Coca-Cola has announced plans to replace shrink-wrap from all multipack cans in Europe with KeelClip, an innovative paperboard-based packaging technology, beginning early next year.
The move is part of the measures taken by Coca-Cola to achieve its global goals for the World Without Waste initiative.
The goal of the initiative is to collect and recycle the equivalent of every bottle or can Coca-Cola sells globally by 2030.
Strategic Partners
Its strategic bottling partners Coca-Cola HBC and Coca-Cola European Partners (CCEP) worked closely with Graphic Packaging International, the developer of KeelClip, to bring the packaging solution to market.
Steve Gould, Graphic Packaging International’s new product development and marketing director of beverage division in Europe, said, "The KeelClip technology is effective for can multi-packs of various diameters and heights. This means that we can provide a safe, effective package with no need for secondary plastic.
"When businesses such as Coca-Cola HBC and Coca-Cola European Partners invest in these technologies, we can make a difference to the way we package goods and drive the industry to continue to change too."
Roll-Out Plan
Coca-Cola HBC has invested €15 million in KeelClip and will begin to roll-out the new packaging in Ireland and Poland early next year, followed by Austria, Italy, Switzerland, and Romania during the rest of the year.
All EU markets under Coca-Cola HBC will have the new packaging by the end of 2021, the beverage giant said.
The initiative will cut 2,000 tonnes of plastic from its operations and reduce carbon footprint by 3,000 tonnes, annually.
KeelClip packaging will be used for all multipacks of up to eight cans, while packs with more than eight cans will be bound by a carton.
CCEP will roll-out the new packaging in the Netherlands early next year, followed by more markets, Coca-Cola added.
It has invested €14 million in its factory in Dongen, Netherlands to install a new can line and a KeelClip packaging machine.
'Sustainable Packaging Work'
Joe Franses, vice-president, sustainability at CCEP, said, "Innovation is a key principle of our sustainable packaging work and the application of this fully recyclable paperboard KeelClip, which comprises a top board that the cans clip into and a central cardboard ‘keel’ - similar to a ship’s keel - that stabilises the pack, is another example of how we are delivering on our commitment to remove all unnecessary and hard to recycle single-use plastic from our products."
In October of this year, CCEP pledged to remove all unnecessary or hard to recycle plastic from its portfolio.
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
