Tetra Pak and Italian dairy company Sterilgarda Alimenti have unveiled the ‘first ever’ 1 litre package featuring a paper-based barrier, said to increase the renewable content to 90% when combined with plant-based polymers.
Designed for ambient distribution, Tetra Pak says the carton supports shelf life and performance comparable to traditional aseptic packaging with an aluminium foil barrier while reducing the carbon footprint by up to 50%, as verified by the Carbon Trust.
Tetra Pak’s aseptic beverage carton with a paper-based barrier was first launched in 2023 in a portion package format on flexible lines. The technology was later expanded to high-speed lines.
The paper-based barrier reduces the carton’s material content from three to two main materials: paper and polymers. Tetra Pak states that the increased paper content can support recycling infrastructure by improving material recovery and quality, while maintaining the strength and rigidity required to protect aseptic products throughout their lifecycle.
The company adds that it is committed to investing approximately €100 million annually through to 2030 in the development of sustainable packaging solutions, including creating packages with simplified material structures and increased renewable content.
At the start of the year, Tetra Pak invested €60 million into a pilot plant for its paper-based barrier technologies, thought to unlock 80% paper content and 92% renewable content in a single aseptic carton. Due to be built in Lund, Sweden, the facility is hoped to give customers more insight into the solution’s manufacturing process, from creating the barrier and producing the packaging material to combining the components into a filled package.
The following month, Pro Carton announced that the carton packaging industry has achieved an 8% reduction in cradle-to-gate fossil carbon emissions since 2021. Research conducted by the Research Institutes of Sweden (RISE) and independently verified by Institut für Energie- und Umweltforschung (ifeu) in Germany confirms the annual cradle-to-gate fossil carbon footprint dropped from 929 kg CO2 equivalent to 854 kg CO2 equivalent per tonne.
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