CAPS AND CLOSURES | TECHNOLOGY
Caps sector makes progress on many fronts
Sustainability concerns are pushing moulders to make caps more recyclable, while technology groups are helping to make production faster and more efficient. By David Eldridge
Caps and closures, like the containers they seal, have been forced to become more sustainable by tougher regulations in recent years, particularly in Europe. The European Union’s mandated switch to tethered caps for drinks bottles with a volume of 3 l or less has spurred innovation in caps design and production (see Injection World’s caps and closures features in previous years). Manufacturers are going further in striving for sustainability by also focusing on making caps as recyclable as possible. The European arm of Kraft Heinz has rede- signed the dispensing cap for its famous squeezy ketchup bottle to make it easier to recycle. Heinz sauce bottles have until now featured a flexible silicone valve to deliver a consistent portion of sauce per squeeze. Working with Berry Global in an extensive development project, Heinz is switching to a mono-material cap, manufactured in PP, that meets requirements for recyclability. Following roll-out of the PP cap in the UK market in 2023 on 400 ml and bigger top-down bottles of Heinz Tomato Ketchup, the group plans the dispensing cap to be rolled out across more of the
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Heinz sauces range in the UK and Europe. Heinz claims the move to the recyclable cap has the potential to divert 300m plastic lids globally from being sent to landfill every year. Jojo de Noronha, President of Kraft Heinz
Northern Europe, said: “Although a small change, this makes it easy for the millions of Heinz lovers across [the UK] to recycle their whole squeezy bottle at once – a small action with big potential for impact.”
Berry said the project has taken eight years, 45
prototypes and more than 185,000 hours in development work to ensure the optimum balance between functionality and sustainability. Berry’s UK business was involved through the design and production process, from concept to the creation of the injection moulding tools in its in-house tool shop, as well as the development of the assembly equipment for industrial production. Matthias Hammersen, Sales Director – Food
Market at Berry Global, said: “Heinz set us the kind of challenge that suits us and our development departments best: to reconstruct the design of the
March/April 2024 | INJECTION WORLD 25
Main image: Squeezy bottles are being fitted with recyclable valves, such as Aptar’s SimpliCycle system which uses low- density TPE
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