Reproduced with kind permission of beverage innovation
www.beverage-innovation.com
beverage innovation
Today’s environmentally aware consumers are looking for eco-friendly packages that makes them feel good about
their drinks in more ways than one. Lightweight PET, corn derived biodegradable PLA and recyclable cartons all
have their role to play. beverage innovation looks at the latest options.
Green conscience
The costs of PET resin for bottle production and in
recycling standard PET have forced bottlers and
cup manufacturers to look at using new materials.
Probably one of the most exciting developments in
the drinks industry in recent years has been the
commercial development of affordable polylactide,
or PLA, as it is known.
more than 140,000 metric tons of polylactide
each year. Here NatureWorks harvests the starch
stored in natural plant sugars. The sugar is then
fermented into lactic acid, which is used to
create the clear plastic PLA that can be shaped
into a variety of bottles, containers, trays, films
and other packaging.
Research into PLA has been going on for some
time. Around five years ago production costs were
prohibitive but these have been cut by at least 50%
in the past two years. Clarity and rigidity of the bottle
has also been improved with eco aware companies
such as the UK’s innocent drinks ready to roll out
juice drinks and smoothies in PLA this September.
Apparently, the production of PLA provides more
than 65% fossil fuel reduction in comparison with
traditional PET and has been designated the world’s
first greenhouse gas neutral polymer.
“Finding a way to go to 100% compostable is a huge
step forward for our sustainability squad. We hope it
encourages other manufacturers to look at the impact
their packaging has on the environment,” explained
innocent co-founder Richard Reed.
Cargill’s NatureWorks LLC operates a global scale
facility in Blair, Nebraska, USA, capable of producing
Bottle lightweighting - how light can you go?
1750
Resin Annual Savings (1000’s)
750
Investing in a prototyping programme to investigate a lightweight
solution can yield excellent returns.
Issue 38 - July-August 2006
40%
60%
80%
100%
1.0 Gram Reduction
1750
Gram Reduction
Tony Maraschielllo of Husky
explained “In1.5recent
years, many applications
1500
2.0 Gram Reduction
such as CSD and water have undergone weight reductions. This has resulted
1250by as much as 20-30%. In a constant effort to
in lowering preform weights
improve profit margins, container manufacturers continue to push the limits
1000
of how light a given bottle can be without compromising its performance.
Number of Preforms (1,000,000’s)
20%
2000
1.0 Gram Reduction
“PET resin costs are the most significant contributor to the cost of
500
producing a package. The chart
above shows the typical breakdown.
Note that a 5% reduction 250
in part weight can return a 4.4% savings to
the cost of the product. Comparatively, a 5% equipment cost reduction
will yield a 0.26% saving on0the cost100of the product.”
200
400
These cups, produced by packaging manufacturer
Huhtamaki, were made from the annually renewable
resource, maize, instead of a finite source such as oil.
Following the festivals, a total 2,940kg of compostable
cups were collected and subsequently recycled,
generating 147kg (324 lbs) of compost.
Resin wall thickness
Inherently, as the package weight is reduced, 74.8%
the preform
becomes less and in turn increases the output of the injection moulding
machine and blow moulding equipment.
13.7% Blow Molding
However there are more than just resin savings gained from
lightweighting a package. Inherently, as the package weight is reduced,
the preform 11.5%
wall thickness
Injection becomes
Molding less and in turn increases the output
of the injection moulding machine and blow moulding equipment.
The chart above reveals the injection moulding machine productivity
gain and combined resin savings for a CSD application.
Resin Annual Savings (1000’s)
Injection moulding
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
specialists such as
Husky have been
74.8% Resin
looking at ways
of reducing the
amount of PET
13.7% Blow Molding
used in a bottle for
some years now.
Today’s consumers
11.5% Injection Molding
need to be made
aware of this, both
for its cost savings
Chart 1: Breakdown of Total Equipment
in production
Productivity for a typical application.
and eco friendly
(Source: Husky Injection Molding Systems)
benefits including
2000
more efficient recycling and use of fossil fuels.
During the summer of 2004, Belgium’s second largest
brewery, Alken-Maes Breweries, served more than
1.5 million servings of beer in PLA cups at three major
music festivals in Belgium.
1.5 Gram Reduction
1500
2.0 Gram Reduction
1250
1000
750
500
250
0
100
800
200
400
Number of Preforms (1,000,000’s)
800
Chart 2: The gram weight reductions and cost savings associated
to volumes. Gram weight savings are based on projected preform
volumes, based on a 48-cavity system.
Reproduced with kind permission of beverage innovation
www.beverage-innovation.com
PLA in the marketplace
beverage innovation
Disposal advantages
According to Natureworks Business Development Director
Brian Glasbrenner: “In addition to outstanding gloss and
clarity, the relative ease of processing that NatureWorks
PLA exhibits in extrusion and thermoforming enables
it to be used for both conventional and form-fill-seal
applications. It is also well suited for a wide range of
applications in the film market including labels, heatseal overlays, window films, flow wrap, twist wrap and
formulations for carrier bags. Disposable cold drink cups,
bowls, plates, and cutlery are also proving popular for
events and in the coffee shop market.
d,
PLA can be physically recycle d,
rate
ine
inc
,
ted
pos
com
industrial
d filled.
chemically converted or lan
rking
wo
tly
ren
cur
is
rks
NatureWo
stics
pla
the
of
s
with representative
the
dy
stu
to
ry
ust
ind
recycling
PLA in
handling of post-consumer
s.
am
stre
stic
mixed pla
from PET
Already PLA can be sorted
rd Near
nda
sta
the
g
usin
PE
and HD
d to sort
use
ent
Infrared (NIR) equipm
s. In
stic
pla
PE
HD
and
T
-PE
out non
ted
mit
com
is
rks
addition, NatureWo
cessful
suc
the
g
urin
ens
ibly
ons
to resp
al into
introduction of the materi
and
ent
em
nag
ma
ste
wa
existing
recycling infrastructures.
“In bottles NatureWorks PLA is primarily suited for short
shelf life applications that use cold-filling techniques
such as still water, fresh juices,
dairy beverages and edible oils. It
can be used to create varied and
complex bottle shapes and sizes and
its performance attributes include:
surface adhesion as it readily accepts
coatings, inks and adhesives; clarity
and gloss of surface as it exhibits
less than 5% haze; and its flavour
and aroma barrier ie its organoleptic
properties are comparable
to that of glass and PET.
cle assessment
Application specific life cynt (LCA) consultants report that
le Assessme
l resources and
Based on an external Life Cyc
requires 65% less fossil fue
PLA
in
tles
bot
00
1,0
ing
tles in PET.
produc
bot
00
1,0
ing
duc
pro
e gases than
emits 65% less greenhous
PLA barrier proper
ties
Despite currently be
ing unsuitable
for CSD’s, due to ca
rbonation levels
major beverage comp
an
the world are apparen ies across
tly looking at
PLA as the packagin
g choice of the
future. NatureWork
s PLA exhibits
higher transport rat
es for water
vapour, carbon dioxid
e, and oxygen
by a factor of 8-10
times that of PET.
It is recommended th
at a PLA drink
package have reinfo
rcing features,
such as ribs, althoug
h this is not
essential.
It is also recommend
ed
lightweight the bottl not to
e. Typical weights
for a 50cl PLA bottle
should be 22-24
grams. Dosing with
nitrogen is also
recommended to he
lp minimise
the impact of altitu
de change and
internal pressure los
s in the bottle
that can result in pa
neling.
Last year, Biota Brands of America introduced the first
compostable water bottle made from NatureWorks
PLA corn based resin, supported by Husky, the
world’s leading supplier of bottle preform production
equipment and services, and SIG Corpoplast.
Why prototype?
• Prototyping a bottle ensures the preform’s sidewall thickness to
length ratio does not pressure limit the injection moulding press.
It also confirms that:
• Pressure induced gate crystalline does not result from reduced
preform bottom wall thickness
• The preform de-moulds and transfers effectively into the robot
End of Arm Tool
• Preforms descramble easily before the blowing station
• The preform transfers effectively through the blowing process
• The blow process window is adequate for both equipment and
environmental conditions.
We have recently seen an increase in lightweighting activity, particularly
to push the 50cl bottle below the 50g barrier. Similarly, there has been an
increase in activity around the 1 litre and 1.5 litre water bottles to drive
down the cycle times through weight reductions. In CSD’s, there is the
Attribute
Unit
Original
Design
New
Design
Improvements
potential to reduce weight and cycle time for single serve 50cl and 60cl
sizes, while the 2 litre container is actively being pushed below 48 grams.
Weight
grams
27.7
25.0
2.7
Wall thickness
mm
4.0
3.6
0.4
Husky’s Preform Development Centre (PDC) can help identify and evaluate
factors that determine the extent to which a bottle’s weight can be reduced.
Cycle time
seconds
16.8
14.5
14%
100m production
months
14.3
12.3
2
Resin savings
tonnes
270.0
USD 330K
In today’s competitive marketplace every converter is looking for ways to
improve profitability and consumers will be delighted to learn that less
PET is being used in the production of the product they purchase. As Tony
concluded “If you are not actively thinking about lightweighting, chances
are your competition is.”
Issue 38 - July-August 2006
beverage innovation
Reproduced with kind permission of beverage innovation
www.beverage-innovation.com
The move to green packaging
Dragon Creative Director Samantha Dumont
There is a lot of noise about ‘green’ packaging more than ever before - which is positive, but
there is a feeling that the industry and brand
owners are doing little to combat the problems
of excessive landfill caused by packaging and
sustainability issues.
It goes without saying that we need to start
designing and making more sustainable
packaging, but the portable and convenient
lifestyle that we live is often at odds with
sustainability issues.
For example, the increase in consumption of
bottled water and drinks in PET over the last
decade has significantly increased the amount
of landfill material, but these are issues that
are often out of the immediate control of the
designer. This is a whole category of waste that
didn’t exist 20 years ago. Change of habit and
lifestyle are the most significant factors that
will make a real difference.
Sometimes the best solution to reducing
environmental impact will be quite radical new types of delivery mechanisms, new product
formats, moving from supplying products into
providing services. We all need to think broadly
enough to spot these opportunities, rather than
just focusing on incremental improvements.
packaging will be lost. This is
where design can play a vital
role. Design is about creative
problem solving and building consumer appeal.
If we can do this within the parameters of
sustainability we can deliver ‘green packaging’
that consumers will actually want to buy. Until
legislation kicks in with clear directives, the
design industry has a huge opportunity and
responsibility to make a difference.
We need to remember however that packaging
has a lot to do, both in terms of presenting the
brand in its best light and protecting the goods;
through transit, in-store and ultimately getting
the goods home in perfect condition. It is not
enough to just make the ‘perfect green pack’
that doesn’t compete on the ‘desirability’ level
because it won’t be doing its job - it will end
up being ignored and the point of sustainable
On a simple level, the biggest impact we can have
on the environment is reduction (i.e. through
size, weight, materials and layers). This is the
single biggest place that we designers can make
an immediate difference. Simply put, prevention
before creation. This is also probably the area
that’s the biggest design challenge and the area
of greatest opportunity for creative thinking.
Global recycling push for carton manufacturers
According to Richard Hands, Environment Manager for
Tetra Pak UK, recycling of the beverage carton has
grown steadily in recent years reaching 29% in Europe
in 2004 when 11.7 billion beverage cartons (300,000
tonnes) were recycled in paper mills.
absence of oxygen, without combustion, yielding
an energy efficiency rate close to 90%. Additionally
the company has committed to following a carbon
equalisation policy in Canada which helps meet its
commitments to the Kyoto agreement.
Globally the 2004 figure stands at 16.2% and Tetra Pak is
committed to achieving a 25% recycling rate worldwide
for their used carton packages by end of 2008.
Previously, recycling technology could separate paper,
but plastic and aluminum came out together. The
plasma technology breaks the cartons down to their
component parts. Each component returns separately to
the production chain as raw material. The success of this
project led Tetra Pak to build a second facility in Spain.
Through recycling 1 tonne of beverage cartons, 900kg
of greenhouse gas emissions and 2-3 cubic metres of
landfill is saved.
Tetra Pak is working hard to create sustainable activities
and become environmentally responsible. The company’s
aseptic containers are made from paper fibre, aluminum,
and plastic, and the company is acutely aware of the
environmental impact of its activities.
On 10 February this year Tetra Pak rolled out ‘Wide’ an
inner coating that is 30% thinner and requires fewer
polymers to produce. As a result, Tetra Pak will be
reducing its global consumption of polymers by 50,000
tons per year, which equates to about 2,500 shipping
containers annually
Also in February this year Tetra Pak and WWF Sweden
signed a three year agreement to globally co-operate in
forestry and climate change programmes. The agreement
proposes actions to demonstrate responsible purchasing
of forest-based products and to reduce Tetra Pak’s CO2
emissions over the next five years by an absolute 10%.
In 2005 Tetra Pak partnered with Alcoa, Klabin and
TSL Ambiental to create the world’s first carton
packaging recycling facility in Piracicaba, Brazilto.
The facility uses plasma technology to create recyclable
material. It has the capacity to process 8,000 tonnes
per year of plastic and aluminum, corresponding to
recycling approximately 32,000 tonnes of aseptic
packaging. The emission of pollutants during the
recovery of the materials is minimal, handled in the
Issue 38 - July-August 2006
A major programme of tree planting is the first step in
Tetra Pak’s local climate control policy. Its success means
that the ultimate goal of equalising all company carbon
emitting activities is on track but there is a long way to
go. It was calculated that Tetra Pak’s employees traveled
four million air miles in 1994 and this resulted in
Tree-Canada - a foundation planting 17,500 trees.
Inspiration from the top
Tetra Pak was built upon the sustainable concept that a
package should save more than it costs. Our founder,
Dr. Ruben Rausing, also had a vision of helping to feed
the world, now translated into our own vision statement:
‘We commit to making food safe and available,
everywhere’. Sustainability for Tetra Pak means using
natural resources without using them up - we facilitate
partnerships to develop the infrastructure from cow to
consumer; and we work closely with customers, suppliers
and stakeholders in our quest for sustainability. We will
continue to support the United Nations Global Compact.
Challenges lie ahead, but we relish the opportunity
to reach the targets we have set ourselves, because a
sustainable world is the world we all want to live in.
If your company is proud of its moves towards a greener
more sustainable future we would be delighted to include
this information in beverage innovation.