Tetra Pak, in partnership with Elvir, a subsidiary of Savencia Fromage & Dairy – a world leading milk processor – has become the first carton packaging player in the food and beverage industry to launch a cap using certified recycled polymers.
This move marks a key step in both companies’ progress towards circularity. By helping to find an economically sound use for plastic waste and responsibly sourcing raw materials, Tetra Pak and Elvir continue to minimise their dependency on virgin, fossil-based resources.
Elle & Vire chose the HeliCap™ 23 cap solution to complement its cream products, which are distributed in Tetra Brik® Aseptic 1 l Slim carton packages. This one-step resealable screwcap is manufactured at Tetra Pak’s Châteaubriant plant in Loire-Atlantique, France – a site that has been awarded the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB) Advanced Products certification and boosted by a EUR 100 million investment to accelerate the transition to the production of tethered caps. The HeliCap™ 23 cap offers consumers ease of opening and features a clearly visible tamper evidence ring, providing reassurance that the product hasn’t been opened before.
The new caps using attributed recycled polymers are manufactured under the RSB chain of custody attribution method. This means that the plastics are made of a mix of recycled and non-recycled materials, with the corresponding mass of recycled materials tracked throughout the Tetra Pak supply chain. This is verified by a third-party auditor according to the RSB Chain of Custody Procedure, which forms part of the RSB Advanced Products certification.
An SIG-backed beverage carton recycling project has won a A$1.74 million grant from the Federal and New South Wales (NSW) Government towards setting up a A$5 million facility that will turn post-consumer beverage cartons and paper cups into high performance building material. The project is funded by the Australian Government’s Recycling Modernisation Fund and the NSW Government’s Waste Less, Recycle More initiative.
The Australian and NSW Governments and the companies behind the project expect the facility will create confidence in a new market for recycled construction materials, similar to roads made from recycled glass, and enable more packaging to become 100 per cent recyclable, in line with Australian national packaging targets.
The project is the first collaboration between SIG and Tetra Pak in Australia under the umbrella of the Global Recycling Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment (GRACE) and is a joint initiative with saveBOARD and its supporters Freightways and Closed Loop.
The Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) says this is a fantastic step forward for beverage cartons and for the brands and consumers that use this important type of packaging.
saveBOARD co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Paul Charteris says making high-performance low-carbon building materials using 100 % recycled materials from everyday waste is a game-changer that will transform the construction industry in Australia.
The first Australian saveBOARD plant will reprocess liquid paperboard beverage containers, including both aluminium-lined aseptic packages and non-aluminium-lined containers collected through the container deposit scheme and coffee cups collected through the ‘Simply Cups’ recycling program. It will also source material from document recycling company Shred-X.
Together with supplementary material from industrial processes, these items will be used to manufacture high-performance low-carbon building products to substitute plaster board, particle board, and oriented strand board (OSB) that can be used for interior and exterior applications.
The saveBOARD process uses heat and compression to bond materials, eliminating the need for glues or other chemical additives, to produce a clean product with zero volatile organic compounds (VOCs), suitable for use in homes and commercial buildings.
One of the current tendencies is the consumer demand to return to the essence, the craftmanship, and the imperfect beauty. To respond to this demand, Estal, a leading premium packaging company, presents their new contemporary‐vintage design, Wildly Crafted.
Wildly Crafted is a new type of design made for manufacturers that embrace an artisan spirit. The philosophy of this new brand is the production of small batches, but Estal can also produce large amounts. The collection Wildly Crafted is easily recognizable, generated in a brand of identity and community within distilleries that use them: their bottles are unique because they are sealed and contain a texture that can be labeled and varied, like an orange peel, bubbles, movements of glass and imperfections – which present a handcrafted look. All of this can be added to their respect for sustainability.
The Wildly Crafted bottles can be fabricated with the option of 100 % recycled glass PCR (Post‐ Consumer Recycled Glass) that comes from gathering in municipalities. The use of this recycled glass permits the reduction of energy consumption and diminishes CO2 emission, since less fuel consumption is required when melting this material than by converting the raw material into glass. It also involves a lower total extraction of virgin materials, because 1 kg of recovered glass equals 1.2 kg of raw materials.
The Wildly Crafted bottle catalog features five distinct shapes: Primal, the toughest and most powerful design, sculpted in stone; Natural, with a look reminiscent of the ancient terracotta amphorae and the beauty that leaves the passage of time in the glass; Brave, which reinterprets the bottles of whiskey but with a bold design and a texture with bumps; Bobber, cylindrical and powerful, as well as mechanical and natural and finally, Bobber Jr., a tribute to the artisan brewers.
To this diversity of shapes, the possibility of choosing between two different mouths is added: Bocachata, with a clear and clean finish, providing a handmade bottle appearance and a contemporary look thanks to the purity of its lines and Choker, which presents a small space just below the neck, which corresponds to the mold separation line and allows the bottle to be moved across the production line.
The new Wild Glass color is the perfect complement to the Wildly Crafted bottle series, as it starts from the same concept of respect for sustainability and natural beauty. Applicable to both wine bottles, distillery and beverages in general, as well as gourmet and beauty sector, Wild Glass is obtained with 100 % PCR recycled white glass and is an efficient solution, since its application does not discard bottles with cosmetic imperfections of aesthetic character, thus reducing the environmental impact caused by discards. The color range of the “Colour is life” series, to which Wild Glass belongs, is also expanded with the introduction of Amber and Black tones, which stand out for their extreme elegance and wide application, being very attractive for distillery.
SIG is once again leading the industry on sustainable innovation by being the first to offer beverage cartons made with recycled polymers produced from post-consumer plastic waste.
SIG customers will be able to respond to consumer demand for packaging made with recycled plastics by choosing SIG cartons made with certified circular polymers. This innovation reinforces SIG’s contribution to the circular economy by making use of low quality, mixed plastic waste that would otherwise be incinerated or sent to landfill. The mixed plastic waste that is collected is treated in a process that enhances the material and transforms it into a high-quality food grade material.
Made primarily from renewable, FSCTM-certified paper board, SIG’s beverage cartons already support the circular economy by promoting the regeneration of vital natural resources in responsibly-managed forests.
Pioneering partnership
SIG is among a select group of companies – and the first in the beverage carton industry – to partner in the foundation stage of development of recycled polymers from post-consumer waste by its supplier, SABIC. This pioneering partnership highlights SIG’s commitment to a more sustainable future through new solutions that support a circular economy.
The recycled polymers offer the same high quality and have the same properties as polymers made entirely from virgin raw materials. Any contaminants are eliminated during processing, making the recycled content completely safe for food packaging.
Certified circular polymers
The recycled polymers offered by SIG will be certified to the ISCC PLUS standard to enable customers to trace recycled content throughout the value chain from post-consumer waste streams to processing and use in the production of new cartons.
SIG’s commitment to sourcing certified sustainable materials is part of its ambition to go Way Beyond Good by putting more into the environment and society than it takes out.
Loop Industries, Inc., a leading technology innovator in sustainable plastic announced that they have entered into a multi-year supply framework with the Coca-Cola system’s Cross Enterprise Procurement Group (“CEPG”) to supply 100 % recycled and sustainable LoopT PET plastic (“LoopT PET”) from Loop’s joint venture facility with Indorama Ventures Limited in the United States to authorized Coca-Cola bottlers who enter into supply agreements with Loop. Indorama Ventures is a world-class chemicals company and a global integrated leader in PET and fibers serving major customers in diversified end-use markets.
“We are very proud to become a supplier of LoopT branded PET resin to the members of the Coca-Cola system’s Cross Enterprise Procurement Group,” said Daniel Solomita, Founder and CEO of Loop Industries. “We are especially pleased to be able to assist Coca-Cola’s authorized bottlers as they work to meet their recycled content ambitions.”
“Like all responsible companies, we need to be selective in choosing our packaging materials so that we continue to eliminate waste and work to reduce the environmental impact,” said Ron Lewis, Chief Supply Chain Officer, Coca-Cola European Partners, a bottler member of CEPG. “Investments like this one with Loop Industries support our goal to ensure that at least 50% of the material we use for our PET bottles comes from recycled plastic, and will help us divert more materials from landfills and build a stronger circular plastic economy.”
This arrangement continues the rapid and exciting progress ?being made by Loop as it commercializes its breakthrough depolymerization technology which will help reduce global plastic waste and enable major global brands to meet their sustainability goals. As the demand for sustainable packaging solutions continues to grow, Loop Industries has emerged with transformational technology that allows no and low value plastics to be diverted, recovered and recycled endlessly into new, virgin-quality LoopT PET plastic.
Berlin startup share is the first beverage producer in Germany to sell its water in PET bottles made of 100 % recyclate. With its expertise from the Bottles & Shapes™ consultancy program the KHS group supported the company by helping to design and develop the bottle in a very short time indeed.
The plans are ambitious: in 2019 share wants to fill water into about a million bottles a month made entirely of recycled PET and thus save over 200 metric tons of plastic waste a year, according to the company. For several weeks now the product has been on sale at Germany’s supermarket chain REWE and drug store dm and has caused quite a stir in the media. “It took a long time for the original idea to be implemented,” says Iris Braun, head of Product and Social Projects at share. “Finalizing the technology and obtaining certification are both lengthy processes. Your partners are thus crucial.” Besides the two aforementioned retailers share’s other partners are bottler Mineralbrunnen Allgäuer Alpenwasser and preform manufacturer Plastipack, which is also the world’s biggest converter. KHS Corpoplast was also largely instrumental in the implementation of the project.
Experience from over 4,000 realized bottle designs
The German engineering company supported the startup in several ways, including in the development of the recyclate bottle design, states Marc Eysel, who is responsible for sales in Northern Europe at KHS Corpoplast. “We implemented the development very quickly and worked on a suitable design together,” he says. Thanks to its holistic Bottles & Shapes™ consultancy program the systems supplier was able to contribute to the share project experience drawn from over 4,000 designed bottles. “KHS developed the bottle very quickly for us which was enormously helpful,” says Braun. Eysel states that there were no unusual hurdles or challenges to be overcome through the use of 100 % recyclate. “Manufacture is actually simpler as the material’s darker color makes the preforms easier to heat than PET bottles made of virgin material.” Besides providing advice on the bottle design KHS also helps with production. share’s still and carbonated water is bottled at the Allgäuer Alpenwasser bottling plant in Oberstaufen using KHS technology. The bottles are blown on an InnoPET Blomax stretch blow molder, with no special adaptations to the system necessary, according to Eysel.
Following the market launch of the recyclate bottle, interest is now also growing among other beverage producers, emphasize Braun and Eysel. “A number of bottlers wishing to increase the amount of recycled PET they use have now contacted us,” claims Eysel. “The protection of the environment also plays an important role at KHS. We support this by providing resource-saving plant engineering and also by developing sustainable PET bottles.” share hopes that it has provided the right incentives for more sustainability, states Braun. “In the end it’s the consumer who decides.”
100 % of Coca-Cola Amatil packaging to be recyclable by 2025, including bottles, cans, plastic wrap, glass and cardboard
Australian beverages manufacturer Coca-Cola Amatil announced a commitment for 100 per cent of its Australian packaging to be recyclable by 2025, including all bottles, cans, plastic wrap, glass and cardboard. The company will also work towards phasing out unnecessary single-use packaging through improved design, innovation or the use of recycled alternatives.
Group Managing Director Alison Watkins said the commitments were part of the National Packaging Targets announced by Federal Environment Minister, the Hon Melissa Price MP.
“As a beverages manufacturer, we’re serious about playing our part in addressing recycling,” Ms Watkins said.
“We’ve heard the community message loud and clear – that unnecessary packaging is unacceptable and we all need to work together to reduce the amount entering litter streams, the environment and the oceans.
“The National Packaging Targets aim to make a substantive improvement in packaging waste reduction, which is why we’re proud to be a founding supporter and to champion their implementation by industry.”
Australia’s 2025 National Packaging Targets are:
- 100 % of all Australia’s packaging will be reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025 or earlier
- 70 % of Australia’s plastic packaging will be recycled or composted by 2025
- 30 % average recycled content will be included across all packaging by 2025
- Problematic and unnecessary single-use plastic packaging will be phased out through design, innovation or introduction of alternatives
Earlier this year the Mount Franklin 600 ml bottle was launched using 100 % recycled content, with trials under way on reaching an average 50 per cent recycled content across the Australian portfolio by 2020.
Ms Watkins said the Targets were in addition to existing commitments on plastics and packaging reduction, including the aspiration of “World Without Waste” – a Coca-Cola Company goal to collect and recycle one bottle or can for every one produced, worldwide, by 2030.
Amatil and brand partner and shareholder The Coca-Cola Company is also developing sustainable packaging goals to increase the recycled content in plastic bottles and support recycling collection in Australia. Recognising the threat of marine plastic litter, The Coca-Cola Company this week joined governments and industry leaders to sign onto the Ocean Plastics Charter. Originally adopted at the 2018 G7 Summit, the Ocean Plastics Charter calls on governments, industry and the public to rethink their relationship with plastics.
