Arla invests heavily in renewable caps: 1 million caps a day are changed

30 Apr 2014

Arla is now focusing on screw caps from renewable material to be included on big sellers such as milk. Every day 1 million packs of the products sold will now have the new caps.

Arla is now focusing on screw caps from renewable material to be included on big sellers such as milk. Every day 1 million packs of the products sold will now have the new caps. Arla will also be putting the new renewable caps on all the organic milk as part of the drive towards doubling the consumption of organic milk.

- We are now switching to renewable caps for large parts of the range, or 1 million caps a day. Many consumers want the caps to be also ecological and it has made it possible to switch to a cap of renewable material, says Ann Freudenthal, who is responsible for Arla's organic line.

The new caps are made from a renewable resource. At present, it is ethanol made from sugar cane, but it takes a lot of product development in the area and is now being researched for other examples of renewable raw materials as cellulose (from the forest) and algae. Renewable caps are recyclable but not compostable. The caps Arla used so far were made from raw materials of fossil origin, such as oil or natural gas.

- This is a good first step towards an even better material. We have a close dialogue with our suppliers that help us to increase further the share of renewable and sustainable raw materials in our packaging. Arla has the overall objective of our packaging being 100 percent recyclable, says Anna-Karin Modin-Edman, environmental and sustainability expert at Arla.

One major change is that Arla’s organic milk now gets a screw cap for the first time. After a few tough years, Arla has gained momentum in sales of organic dairy products again. The last three months, sales have increased by 30 percent compared with the same period last year.

- Arla has driven developments in ecology for over 20 years and has continued with big ambitions. We want more people to choose eco often and aim to double the consumption of organic dairy products. Many consumers say they have opted out of organic milk because it lacked caps and renewable caps are therefore an important next step in our investment, says Ann Freudenthal.

The new caps are starting to come out in stores during week 20 as the old packing material runs out. It is Tetra Pak, which supplies the caps to Arla.

Facts about Arla renewable caps

The following Arla Ko-products (red Arla Cow) will have the new renewable caps:

Conventional milk
Lactose-free milk (1.5 l)
Conventional file
Organic file
Conventional cream
Organic cream
Natural yoghurt. (1.5 l)
(Even Yoggi 1.5L gets the new cap)

The following Arla Ko organic products will get the cap for the first time:

Country Milk
Whole milk
Skimmed
Skimmed milk (Skim milk had cap before).

The new caps are made of so-called renewable polyethylene, originating in sugarcane.
The caps are recyclable and should be placed in the plastic container at the recycling station.

Source: Arla Foods