Tetra Pak recently announced it is ready to deploy its portfolio of tethered cap solutions. The portfolio brings numerous benefits to food and beverage manufacturers and consumers as it builds on its vision of the most sustainable food package.
These benefits include minimizing litter, as the cap will stay attached to the package. The carbon footprint can also be reduced because the company’s tethered caps are planned to become available as a plant-based option, therefore increasing the renewable content of the package.
In tandem, the company is accelerating the numbers of its paper straws, offering to ensure various renewable and low carbon materials across the range of packaging solutions. It aims to address a broad range of customer sustainability needs without compromising food safety while still delivering on the end-user drinking experience.
Lars Holmquist, Executive Vice President Packaging Solutions and Commercial Operations, Tetra Pak, says: “These are key milestones in our journey towards the world’s most sustainable food package: a carton that is fully made from renewable or recycled materials is fully recyclable and carbon-neutral. We consistently strive to deliver products and services that add value to food and people while protecting the planet. Our promise, ‘protects what’s good,’ allied with this strong purpose means we are providing customers with innovative products that also meet the rapidly changing demands of society.”
Tetra Pak’s approach towards sustainability
Tetra Pak’s tethered caps and paper straws developments mark the latest additions to its range of responsible end-to-end solutions, allowing manufacturers to achieve their ambitions in three essential areas – food safety, food waste, and the environment – simultaneously.
These steps are also central to ensuring that Tetra Pak’s customers in Europe will be ready to comply with the Single-Use Plastics (SUP) Directive, an integral part of the broader approach announced in the Plastics Strategy and a critical element of the EU Circular Economy Action Plan.
Tetra Pak is progressing on this complex journey by working seamlessly across various project streams. Overall, this covers approximately 40 different packages with tethered caps. Those caps are all planned to become available as a plant-based option.
The first one to be released on the market is the HeliCap 26 Pro closure. This product features a new screw and flip concept with a self-locking hinge, securing food protection while providing convenience for in-home consumption. Its opening and closing mechanism has proven popular with consumers, demonstrating that the solution is delivering further benefits in addition to meeting legislative requirements.
Holmquist concludes: “We won’t stop here. We are continuously innovating our sustainable openings offering. We envision a world where carton packages never become waste and where every carton is collected and recycled.”
