Catering Supplies

Notpla’s (short for “not plastic”) mission is to replace single-use plastics with packaging that “naturally disappears” — that is home-compostable, naturally biodegradable, and made from renewable resources rather than fossil-derived polymers. Notpla are the Earth Shot winners of 2022 for true innovation solving tomorrow’s problems, today.

At the heart of Notpla’s sustainability efforts lies their use of seaweed and plant-based materials as the foundation for packaging alternatives. Notpla’s material system is designed to break down naturally — their seaweed‐coated packaging can decompose in home composting conditions in 4-6 weeks. Seaweed itself is a highly sustainable resource: it grows fast, requires no fresh water or agricultural land, doesn’t compete with food crops, and helps sequester carbon and restore marine ecosystems.

Their seaweed-coating was recognised by the Dutch authorities (ILT) and independent consultancy as the first truly plastic-free coating compliant with the EU’s Single-Use Plastics Directive. Additionally, Notpla has achieved B-Corp certification, signalling its broader commitment to sustainability, transparency and social/environmental performance.

Notpla’s packaging allows you to dispose of it in any waste stream permitted, certified for paper recycling, commercial composting or home composting. Notpla also manufactures the packaging in the UK.

Tork is the global leading brand in professional hygiene, serving customers in hospitality, healthcare, offices and foodservice. The Tork portfolio includes hygiene products and services such as dispensers, paper towels, toilet tissue, soaps, wipers and cleaning cloths, all designed for use away-from-home.

And as part of Essity, they are dedicated to serving your needs in a sustainable way – saving you time, money and effort, so you can focus on what matters most to your business. The Tork Focus4 holistic lifecycle approach makes sustainable hygiene easier with a focus on 4 key areas: materials & packaging, use & waste, carbon and hygiene for all. Tork aims for their packaging to be increasingly made from renewable, recycled and responsibly-sourced materials. For example, 90% of Tork packaging is already made from renewable resources like paper or cardboard.

Tork supports solutions that reduce consumption and enable circular-economy models. For instance, the Tork PaperCircle® recycling service collects used paper hand towels and turns them back into new tissue products; this circular model can reduce waste by up to 20% compared to other waste handling options.

Their tissue napkins are compostable and also made from 100% FSC certified paper, meaning that the forests are managed sustainably.

Under Essity’s science-based targets, Tork is working to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions across all categories including energy, transport, raw materials and end-of-life. They offer a range of carbon-neutral certified dispensers produced with renewable electricity, and the remaining emissions are offset through certified climate-projects.

Beyond environmental sustainability, with a focus on hygiene for all, Tork is committed to advancing hygiene for as many people as possible by identifying and addressing barriers in the washroom environment. Tork has a long history in designing for all with Easy to use certification, Tork Easy Handling® for its packaging design and in 2024 they received the world’s first certification for meeting the Design for All standard EN17161.

BioVate Hygienics is a UK-based manufacturer of professional cleaning products, founded with the mission to shake up the cleaning industry by offering highly sustainable, biologically-based formulations for the hospitality, catering, healthcare and general cleaning sectors.

Their products are designed not just for performance, but for minimal environmental impact — from what’s in the bottle to how it’s packaged and delivered. BioVate’s sustainability approach covers multiple fronts. They emphasise biological, plant-based ingredients, achieving formulas that are at least 95% naturally derived and free from synthetic colours/fragrances.

Biovate is also the first UK manufacturer of commercial cleaning products to secure the ECOCERT Ecodetergent certification, which verifies that products are naturally derived, biodegradable and manufactured under environmentally conscious processes. They use highly concentrated product formulations to reduce packaging waste, for example, water is added by the customer of their cleaning spray, which makes transporting the product lighter therefore reducing carbon emissions. All of their products are manufactured in the UK.

They have a carbon neutral commitment for which they have achieved NCZ Gold Certification.

On top of this, they have launched a training academy. The Bio Training Academy is designed to empower every cleaner, chef, housekeeper, and contract cleaner with the confidence and knowledge to clean smarter, safer, and more sustainably. Our academy doesn’t just teach product use — it builds real understanding. By learning the science behind BioVate Hygienics’ innovative products and the best cleaning techniques, users gain valuable, practical skills that enhance efficiency, hygiene standards, and environmental responsibility.

What makes the Bio Training Academy even more inclusive is that it’s available in multiple languages, maximising access, understanding, and benefits from the training.

Northwood Hygiene Products is a fully integrated UK paper hygiene manufacturer, creating products that are designed with the principle of circularity and minimising environmental impact at its core. Servicing hospitality, healthcare, offices, education, the foodservice sector and more, Northwood’s range of paper hygiene, wiping and dispenser products have been engineered for the away from home market.

The company sources 100% renewable electricity and has invested heavily in energy-efficient innovations as part of their Net Zero strategy. With core strengths in manufacturing recycled tissue and towel products here in the UK reducing product miles and their free washroom system Raphael has been engineered to minimise waste and overuse of paper products. They’ve also made great strides in reducing the impacts of packaging, innovating to increase the levels of recycled content and replacing plastic packaging where possible, with products like Whisper Eco toilet roll being boxed and totally plastic free.

Beyond the use of recycled fibres, Northwood is also committed to responsible forestry, using FSC®-certified paper across recycled and virgin products. The closed loop recycling initiative, Green Loop, collects used paper towels and tissue cores, recycling the waste into new hygiene products that would otherwise likely be lost to landfill, maximising the use of nature’s resources and supporting their customers’ goals of increasing recycling rates.

In addition, Northwood partners with Trees for Cities, planting a tree with every new Raphael dispenser contract, reinforcing its commitment to regeneration and long-term sustainability. Trees for Cities are the only UK based charity to plant trees in towns and cities in the UK. They work with local communities to cultivate lasting change in their neighbourhoods, whether it’s by revitalising forgotten spaces, creating healthier environments or getting people excited about growing, foraging, and eating healthy food. Founded in 1993, Trees for Cities has planted in excess of 1.8m trees across communities, engaging with over 140k volunteers along the way.

As market leaders, it has long been the desire of Cofresco Foodservice, brand owners of Wrapmaster®, to support sustainability and recyclability in professional kitchens. In the future, their aim is for all Wrapmaster® products to be 100% circular. This means that they’ll only use recycled or renewable materials in the production process, and all their products will be completely recyclable or biodegradable after use, the prerequisite is the necessary technologies being available to them.

It’s hard to imagine our lives without plastic. The material has some unique properties; it’s lightweight, flexible, malleable, and remarkably durable. In other words, plastic is something that helps us greatly but, as with many other materials, what matters is how it is used and subsequently disposed of. Cofresco want to honour their responsibility in this process and optimise all stages of the product lifecycle. They will do this by respecting the principles of the ‘Three Rs’ – Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

REDUCE – In the production processes, Cofresco continues to reduce their usage of resources while maintaining high-quality standards. They will continue to support consumers in avoiding food waste with products that significantly prolong the freshness of food.

REUSE – Cofresco will actively develop innovative solutions to expand the total life span of their products, placing special emphasis on sustainability and ease of use.

RECYCLE – They will sell only products and packaging that can either be recycled or compostable. They’re already committed to ensuring their products and packaging are integrated into the circular economy, wherever possible.