Tetra Pak and Elle & Vire have worked together to produce the first carton packaging in the food and beverage industry to incorporate a cap using certified recycled polymers.
A subsidiary of Savencia Fromage & Dairy, the French dairy company chose Tetra Pak’s HeliCap 23 cap for its cream products, which are distributed in Tetra Brik Aseptic 1L Slim carton packages.
The resealable screwcap is manufactured at Tetra Pak’s Châteaubriant plant in Loire-Atlantique, France, and is designed to offer consumers ease of opening and features a clearly visible tamper evidence ring.
The new caps use ‘attributed’ recycled polymers and manufactured under the RSB chain of custody attribution method – the plastics are made of a mix of recycled and non-recycled materials, with the corresponding mass of recycled materials tracked throughout the Tetra Pak supply chain.
Chakib Kara, managing director France & Benelux at Tetra Pak, said: “Comparative studies show that, already today, our paper-based carton packages have a lower carbon footprint than alternative options, such as glass, plastic or metal packages. Deploying cartons integrating attributed recycled polymers represents a key step in our journey towards the ultimate sustainable food package, one that is fully made of responsibly sourced renewable or recycled materials, fully recyclable and carbon neutral.”
Annick Renou, global marketing director at Elvir, added: “By adopting caps which integrate attributed recycled polymers, Elle & Vire is a pioneer in circularity. Based on recent research, approximately three in four French consumers are concerned with environmental issues, and the same number say that their purchase intention increases if a brand is addressing sustainability issues. We are pleased to be benefiting from Tetra Pak’s expertise and ability to provide such an innovative and environmentally sound packaging solution.”
Source
