The Spanish canning group Calvo is offering tuna packed in plastic to the hotel industry and may also offer it to supermarkets.
A team from the University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain, managed by Ms. Teresa Moreira from the Superior Technical School of Engineering, has made a study on the cycle of canned tuna, from the moment the raw material is caught until the canned tuna reaches the consumer, however incorporating an environmental management in each process. This reduces the production’s environmental impact.
The project, financed by the Galician Government, is developed with the cooperation of Spanish canning group Calvo. It shows new conclusions, such as recommendations made to canning companies to increase the usage of recycled material in cans, and mainly to substitute tin cans with plastic sheet containers. In Spain currently cans of only 80 grams net and 52 grams drained weight are consumed within the retail channel.
Although plastic materials are less recyclable than tin cans and in theory a more polluting agent, by using plastic sheets it is possible to pack the content of five cans in one plastic container, and therefore avoid multiple packs and packaging, producing much less final waste.