Visitors to K 2019 this year will be able to sample a free coffee, and reusable / recyclable Zero Waste Cup at the Borealis stand A43, hall 6.
Created for K 2019, the new cup brings together circular economy technologies and processes to demonstrate how plastics will be used to tackle critical environmental problems:
Foaming — Bockatech EcoCore® foamtech provides insulation, increases strength up to 5X and reduces energy use as well as costs by allowing fast cycle times and reducing the weight of material used by up to 70%.Materials — Borealis polypropylene creates durable cups for use hundreds of times, cutting CO2 by 95% compared to single-use dual-wall paper cups over a year.
In-Mould Labelling — Verstraete dishwasher safe labels allow impactful, high-quality graphics, and repeated cleaning. Use of polypropylene for the label also makes the cup mono-material and easy to recycle.
Holygrail watermarking — an invisible Digimarc watermark is embedded into the cup label. And, boosts recycling by allowing cups to be identified easily within deposit return schemes (DRS) and kerbside waste processing.
Recovery — cups returned during K2019 are washed, reaching CO2 breakeven after just 1.5 uses when compared to dual-wall paper cups. Following the show, the cups will be returned to the project partners and used to create food quality recyclate for future closed loop system trials.
The technologies and processes used by the K2019 Zero Waste Cup may also be used for other applications such as food service / retail packaging, industrial pots / pails and healthcare.
“With bans and targets on the reduction of single-use packaging growing, the future is reusable recyclables,” says Jeroen Frederix, Borealis Global Business Manager for Polyolefin Foam. “Bockatech EcoCore foamtech and Borealis polypropylene make reusables, at the same cost as single-use packaging, a reality.”
“Reduction and reuse are both above recycling in the waste management hierarchy as they offer greater potential to cut environmental impact,” says Chris Bocking, CEO and founder of Bockatech. “Our technology is reducing the amount of material needed to make reusables and will provide a step-change in sustainability.”Converters and brands that want to find out more about the reusable K2019 Zero Waste Cup, as well as how the technologies and processes behind it will benefit them, can get a free coffee and cup at the Borealis stand A43, hall 6.
