Game-changer: sustainability

Deciding on the right packaging material is challenging for food manufacturers, because criteria such as product protection, machinability, environmental friendliness, cost effectiveness and consumer expectations all have to be balanced. So it is only logical to reduce the weight of the packaging as far as possible and therefore to save resources and further reduce one’s ecological footprint. But that alone is not sufficient any more, because the latest environmental standards no longer merely demand state-of-the-art technology such as that which will be on display from 19 to 22 Match 2024 at Anuga FoodTec, but also technical updates to existing machines.

One example of this is the European Union Directive ((EU) 2019/904) on single-use plastics (SUP). The specifications formulated in this also concern closures that are firmly connected to the bottle, called tethered caps. Beverage producers are required to modify their production by 3 July 2024 so that PET bottle caps remain attached to the container in open condition. The intention is for the cap to be sent for recycling as well, rather than being put into the residual waste bin separately. What sounds simple on paper is presenting the industry with challenges. “We are seeing a lot of uncertainty among our customers with respect to tethered caps. What is certain is that there’s no getting around these conversions. The cut-off date is fixed”, says Armin Wille, Head of Service Sales at KHS.

This is the point at which the Dortmund-based specialist for filling and packaging lines comes into play with its range of services and offers consultation concerning the technical adaptations needed for the lines. This consultation offer has been taken up by Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP), for example. The KHS machines at locations in Germany, France and Belgium are to be converted by 2024 in order to implement the corresponding solution. The ‘Bottles & Shapes’ programme is an additional consulting module for fostering sustainable production. In this, KHS offers advice from the word go during the development of new container solutions that optimally bring appealing design, functionality, reliable line behaviour, resource-efficient use of material and recyclability into line.

Environmentally-friendly, sustainable and cost-effective operation at the same time: this was Krones’ objective in further developing the Contiform. Experience has shown that the greatest potential offered by stretch blow moulders lies in reducing the energy they consume to heat the preforms and the compressed air that they consume during bottle production. Opportunities that were grasped by the Krones developers in Neutraubling. Energy consumption has been cut by eleven percent compared to the predecessor generation thanks to shorter distances between the heaters, a more compact heating space and new heaters with parabolic reflectors. Substantial savings have also been achieved in terms of compressed air. Unlike before, the fourth generation of the stretch blow moulder uses a three-stage compressed air recycling process that reduces compressed air consumption by up to 20 percent.

One additional aspect was also taken into consideration: the use of recycled PET material (rPET), which is increasingly being demanded by consumers. For beverage producers, combining the advantages of PET containers with the aspect of sustainability means gradually increasing the rPET content in the bottles up to 100 percent. But not all rPET is the same. Above all, high-quality rPET is rare. The quality and composition of the material are crucial – and it is precisely these sometimes fluctuating characteristics that have to be balanced out in the stretch blow moulding process, because the aim is ultimately for each produced container to meet the specified quality requirements.

Krones has developed Contiloop AI to offer support in meeting this challenge. Fully integrated into the stretch blow moulder, the AI-based system measures the degree of light transmission of each produced container at up to 32 measuring points. During production, Contiloop AI reacts to even minimal deviations in material distribution and automatically readjusts the stretch blow moulding process in real time. Additional framework parameters such as the ambient temperature and humidity as well as the preform infeed and outfeed temperature are also taken into consideration in this process. The adjustments that are undertaken are visualised on the HMI to provide the operator with an overview of current process management.

Is the packaging also available without plastic? Nowadays, the answer to this question determines whether a product will prove successful at the point of sale. Flexibility is therefore particularly important for food manufacturers, especially with regard to the increasing requirements for sustainable packaging. Laminates are increasingly being replaced with recyclable alternatives made of plastic or with cardboard from the outset. Technology providers are actively driving this development forwards. All machines from Syntegon have been able to process sustainable materials for food packaging since the end of 2022. “We’re already looking to the future today: our Kliklok ACE carton erector produces paper trays for biscuits and therefore offers an interesting alternative to conventional plastic trays”, explains Torsten Sauer, Sustainability Project Manager at Syntegon. Thanks to the innovative lock-style technology, the ACE can fold glue-free paper trays and enables manufacturers to replace conventional plastic trays with a more environmentally-friendly alternative. Another example from the Waiblingen/Stuttgart-based company’s portfolio is the vertical tubular bag machine SVE. In addition to plastics, it is also able to process paper-based materials to produce pillow bags for deep-frozen food or stand up pouches for dry foods, for instance.

Anuga FoodTec 2024 marks a good occasion to rethink your packaging – especially if you are planning to invest in a new line. The conceptual design phase, in particular, offers a great deal of scope for checking product packaging in terms of sustainability and for using more cardboard in packaging development. As a packaging machine manufacturer that has been working mainly with cardboard for 50 years, Schubert can demonstrate a wealth of experience and expertise with this material. The Crailsheim-based packaging machine manufacturer’s lines can switch between conventional and recyclable materials – between plastic and cardboard trays, for example, or between laminates and paper-based films when packaging in tubular bags. Schubert not only offers support in selecting machinable materials, but also develops new cardboard packaging that is optimally tailored to the packaging process. This enables customers’ wishes for material-saving, less costly solutions, other packaging formats, increased marketing space on the packaging or more efficient transport solutions with an increased number of products per secondary packaging to be implemented, for instance.

One thing is certain: sustainable solutions and reducing the amount of plastic have become game-changers within the packaging industry. However, packaging expert Laura Gascho points out the following in all discussions: “We regard eliminating plastic at the expense of shelf life critically at Schubert, because a product’s carbon footprint arises primarily when producing and processing the raw materials. The packaging only accounts for a fraction of it. And it ensures that sensitive foods can withstand transportation without being damaged and also enables them to stay fresh for longer at the consumer’s home”, says the plastics engineer, who is employed in Schubert’s Application Technology department.

It is all the more important to her to be able to offer customers genuinely sustainable solutions in the sense of a recyclable material cycle. Mono materials are the most important trend as far as Gascho is concerned. “They enable complete recycling cycles to be established, for both paper and plastic”, she states with conviction. If plastics were to be segregated and completely recycled, hardly any new plastics would have to be produced using fossil raw materials and no more microplastic would enter the environment. At the same time, the barrier functions that are important to the shelf life of foods could continue to be used without misgivings – a worthwhile objective, but one that is still a long way off.