Greiner Packaging, Engel, and Brink have collectively developed a thin-walled cup made of rPET that can be produced using injection moulding technology and claims to lessen CO2 equivalent (CO2e) emissions.
Compared to virgin polypropylene material, which was previously used to create the cup, the rPET design is thought to offer a four-fold reduction in CO2e. It is designed to be sealable and compatible with filling lines, and apparently has a consistent wall thickness distribution from the even distribution of plastic in the injection moulding process. Labels can be added via in-mould labelling.
The cup is also lightweight and optimally recyclable, according to Greiner Packaging. It favours rPET for its food-grade status and availability, with its use in injection moulding expected to bring new, more sustainable possibilities for food packaging and more.
“When developing the thin-walled, injection-moulded cups made of PET, it was particularly important for us to develop a solution that was not only innovative but also able to withstand our customers’ industrial requirements,” explains Sebastian Diensthuber, global product group manager. “The cups we developed together with Brink and Engel are designed in such a way that a transition to the new generation of cups is possible, both in filling and sealing.”
Last year, Müller Milk & Ingredients switched to rPET cream pots with the goal of eliminating an annual 500 tonnes of virgin plastic.
Berry Superfos has also assisted TINE in replacing the polystyrene pots for its Rømme and sour cream products with 50% recycled polypropylene alternatives.
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