MATERIALS | CAPS AND CLOSURES
Right: Tubs of Magnum ice cream have a lid made from Sabic’s circular grade of PP
introduce a next generation finish/closure that is lighter, loved by our consumer, and requires the minimal line investment,” said Richard Novomesky, managing director of closures and labels at Coca-Cola in Singapore. “The lowest possible weight is not the primary design criterion.” Regarding tethering, the company has convert- ed almost all its lines in Europe – with remaining lines currently being converted. “Impact on overall productivity is low but the initial cost of tooling and slitting equipment – plus design costs – is considerable,” he said. He added that around 95% of closures in Europe
are already returned with the bottle – regardless of whether they are tethered. In addition, he said, tethered closures have only been significantly implemented in Europe.
Water works Alessandro Pasquale of Mattoni – who is also president of Natural Mineral Waters Europe (NMWE) – said that all packaging used in the mineral water industry is recyclable. However, this does not mean it is necessarily recycled. While schemes for bottles are well established, he said the next step is to focus on caps, labels and secondary packaging. While bottle-to-bottle recycling is common
Below: One of Coca-Cola’s sustainability goals is to use at least 50% recyclate in its packaging by 2030
practice, he says cap-to-cap is also achievable in a closed loop system. This is likely to begin with eco-design principles, include a well-managed deposit return scheme (DRS), and lead to a full bottle-to-bottle (including components such as caps and labels). He cited one DRS, in Slovenia, which reached a 92% packaging return rate in 2023 – after its introduction at the start of 2022. It collected around 22,000 tonnes of material – of which more than 15,000 tonnes was PET. “This system is now ready for cap circularity,” he said.
Using again Re-using packaging is a far more established concept than recycling – and is seeing a resur- gence. Stuart Chidley, co-founder of UK-based Reposit, said his company provides ‘packaging as a service’ – allowing packaging for products such as cosmetics to be returned and re-used. “Re-use will become the largest impact area – but is currently the smallest, with isolated failing trials and pilots,” he told delegates. Re-use sits within a larger category of ‘reduce’ – which includes eliminating packaging and re-using it. Other current ways of dealing with plastic packaging include ‘substitute’ (with materials such as paper or compostables), ‘recycle’ (mechanically or chemically), ‘dispose’ (in landfill, or as fuel) and ‘mismanaged’ (such as in the form of pollution). The company already runs schemes with UK
retailers such as Tesco, Asda and M&S, with plans to scale up and add new schemes in future. It says that 98% of its packaging returns include the closure. However, he said there was still debate as to whether closures for re-usable containers should be single-use – or designed to be durable, wash- able and reusable themselves. “Are we all waiting for the demand signal from the consumer, the retailer or the brand owner?” he said.
Cosmetic change Jacques D’Heur, technical service and product development manager at Ineos in Belgium, explained the company’s new recycled material for cosmetic lids. He said there was a ‘paradox’ for recycled cosmetic caps. While PP is the most commonly used material, recycled versions do not meet the needs of the cosmetics industry. Virgin PP will produce uncoloured caps with consistent quality that are transparent and glossy, with no smell. Recy-
14 INJECTION WORLD | March/April 2025
www.injectionworld.com
IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK
IMAGE: SABIC
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