Cans in cardboard: Coca-Cola European Partners ditches plastic shrink-wrap on UK multipacks

20 Sep 2019 --- Coca-Cola European Partners (CCEP) is to remove plastic shrink-wrap across all multipack cans sold in the UK and transition to cardboard over the next 18 months. More than 30 million packs sold to consumers each year will no longer be wrapped in plastic, the company says. It is the latest move in CCEP’s wider sustainability initiative, which will see 4,000 tons of plastic removed from circulation across Western Europe.

The new cardboard multipacks will be introduced on four, six and eight packs of cans across all brands, including Coca-Cola (original taste and zero sugar), Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Dr Pepper and Lilt. Multipacks of ten cans or more are already wrapped in cardboard.

The shrink-wrap will be replaced with 100 percent recyclable, sustainably sourced cardboard, with either a Forest Stewardship Council (FSC ) certification or Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC).

“All our cans are 100 percent recyclable but we know it is a challenge for consumers to recycle the plastic we use for our multipacks,” says Leendert den Hollander, Vice President and General Manager, CCEP GB. “By replacing shrink-wrap with cardboard, which is collected by virtually every household system in the country, we are eliminating a hard-to-recycle material from our supply chain. Changing all our canning lines over the next 18 months is a complex project but we believe it is the right thing to do and we would encourage others in the sector to follow our lead.”

The plastic shrink-wrap currently used is recyclable, CCEP notes. However, only 10 percent of local UK authorities collect this material, whereas 98 percent accept cardboard as part of household recycling. The switch to cardboard is the latest change from Coca-Cola as part of its sustainable packaging strategy, launched in 2017, in which it set out its ambition to work with others to ensure that all of its packaging is recovered so that more is recycled and none ends up as waste.

In June, Coca-Cola announced that glacéau smartwater would be its first brand in the UK to be sold in bottles made from 100 percent recycled plastic, removing 3,100 tons of virgin plastic from circulation. The beverage giant is also reportedly on track to double the recycled content in all of its plastic bottles in 2020 and is switching Sprite bottles from green to clear plastic to make them easier to recycle into new bottles.

In addition to increasing the amount of recycled materials in its packaging, the company continues to encourage consumers to recycle through its advertising and messaging on packs as well as supporting reform of the recycling system in the UK.

In a recent interview with PackagingInsights, Nick Brown, Head of Sustainability for CCEP, confirmed that CCEP “has been supporting the introduction of a well-designed Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for plastic bottles and cans across the UK, along with the other policies currently being consulted on.”

In a bid to relinquish dependency on single-use plastics, several global beverage manufacturers have been exploring novel packaging designs. Notably, Mexican beer brand Corona created a prototype screwable, stackable can solution. Known as Fit Packs, the cans have screw threads at the top and bottom, allowing up to ten cans to be stacked on top of each other with a simple twist and no additional materials.

Corona also piloted another sustainable alternative to plastic six-pack beer rings – plant-based rings made from biodegradable fibers and a mix of by-product waste and compostable materials. If left in the environment, the rings will break down into a non-harmful organic material.

In Europe, Carlsberg achieved a 76 percent total reduction in plastic use through its Snap Pack innovation for cans. The Snap Pack removes the need for plastic multi-pack rings by using recyclable glue that bonds the beer cans together.

By Joshua Poole