Global packaging technology supplier The Krones Group has joined the EU’s Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform, an initiative set up to progress the establishment of a circular European economy.
Set up by the European Commission and the European Economic and Social Committee, the platform brings together like-minded companies with a unified goal of closing material cycles to put in place firm foundations for a more sustainable future.
“As a high-tech company that has signed up to developing eco-friendly technology for recyclable packaging, Krones sees this project’s goals as strikingly similar to its own aspirations,” the company explained.
“It can make a substantial contribution towards turning the vision of a closed-loop recycling economy into hands-on reality.”
As a member of the platform, Krones has entered into a self-imposed commitment to eight targets:
- rPet compatibility: By 2025, it will be possible on all new PET bottling lines to handle bottles made of up to 100 per cent high-grade recyclate without any impairment to production quality, efficiency or efficacy.
- Plastic-free secondary packaging: By 2022, Krones will offer alternative secondary-packaging solutions containing no single-use plastics whatsoever for all multipack formats in common use.
- Support for recyclable packaging design: Krones uses its technological expertise to support clients in designing forms of packaging that are optimally suited for recycling.
- Changing over from linear production to circular economy: Clients get the support they need in order to achieve optimum results on existing lines when handling recycled and/or renewable materials.
- Permanently attached closures: Equipment is already available that enables tethered caps (closures permanently attached to the bottle) to be used.
- Sustainable labelling: For optimum recycling results, Krones’ portfolio includes packaging solutions where labels can be removed from the empty container without any problems. The long-term goal is to recycle the labels together with the containers, or done entirely without a separate material for container decoration.
- Investing in recycling: Upgrading Krones’ solutions for material recycling of packaging plastics (solid/flexible, PET, polyolefins and PS) by continually investing in the relevant R&D projects.
- Beyond PET packaging: Above and beyond conventional PET solutions, Krones is proactively pursuing development projects connected with disruptive technologies that take beverages to the consumer in innovative ways (packaging-free solutions, paper bottle).
According to Krones, joining the platform is the logical extension of the course of action it has already embarked on – “to render both consumption and production of foods and beverages as sustainable as possible”.
