USA – Kraft Heinz, a multinational food company, has joined forces with plastic packaging manufacturer Berry Global to introduce its first fully recyclable cap for its squeezy ketchup bottles.
Previously, Heinz sauce bottles utilized a flexible silicone valve, ensuring consistent portion sizes but posing recycling challenges due to the valve material.
The newly designed caps are now made of a mono-material, meeting recyclability standards. This shift addresses environmental concerns tied to the previous design, which hindered recycling efforts.
Matthias Hammersen, Sales Director at Berry Global, noted, “Heinz presented us with a challenge perfectly suited to our expertise: redesigning the cap to ensure full recyclability without compromising the performance beloved by millions of consumers.”
The recyclable caps are being introduced nationwide in the UK on 400ml and larger top-down bottles of Heinz Tomato Ketchup, including 50% Less Sugar and Salt varieties.
Future plans involve extending the recyclable cap across more of the Heinz sauces range in the UK and Europe.
Heinz anticipates this move will prevent about 300 million plastic lids from ending up in landfills worldwide each year.
Jojo de Noronha, President of Kraft Heinz Northern Europe, expressed enthusiasm: “We recognize our consumers’ environmental concerns, and we’re pleased to see our innovative, sustainable caps on Heinz Tomato Ketchup bottles throughout the UK.
“This small change simplifies recycling for millions of Heinz fans, enabling them to recycle their entire squeezy bottle in one go—a seemingly small action with significant potential impact.”
In another development, Berry Global has introduced an updated iteration of its Omni Xtra polyethylene clingfilm designed for fresh food applications.
The newly launched Omni Xtra+ film presents itself as an alternative to traditional polyvinyl chloride (PVC) cling films, concentrating on enhancing performance and sustainability.
Building upon the existing Omni Xtra, the Omni Xtra+ film brings forth improved characteristics including enhanced elasticity, consistent stretching behavior, and augmented impact resistance.
Tailored for packaging a spectrum of items from fruits and vegetables to meat, poultry, deli, and bakery products, this film embodies Berry’s commitment to innovation and sustainability.
The advanced manufacturing process of Omni Xtra+ enables the production of a thinner film compared to PVC versions while maintaining robustness and puncture resistance.
Its mechanical prowess meets stringent packaging demands, offering heightened clarity akin to PVC, and enhancing product visibility on retail shelves.
Benjamin Hendriks, R&D manager at Berry Global Flexible Films, underscored the significance of Omni Xtra+, noting, “Our Omni Xtra+ film marks a significant technical leap, mirroring PVC in terms of usability and clarity, while reducing packaging weights for enhanced efficiency.”
An important feature of Omni Xtra+ lies in its recyclability, aligning with prevailing European recycling guidelines. Certifications of recyclability and compatibility from industry stalwarts RecyClass and Interseroh emphasize its commitment to fostering a circular plastics economy.
Contributing to Berry’s sustainability endeavors, Omni Xtra+ ensures a weight reduction of over 25% compared to PVC films.
This reduction, coupled with recyclability, bolsters Berry’s BMore Together initiative and adheres to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Global Commitment, epitomizing the company’s dedication to sustainable packaging practices.
The new film caters to consumer preferences for sustainable packaging and aids companies in meeting their sustainability targets by circumventing challenges associated with hard-to-recycle PVC films.
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