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Absolut Vodka in Paper Bottles

Posted on February 9, 2024 by dishanth

Over 50 years ago, we were introduced to the concept of box wine – a wine that came in a box with a collapsible bag inside. The invention gained popularity because it was cheaper than other wines and spirits. Adding the integral tap in the bag made it easier to pour a glass of wine and store it. From an environmental standpoint, boxed wine is recyclable and easier to transport. Although glass is recyclable, it requires a lot of energy to produce and transport.

Switching to cardboard is less energy-intensive to produce and is a lot lighter in comparison to transport. Although boxed wine has been associated with being a cheaper quality wine, the quality has improved significantly over the years, with many winemakers packaging their products in boxes.

If wine can be packaged more sustainably, what about other types of alcohol? Swedish company Absolut Vodka wants to switch from glass bottles to paper bottles. As part of a pilot project, Absolut has made bottles out of 57% wood fibres certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. To prevent the liquid from leaking through, the bottles contain an integrated moisture barrier made from recycled plastic.

This pilot project is part of a collaboration with Paboco and the Pioneer Community. Paboco is a paper bottle company working towards creating the world’s first 100% bio-based and recyclable paper bottle. The paper bottle is recyclable as paper packaging and can be designed to hold many different products, from soda to sun location. The company has partnered with L’Oreal, the Coca-Cola Company, Procter & Gamble and many others to help introduce smarter and more sustainable packaging solutions into more significant markets.

Paboco is no stranger to packaging alcohol in paper bottles. They have been successful with beer company Carlsberg with their Fibre Bottle, made out of plant-based PEF polymer lining. The material is compatible with plastic recycling systems and can degrade in nature. The PEF, which is made out of natural raw materials, protects the taste and fizziness of the beer, and the outer shell helps to keep the beer colder for longer compared to cans or glass bottles.

Absolut Vodka has been testing these paper bottles for over a decade, and they are finally launching 500-millilitre paper bottles in select Tesco stores in Manchester, in the UK. The city of Manchester was chosen as a testing site because it had the recycling infrastructure to handle the bottles. Absolut also found that Manchester had higher household recycling rates than any other region in the UK.

Much like how wine boxes are lighter and less energy-intensive to transport, Absolut will calculate the carbon footprint of the paper bottles, which will be significantly lighter than their traditional glass bottles. The company is also collecting feedback from consumers, retailers and distributors and will use their findings to make necessary adjustments. They will also be working on developing ways to make the bottles from more than 57% paper and achieve a 100% paper bottle target.

While glass is a better option and can be used infinitely, compared to plastic bottles, it is pretty costly to recycle. Glass can only be recycled in furnaces that use high energy to reach high heat, increasing pollution. The switch to paper bottles could have a significant impact on the emission that comes from the food and drink industry. While Absolut Vodka is only one of many alcohol companies, it could be the inspiration needed to make the switch. We might see our liquor stores go from clanky, heavy glass bottles to lightweight paper ones in the near future.

Source Happy Eco News

Danish City First To Test Return System For Reusable Coffee Cups

Posted on February 7, 2024 by dishanth

The Danish city of Aarhus launched a three-year trial program to curve down the number of disposable coffee cups where locals can use a deposit system for reusable takeaway packages.

Like in other Nordic and Central European countries, in Denmark deposit system where one receives back money one pays when purchasing a plastic bottles or cans is already in place

The project that focused on eliminating disposable cups trash is the result of a collaboration between the Municipality of Aarhus and the recycling company TOMRA which already provides other waste collection services to the city.

For a year and a half in 2022, the company All In On Green’s robotic arm SeaProtectorOne deployed in the water, collected over 100,000 disposable glasses from the city’s river Å – from which the city derived its name – demonstrating a huge level of plastic pollution in the city.

”Aarhus must be greener and more sustainable, and Aarhus must be a city where we have the courage to test new solutions.” said Nicolaj Bang, Aarhus’ councillor for technology and environment in a press release. “We use enormous amounts of takeaway packaging in Denmark, and consumption is increasing. Therefore, it really matters if we can make it easier for both consumers and businesses to choose a more sustainable alternative to disposable packaging,” he stated.

Aarhus is the second biggest city in Denmark, counting around 336,000 inhabitants – and potential disposable cup users. The trial has been set as voluntary, but so far already 44 cafés and bars in the center of the city got interested in the project – perhaps even some frequented by King Frederik X, when he used to study at the city’s university.

Initially, 40,000 cups in two designs will be produced and around 25 deposit machines will be established in the city so that citizens can return their cups, and cash back some Danish kroner. Geir Sæther, senior vice president for circular economy at TOMRA said the company expects ‘to be able to expand the system to other types of packaging in the near future’, so to facilitate the transition from single-use to reusable packaging.

The return fee for a reused cup is just over 70 dollar cents (DKK 5) , but it is not for the money that citizens should start returning their cups: ”Recycling saves the earth’s resources and our emission of CO2. More recycling means that there is less waste that ends up as rubbish in our city and our nature,” said Bang.

This is the first city in Denmark, and the world, to carry out such city experiments, although Copenhagen had previously trialed an experimental system where pizza containers, sushi trays and coffee cups should be able to be returned in the hip area of Kødbyen, situated in a central neighborhood. Currently, Danish startup Kleen hub is experimenting in the capital with its third-generation return system based on a single bank card tap.

TOMRA’s ceo Tove Andersen said in a press release that “Aarhus shows the way to one more sustainable future, and we hope that many more cities will be inspired to do the same,”.

Cities and regional authorities have so far acted upon consumer behaviors to decrease different kinds of pollution in their cities: “These policies are quietly working because local governments are addressing climate change with communities long-term together with other challenges that people care about, like healthy diets and supporting local businesses,” said Olivier de Schutter, co-chair of the sustainable food system expert team IPES-Food.

Source Forbes

Has KFC found the secret sauce to circular packaging?

Posted on July 11, 2022 by dishanth

Fast food restaurants are big waste generators. However, the lack of viable sustainable alternatives to single-use plastic and the industry’s emphasis on cost and convenience means cheap, disposable foodware will be on their menus for some time yet.

Fast food chain KFC and Singapore-based sustainable foodware company TRIA are looking to disrupt the fast-food packaging industry with what they call the “world’s first” closed-loop single-use packaging pilot project.

In a six-month trial, one KFC restaurant in Singapore will switch its non-recyclable boxes, cups, and cutlery to those made from NEUTRIA, a rapidly degrading plant-based polyester developed by TRIA. The used packaging will be collected by TRIA and fed into their patented Bio24 digester, which turns it into compost within 24 hours.

Conventional plastic recycling faces many challenges in Singapore. Even if the food packaging is technically recyclable, segregating and cleaning it could potentially cost five times more than producing new packaging from scratch. Furthermore, most of the country’s plastic is incinerated. With little incentive to recycle or reduce plastic consumption, plastic waste is only expected to increase. Since 2017, plastic recycling rates have remained extremely low, usually hovering around 4 – 6 percent.

TRIA’s patented Bio24 digester, which can turn NEUTRIA packaging and food waste into compost within 24 hours. Image: Eco-Business

TRIA claims its product can remain relatively cost-competitive without compromising on sustainability. However, apart from ensuring the product’s economic viability, TRIA’s chief executive Ng Pei Kang says that sustainable foodware companies must give higher priority to their F&B partner’s operational needs if they are to make such packaging more widely accepted.

“I think it’s great that we are experimenting with [sustainable foodware like reusable cups], but we also need to empathise more with the food brands. How can KFC extend this to the 20,000 outlets they own without changing their operations? [With our model], they don’t need to hire more people or get new trash bins. If it’s not business as usual, it would be very tough [for restaurants to accept these new packaging products].” Ng said in an interview with Eco-Business.

During the pilot launch event at Shanaya Environmental Services on 21 June, KFC revealed that cost-competitiveness, design flexibility and operational resilience were some of the main factors which attracted them to TRIA’s product.

“Since 2017, we’ve been looking for new ways to reduce our use of non-recyclable packaging. We’ve previously considered edible spoons, but they could not meet our cost or operational requirements. However, TRIA was open to extensive redesigns and testing to ensure their product could withstand our daily operating needs and be collected and processed at an acceptable price point,” said Lynette Lim, general manager of KFC in an interview with Eco-Business.

The mashed potato/coleslaw cup, cutlery, pockets and mat made of NEUTRIA by TRIA for their 6-month pilot with KFC. Image: Eco-Business

Redesigning KFC’s mashed potato and coleslaw cup was particularly difficult for TRIA’s designers. Using the company’s plant-based material, the cup had to maintain its structural integrity when stacked, in addition to being heat and moisture-resistant. While it has yet to be tested in-store conditions, Lim cited this as an example of TRIA’s commitment to KFC’s operational standards.

For every tonne of NEUTRIA and food waste fed into the digester, TRIA claims that 200 – 300kg of compost can be produced. While the company has not yet secured an offtake agreement for its compost, it has signed memorandum of understandings (MOUs) with local rooftop farming company Comcrop, and Norwegian chemical and fertiliser company Yara International. Ng also highlighted how TRIA’s products and services can help these companies achieve their own business goals in a more profitable and sustainable way.

“Yara is looking to expand their regional presence here, and I think they are interested in our product because it could be a low-carbon source of fertiliser. In Europe, they have access to hydroponic power, which allows them to profitably produce low-carbon, green fertiliser. However, shipping this fertiliser to Asia is not realistic. That’s where we come in,” Ng explained.

Finished bags of compost made from NEUTRIA packaging and food waste. Image: Eco-Business.

In an upcoming bio-valorisation pilot, Yara hopes to produce bio-equivalent fertiliser from TRIA’s compost. Upon receiving TRIA’s product, Yara could theoretically adjust its nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus content to ensure that it is nutritionally equivalent to commercial fertilisers. Other than reducing costs, the closed-loop system allows the fertiliser to be traced, therefore building greater confidence in prospective buyers.

However, TRIA’s technology is not without drawbacks. The composting system hinges on TRIA’s ability to take ownership of and reprocess its post-consumer waste. Singapore is planning to introduce an extended producer responsibility (EPR) law for packaging by 2025, which could reduce public expenditure and the amount of waste sent to landfills. Nevertheless, Professor Seeram Ramakrishna, a mechanical engineering professor and chair of the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) Circular Economy Taskforce pointed out that achieving EPR has its difficulties.

What is extended producer responsibility (EPR)?
EPR is a policy approach where producers are given significant financial and/or physical responsibility for the treatment and disposal of post-consumer products.

“For EPR to work effectively, the presence of good waste management systems must be in place, including infrastructure to reprocess the waste. There should be a high level of compliance and enforcement,” explained Ramakrishna.

While Ng is confident TRIA can handle KFC’s in-store waste, he admitted that a system for managing takeaway waste remains elusive for now.

“Takeaway waste will still be sent to the public waste management system. However, the majority of packaging is used for dine-in purposes, and that’s where we are able to help,” Ng said.

In a previous interview with Eco-Business, Ng also professed that sourcing top talent for the sustainable food packaging industry remains a challenge. Furthermore, the hygiene and economic concerns of the pandemic have slowed the appetite for innovative new technologies like TRIA’s, he said. However, he stated that a partnership with one of the world’s most recognisable brands was an important step towards a circular packaging economy.

Source Eco Business