Weekly Roundup: Danone commits to 100% rPET US water bottles, O-I Glass and Krones partner on glass innovation

23 Oct 2020 --- In packaging news this week, companies are continuing to address environmental sustainability demands through partnerships and new technologies. Danone’s mineral water brand Volvic will switch to 100 percent rPET bottles by 2021, while Owens-Illinois Glass and Germany-based Krones AG joined forces to improve their glass bottle portfolios with new machinery and digital solutions. Also, Britvic extended its distribution agreement with PepsiCo by two decades.

In brief: Recycling
Danone’s mineral water brand Volvic will make its full range of US products from 100 percent rPET by 2021 – except the cap and label. Volvic will also launch fully rPET bottles in its full range in Switzerland and Germany and small formats in France and Belgium by the end of 2020. The brand is unveiling a campaign and grant entitled “Thirsty for Action” to support NGOs, NGOs and social businesses who protect or restore natural ecosystems, promote circularity, and reduce carbon emissions.

Nestlé adopted fully recyclable caps for its Nescafé brand, working with Meyer Seals. The ALKOzell mono launch makes Nescafé’s polypropylene caps 100 percent recyclable, eliminating the need for post-consumer waste segregation. The full recyclability of the ALKOzell mono was tested and approved by Interseroh zero waste solutions.

In brief: Business news
Owens-Illinois Glass and Germany-based Krones AG signed a strategic collaboration agreement to jointly create solutions for the growing glass market. Focus areas include glass filling improvements, packaging line speed and efficiency, as well as enhanced agility and flexibility of responding to market trends. The two companies are also developing environmentally sustainable glass systems and advancements in digital solutions such as direct-to-glass digital printing technology.

The new water-saving technology from SIG can save up to 350 L per hour.Britvic entered a new and exclusive 20-year franchise bottling agreement for the production, distribution, marketing and sales of PepsiCo’s carbonated soft drink brands. These include Pepsi, 7UP and Mountain Dew in the UK. The new agreement extends the relationship, which commenced in 1987, to December 31, 2040 and includes the Rockstar energy brand, for which Britvic will take responsibility from November 1. Britvic also has plans to make all its UK plastic bottles from 100 percent rPET by the end of 2022 – three years earlier than initially planned and ahead of the previous target of 50 percent.

In brief: Technology
SIG’s technical upgrades have reduced water consumption up to 50 percent on new and already installed third generation filling machines. The company’s latest water-saving innovation will be included on all new high-speed filling machines, filling 24,000 small-size carton packs per hour. The new technology is also available on most filling machines for carton packs with a size of up to 1.100 ml with a capacity of 12,000 carton packs per hour.

Ulma Packaging developed the OEE Booster that contains two software tools for optimizing overall equipment effectiveness (OEE). OEE Data Entry presents a production information collecting app. At the same time, OEE Monitor automatically generates OEE information that is shown numerically and graphically and facilitates immediate analysis of the data and its evolution.

Ulma Packaging designed software tools called OEE Booster that includes OEE Monitor and OEE Data Entry.Turkey-based Uno Bakery Corporation launched its d2w biodegradable packaging program with Symphony Environmental Technologies as its technology partner and masterbatch supplier. Packaging made with d2w can be recycled if facilities are available, but it degrades naturally if it escapes collection and ends up in the environment as litter.

In brief: Research
Almost 80 percent of Scottish residents are concerned about the volume of single-use items and packaging used across the country, according to a YouGov survey commissioned by Zero Waste Scotland. The same amount expressed support for regulations that limit their use. Meanwhile, Zero Waste Scotland will grant £600,000 (US$785,000) to empower Scottish shops to ditch single-use packaging and move to reusable options. Some pioneering shops have already started using package-free dispensers, but the new scheme would see cash made available to existing small and medium-sized enterprises in the isles to enable the transition.

By Anni Schleicher

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