Danish brewer Carlsberg has unveiled two prototypes of paper beer bottles made from sustainable wood fibre.
The 'Green Fibre Bottle' is fully recyclable and has an inner barrier that allows the bottles to hold the beverage.
In one version, the inner barrier is made of a thin recycled PET polymer film, while a 100% bio-based PEF polymer lining has been used in the other.
'An Important Step'
Myriam Shingleton, vice-president of group development at Carlsberg Group, said, "The two prototypes are an important step towards realising our ultimate ambition of bringing this breakthrough to market.
"Innovation takes time and we will continue to collaborate with leading experts to overcome remaining technical challenges, just as we did with our plastic-reducing Snap Pack."
Paper Bottle Community
The Group also announced that it has partnered with other leading global giants like The Coca-Cola Company, The Absolut Company, and L’Oréal to form a paper bottle community.
It aims to unite leading global companies and experts with the vision of advancing sustainable packaging, and offering high-quality products with reduced environmental impact.
The community was launched by the paper bottle company Paboco, a joint venture between the packaging company BillerudKorsnäs and the bottle manufacturing specialist ALPLA.
A Sustainable Alternative
In 2015, Carlsberg launched the Green Fibre Bottle project to develop sustainable paper bottles.
It teamed up with innovation experts EcoXpac, BillerudKorsnäs and post-doctoral researchers from the Technical University of Denmark for the project, which was supported by Innovation Fund Denmark.
Shingleton added, "The work with our partners since 2015 on the Green Fibre Bottle illustrates that this kind of innovation can happen when we work together.
"We’re delighted that other like-minded companies have now joined us as part of Paboco’s paper bottle community. Partnerships such as these, ones that are united by a desire to create sustainable innovations, are the best way to bring about real change."
As part of its sustainability programme, Together Towards ZERO, Carlsberg has pledged to achieve zero carbon emissions at its breweries and a 30% reduction in carbon footprint in its entire value chain by 2030.
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
