Certified circular: SIG introduces beverage cartons made from post-consumer plastic waste

29 Oct 2019 --- In the space of sustainable innovation, SIG Combibloc (SIG) has pegged its brand as the first to offer beverage cartons made with “certified circular” recycled polymers produced from post-consumer plastic waste. This packaging integrates the use of low-quality, mixed plastic waste that would otherwise be incinerated or sent to landfill. The collected plastic waste is treated in a process that enhances the material and transforms it into a high-quality food-grade material.

“Using post-consumer recycled polymers in our packaging adds to our portfolio of solutions to help customers respond to consumer demand for more sustainable packaging,” Ace Fung, Product Manager Sustainability at SIG, tells PackagingInsights.

“This latest innovation demonstrates SIG’s commitment to a circular economy and to address environmental concerns about plastic waste. This is another positive strive forward for SIG and the carton packaging industry,” he adds.

Made primarily from renewable, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified paper board, SIG’s beverage cartons support the circular economy by promoting the regeneration of vital natural resources in responsibly-managed forests.

SIG circular polymers.Pioneering partnership
SIG is among a select group of companies – and the first in the beverage carton industry – to partner in the foundation stage of development of recycled polymers from post-consumer waste by its supplier, Saudi Arabia-based diversified manufacturing company SABIC.

The recycled polymers offer the same high-quality and have the same properties as polymers made entirely from virgin raw materials, notes SIG. Any contaminants are eliminated during processing, making the recycled content safe for food packaging.

“Certified circular polymers from the SABIC Trucircle initiative will act as a bridge moving from a linear economy to a circular one and will enable the value chain to become familiar with the products and consider how they can best be implemented in their own markets,” says Frank Kuijpers, General Manager Corporate Sustainability at SABIC.

“Our collaboration with SIG is a good example of how this pioneering product can be implemented in the beverage carton market for the first time and can help meet consumer demand for more sustainable products and will contribute to closing the loop on reutilizing plastic waste,” he concludes.

The recycled polymers offered by SIG will be certified to the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC)PLUS standard to enable customers to trace recycled content throughout the value chain from post-consumer waste streams to processing and use in the production of new cartons.

Strides in sustainabilityFSC-certified SIG carton packs.
Rolf Stangl, CEO of SIG, has stressed that circular economies must go beyond minimizing environmental damage and find ways to actively give back to the planet. “We are working hard to help improve recycling rates and to design out other materials such as fossil plastic and aluminum. Our paperboard also comes from certified responsible sources, which helps tackle climate change directly by investing in the world’s most effective carbon sinks: forests.”

SIG’s combidome packaging has been picked up by beverage brands Drinks Cubed and Tymbark. The carton is fully recyclable, primarily made from Forest Stewardship Council-certified paperboard, and provides the best CO2 performance compared to other beverage packaging solutions on the market, according to SIG. The product caters to the demands of modern eco-conscious consumers while offering a high level of convenience and differentiation, the company says.

The Switzerland-headquartered company has also recently invested in sustainability projects targeting food waste. In Bangladesh last month, SIG launched the Cartons for Good initiative, which provides underprivileged children with healthy school meals using surplus crops. Under the project, SIG’s engineers adapted the company’s filling technology to create a mobile unit where nutritious meals can be prepared using excess crops and be preserved in aseptic cartons for later use. Housed in a shipping container on a trailer, the unit is designed to travel from one community to the next to preserve surpluses at harvest time.

By Benjamin Ferrer