Ball’s aluminum cans raise Russian water brand’s recyclability

22 Jun 2020 --- Legend Of Baikal is moving into unprecedented waters by partnering with Ball Corporation, who will provide the Russian brand’s naturally sourced water with aluminum cans and lids. The 330 ml Legend of Baikal Water cans are designed for on-the-go hydration and can be easily recycled. The shift away from plastic bottles aims to appeal to younger consumers who are increasingly looking for convenient and functional packaging with strong environmental credentials. 

“Consumers of all ages across the world expect sustainable products. The aluminium beverage can is the world’s most recycled beverage container – aluminium cans and lids can be recycled over and over again,” Elisabeth Tanguy, Communications Direction, Beverage Packaging Europe, Middle East and Africa, Ball Corporation, tells PackagingInsights. The cans launched earlier this year in Russia, South East Asia and the Middle East.

The advantage of metal packaging is that it has a high recycling rate. Almost 31 billion cans were recycled in EU and EFTA countries in 2017, representing a total of more than 420,000 tons of aluminum, according to research from European Aluminium last October. Moreover, according to Ball, aluminium cans can be recycled over and over without loss of quality and are now the fastest growing packaging type in Europe.

Pretty in inks
Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996, Baikal is a freshwater lake located in southern Siberia, Russia. The cans’ distinctive dark blue design represents the color of water in the depths of Lake Baikal. Moreover, the inks used on the cans facilitate an eco-conscious disposal of the cans.

“[The] inks and coatings are responsibly removed during the recycling process. After used beverage cans are collected and sorted, they are shredded before going into a heating kiln. This process removes and recovers the inks and coatings, or the non-metal components of the can, which make up a tiny fraction of the can. Once this process is complete, the cans are re-melted and returned into various aluminum products including can sheets,” Tanguy explains.

Irrespective of color, format and design, cans can be recycled over and over with no loss of quality, she affirms. Furthermore, stopping beverage safety concerns in its tracks, all inks and coatings used by beverage manufacturers have regulatory approval for use in food and beverage packaging in more than 100 countries. This includes the US Food and Drug Administration and the European Food and Safety Authority.

Can do: Convenient packaging
Protecting its natural resources is a key priority for Legend of Baikal, the company states. “Sustainability is very important to Baikal as we want to protect the lake from which we source our legendary water. Working with Ball means we can offer our customers a great on-the-go packaging solution while looking after the environment,” explains Alexandr Zaytsev, Executive Director, Legend of Baikal.

In other sustainability strides, The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) approved Ball’s targets to reduce absolute carbon emissions within its own operations by 55 percent and within its value chain by 16 percent by 2030 against a 2017 baseline. Meanwhile, its “game-changing” aluminum cup was recognized in Fast Company’s 2020 World Changing Ideas Awards.

By Anni Schleicher

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