 2023 edition going to press, as well as a visit for me to Leeds for the British Aerosol Manufacturers Association’s Innovation Day, this week has been a busy one – hence why you’re receiving today’s blog on Thursday!
BAMA’s Innovation Day was once again held at the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds, and offered a plethora of engaging presentations covering a wide range of subject areas. I would never have guessed that the day would kick off with us all watching a David Attenborough clip on Bombardier Beetles! The clip was chosen by L’Oreal’s Jonathan Gawtrey to illustrate the concept of biomimicry and how nature can inspire innovation. It made for an engaging first session and set the tone for a day of widening horizons.
Two important initiatives were announced during the event, beginning with BAMA’s NMVOC Pathway. NMVOC stands for non-methane volatile organic compounds and links to Defra’s 2019 Clean Air Strategy. BAMA’s chief executive, Patrick Heskins, outlined that the new pathway’s goal is to reduce NMVOC emissions from aerosols sold in the UK to the level the industry was at in 2005 – 59 kilotonnes – because, at the current rate of increase, the industry could reach a staggering 80.3kt by 2030.
Patrick stated that there are “no fixed solutions” to reducing the emissions, but one way is for manufacturers in the R&D stage to make these reductions a priority, well before their products have gone to market. The personal care category, which dominated the market in 2022, according to BAMA’s recent filling figures, should be the forerunner in this.
More details will be released on the NMVOC Pathway soon.
The second initiative announcement from the Innovation Day came from Alupro’s Tom Giddings, who presented the organisation’s new Roadmap to increasing UK aerosol recycling. You can read more information in the press release issued here.
Keep an eye out for a more detailed review of the Innovation Day in our June 2023 edition of the magazine.
Before that, though, is our May edition! As well as subscribers receiving copies as normal, visitors to this year’s Metpack will be able to pick up a copy at our event space in Hall 3 – we will be located on Stand 3B27.
- Alex Rivers (she/her), CanTech International editor
Keep in touch via email: [email protected] Twitter: @CanTechIntl or LinkedIn: CanTech International magazine.
