Breakthrough ‘Chameleon’ container to change the packaging landscape

A revolutionary multi-purpose recyclable container is set to help a Nottingham-based design company compete for a prestigious regional innovation award. 

Chameleon, created by LBT Design, offers a completely new approach to product packaging and its incumbent uses, leading to it being short-listed in the Innovation in Development category at this year’s Lord Stafford Awards.

Traditionally, once packaging is removed from an item it is disposed of and a separate container is required to store the item meaning that the raw materials used to create the initial packaging are basically wasted. Here that issue is overcome thanks to Chameleon’s secondary feature as a receptacle, which also removes the need for any extra containers. 

Originally designed for the confectionary market, the potential applications have now been expanded to include the medical field.

Through extensive collaboration with Nottingham Trent and De Montford Universities, East Midlands Healthcare and Bioscience iNet and the East Midlands Development Agency, the product has been adapted for use in sharps disposal in hospitals, helping reduce the threat of super bugs like MRSA and C. Diff.

Interest in the product has been high, particularly as it is in line with the government’s Waste Recycling and Processing (WRAP) initiative, with several high profile companies identifying considerable financial and raw material savings if they start using Chameleon.

LBT Managing Director Luke Thomas takes up the story:

“The idea came about from in-depth research I undertook when I was at Nottingham Trent University focused on challenging the existing conventions of packaging containment.  The project itself began in the spring of 2009 and has seen rapid progress and development to date.”

He continued: “The potential mass market appeal of Chameleon means that it’s not really practical for LBT Design to handle the manufacturing ourselves, so we are planning to licence the product and to that end we have already seen major interest.

“We are very confident of the success of the product, especially given our initial meetings with possible clients. One head of a packaging company that viewed it actually said that he had been working for 20 years to come up with something similar to Chameleon without success!”

The project has seen Luke work closely with Nottingham Trent University in order to set up LBT Design and commercially develop Chameleon, while extensive collaboration with De Montford University has focused on product evolution.

“NTU were a great help in setting up LBT Design and are a hugely valuable source of on-going commercial support.

“DMU’s input into the product itself has been invaluable; their knowledge has increased the range of applications available to us and developed our manufacturing process allowing Chameleon to be produced much more cost effectively than initially thought, increasing its viability as a result.”   

Nomination in the Innovation in Development category represents a major boost for all parties involved in the project, something Mr Thomas was happy to acknowledge:

“This short-listing is a big fillip for all concerned. It is further acknowledgement of the potential of Chameleon and will help to heighten the profile of LBT Design along with NTU and DMU. This will create a wider knowledge of the expertise both Universities can provide and this can only be of benefit to them.”

Awards judge Dr Frank Burdett said: "The Awards provide an opportunity to display how the region has really developed in terms of innovation and collaboration, linking businesses with our world-class universities to encourage knowledge transfer and deliver innovative products, processes and services.

"This partnership between LBT Design and Nottingham and De Montford Universities is exactly the kind of project we are keen to showcase and thoroughly deserves it's nomination in this year's awards."

The winners of the awards, which cover ‘Innovation Achieved’, ‘Innovation in Development’ and ‘Innovation for Sustainability’, will be announced at a high-profile finale on September 9^th at Athena in Leicester.

Sponsors for the event include the East Midlands Development Agency, the East Midlands Universities Association, CFE, Connect Midlands, epm: technology ltd, Swindell and Pearson, Leicester and Leicestershire Leadership Group to the list of sponsors and the Enterprise Europe Network.

For further information, visit www.thelordstaffordawards.co.uk