Cartons go greener

FOUR new features for the Tetra Pak carton packaging portfolio are aimed at strengthening the environmental attributes of several of its leading products. The features, three renewable polyethylene (PE) caps made from plant-based sources and a separable top for the Tetra Evero Aseptic, were first unveiled at the Anuga FoodTec earlier this year.

These developments underscore the company's commitment to develop sustainable packaging solutions for environmentally conscious consumers, said Tetra Pak president and CEO Dennis J?nsson. "Today's global consumer increasingly demands green packaging. Coupled with this, our customers seek products which support a sustainable business approach. Our new additions aim to help customers demonstrate their sustainable credentials to both consumers and their wider stakeholders," he stated at the Anuga FoodTec.

Green PE caps
In partnership with Braskem, Brazil's largest petrochemical company, Tetra Pak was the first company in the global carton packaging industry to use green PE caps. Made from sugar cane derivatives, the new caps represent another step towards Tetra Pak's ambition to offer packaging made entirely from renewable material. As the world's leading supplier of wood fibre-based carton packaging, the concept of renewable feedstock is well established within Tetra Pak and the company is active in promoting the use of responsibly managed resources. Tetra Pak is actively involved with the Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) and is supporting the development of a sustainability certification standard to guide the production of renewable raw materials to
supply the green plastics chain.

Braskem uses ethanol derived from sugar cane to produce ethylene, which is polymerised to polyethylene. It is estimated that the process will result in an overall reduction in greenhouse gas emissions when compared with the traditional process for manufacturing polyethylene (the world's most commonly used plastic). Starting from a pilot project with a capacity for 200,000 tonne/year renewable PE in 2010, Braskem agreed to supply Tetra Pak five tonnes per year of green PE from 2011. The petrochemical company is currently studying scaling up its renewable PE unit to about 400,000 tonnes/year.

Since July 2011, Nestlé Brazil has been packing two of its popular milk brands, Ninho and Molico, in Tetra Brik Aseptic packages using the green PE StreamCap 1000. The launch represented a landmark in the use of polyethylene made out of 100% renewable raw materials in the food and beverage packaging industry. It was also a significant milestone towards Tetra Pak's goal of producing 100% renewable packaging. By using the new cap, Nestlé will be encouraging environmental awareness, providing consumers with a product that makes use of renewable sources for manufacturing its packages. This has provided the company with the opportunity to increase the environmental performance of their products, something that consumers increasingly care about and expect when it comes to packaging.

Based on this successful trial, Tetra Pak now offers the green alternatives of another three caps: DreamCap 26, LightCap 30 and Helicap 27. The green caps will be distinguished from the original caps by a leaf logo, which will be carried on the cap.

Separable carton top
Following the successful launch in May 2011 of the world's first aseptic carton bottle for white milk – the Tetra Evero Aseptic – Tetra Pak has now developed a separable top. This additional functionality is another industry first that makes it easy for consumers to separate the top and carton sleeve and recycle them separately. The additional green feature also helps brand owners to strengthen their brand image and environmental profile, and helps consumers "do the right thing".

The Tetra Evero Aseptic Separable Top has a perforation in the cardboard which allows the separating of a poRoshe Run Kaishi