CAPS AND CLOSURES | MATERIALS
Top performance: developments in caps and closures
Sustainability is a critical factor for closures – ranging from the need for more recycled material grades to new European legislation that insists caps are tethered to the bottle
Last year’s Plastic Closure Innovations event, organised by AMI, covered a variety of topics – with delegates learning about market trends – such as tethering – various re-use and recycling schemes and technical developments. Martyna Fong, director of market intelligence at
AMI, told delegates that PE and PP will remain the dominant materials for caps and closures until at least 2030. In Europe, a key driver will be the new Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), which will introduce binding, uniform packaging rules across the European Union (EU). “This is a ‘Regulation’ rather than a ‘Directive’ – so
is directly applicable, with no individual Member State implementation processes and no deviations,” she said. PPWR’s aims include reducing the amount of
packaging placed on the market, improving packaging waste management and increasing recy- cled content – especially in plastic packaging.
Cap trends Maciej Nurkowski and Levent Obut of Sabic presented details of several new material grades for caps and closures. They said the company’s bimodal HDPE CC255C/CC255SL organoleptic polymer for carbonated soft drink (CSD) caps combines good processability with high ESCR – allowing cap manufacturers to design and produce lightweight closures with short cycle times. “It offers optimised processing for CSD caps,” they said. Its HDPE CC458 grade does the same for still
water and beverage caps. The material also allows the design of tethered caps – a key trend in PPWR,
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allowing design for recycling. The company also offers a number of Trucircle grades, which incorpo- rate mechanically recycled materials. One example is tubs of Magnum ice cream, which use a circular grade of PP for the lid. “It has identical product specifications to conventional PP,” said the presenters. In another nod towards sustainability, Sabic also develops bio-based materials from feedstocks such as crude tall oil and used cooking oil – and is considering the use of algae in future. In collaboration with partners, it has developed bio-based packaging for beauty brand Lumene – which includes the jar, lid and labels. Here, crude tall oil feedstock was used to make the PP, which was used for the jar and lid. The label was made from BOPP. The presenters said: “97% of this packaging is made from renewable feedstock.” The new material is a drop-in solution, with no change in packaging characteristics, no invest- ments in line modification or compromise in product safety, they said.
In the neck As a major brand owner,Coca-Cola is a huge user of bottles and caps. It has set itself a number of sustainability goals – including to make 100% of its packaging recyclable by the end of this year – and to use at least 50% recyclate in its packaging by 2030. In addition, the company is moving towards a new neck finish for all its bottles, on the principles of the GME30/40 design standard for bottles with tethered caps. “The design criterion for our system was to
March/April 2025 | INJECTION WORLD 13
Main image: Tethered caps are a key market driver – especially in Europe
IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK
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