Tetra Pak invests in tethered caps and paper straws

Tetra Pak has announced it is ready to deploy its portfolio of tethered cap solutions, as it accelerates its initiatives to be more sustainable.

The Swedish-Swiss multinational food packaging and processing company said the portfolio brings numerous benefits to food and beverage manufacturers and consumers.

These benefits include minimising litter, as the cap will stay attached to the package. The carbon footprint can also be reduced because the company’s tethered caps are planned to become available as a plant-based option, therefore increasing the renewable content of the package.

In tandem, the company is accelerating the expansion of its paper straws offering to ensure further renewable and low carbon materials across the range of packaging solutions. The aim of this is to address a broad range of customer sustainability needs without compromising on food safety, while still delivering on the end-user drinking experience.

Lars Holmquist, Executive Vice President Packaging Solutions and Commercial Operations at Tetra Pak, says the initiatives are key milestones in the company’s journey towards the world’s most sustainable food package: a carton that is fully made from renewable or recycled materials, fully recyclable and carbon neutral.

“We consistently strive to deliver products and services that add value to food and people while protecting the planet.”

The company said its tethered caps and paper straws developments mark the latest additions to its range of end-to-end solutions, which allow manufacturers to achieve their ambitions in three essential areas — food safety, food waste and the environment — simultaneously.

Holmquist said the company has committed to invest approximately €100 million (AUD154 million) per year over the next 5–10 years to develop more sustainable packaging solutions.

“This includes alternatives to replace fossil-based plastics and avoid littering, as well as maximising the use of renewable, responsibly sourced materials in our packages.”

These steps are central to ensuring that Tetra Pak’s customers in Europe will be ready to comply with the Single Use Plastics (SUP) Directive, an integral part of the wider approach announced in the Plastics Strategy and an important element of the EU Circular Economy Action Plan.

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