A manufacturer of popcorn based in South Yorkshire approached Environmental Technologies Centre of Industrial Collaboration (ETCIC) to conduct an investigation into the possibility of using popcorn as a loose fill packaging material.

The project consisted of the following:

• Identify cost of production of the popcorn and compare with costs of existing loose packaging material;
• Review of Packaging Regulations and other legal requirements to identify any issues related to the use of this material as a packaging product.

Recyclet Limited collect plasterboard and gypsum based wastes to be processed in their recycling facility.

The waste material is processed into a gypsum powder that can then be used as a raw material by plasterboard manufacturers or be utilised in mushroom composting, soil stabilisation and growing media. There are process engineering issues that dictate that only a percentage of this recycled material can be used in these applications and therefore Recyclet Ltd were keen to identify other suitable applications where the recycled gypsum can be utilised.

There have been many case studies carried out for the Seafood Industry in the past but many of these have been by the very nature of their remit, nationally focussed. Discussions highlighted that more studies are in existence and RAY concluded that there was value in reviewing these and summarising them in one document.

The Environmental Technologies Centre of Industrial Collaboration (ETCIC) based at the University of Hull was commissioned to undertake this work. The remit also included identification of any possible cluster of Seafood Processors in the Yorkshire and Humber Region, in particular along the East Coast in the Scarborough and Whitby areas.

Wharram Designs Ltd are manufacturers of furniture for the healthcare, hotel and leisure industries. Operations on site include the assembly of pre-manufactured furniture frames, cutting of fabric and upholstering the furniture.

The research undertaken by Environmental Technologies Centre of Industrial Collaboration (ETCIC) was an audit of the operations on site to identify ways of reducing the amount of material (fabric) left at the end of a production run, therefore improving resource efficiency.