Coca-Cola Bottler Replaces Six-Pack Rings With Recyclable Paper Packaging
Photo 193001633 © Milad Sheikh | Dreamstime.com
A Coca-Cola plant is further crushing its plastic use with a fiber-based paper alternative to six-pack plastic rings.
Liberty Coca-Cola Beverages, which oversees bottling of Coca-Cola products from the eponymous cola to Sprite, Dr Pepper, Fanta, Dasani water, Monster Energy, Powerade, and more, has adopted flatpack paperboard packaging that can be easily recycled.
The technology, invented by by Graphic Packaging International and called ‘KeelClip’, is made from recyclable paper. Its surface fully protects the tops of cans to prevent contamination, and consumers can transport them by gripping into the packaging’s finger holes. When the literal paper clips are no longer useful, drinkers can simply toss them in a recycling bin.
Image via Liberty Coca-Cola
The packaging is also optimized to let the brand shine on shelves, offering plenty of wiggle room for cans to be oriented to fit the manufacturer’s vision during assembly.
According to Graphic Packaging International, KeelClip uses “significantly less board than most other carton options.”
Great to see KeelClip™ rolling out in stores across the northeastern United States; check out the consistent can orientation for improved branding!
— Graphic Packaging (@GraphicPkg_Intl) September 2, 2022
You can read more about this exciting venture here: https://t.co/v6LzlnmoEm pic.twitter.com/Yi1jk5Ce1X
The solution aims to be a fix for ubiquitous plastic drink holders that often end up in water bodies and choke marine life.
The sustainable multipacks have arrived on shelves in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and in parts of Connecticut and Delaware, where Liberty distributes its packaged goods. The same design is already in use in Europe, but this is the first time Graphic Packaging’s KeelClip is being rolled out in the US.
As per Liberty, the revamped rings will help reduce its annual plastic consumption by 75,000 pounds.
We've partnered with Liberty Coca-Cola Beverages to install KeelClip™ 1600 machinery in its Elmsford, NY production facility - a first for the US - and a transition that will remove 75,000lbs of plastic packaging per year from the supply chain. More: https://t.co/v6LzlnmoEm pic.twitter.com/JVAjh30JTL
— Graphic Packaging (@GraphicPkg_Intl) August 9, 2022
[via The Cool Down and NBC Philadelphia, images via various sources]
