Solving the problem of the huge amount of waste generated from our love affair with on-the-go drinks is an increasingly important issue for the packaging industry.
It’s not just about coming up with an alternative to the plastic bottle. We’re starting to see some steps forward and some of the latest innovations may well prove popular with consumers, and if they do, we could see the technology used spreading to other industries.
Although water has been packaged in a pouch before, rigid plastic is normally used to open and close it. The most innovative feature of SmartPack is its spout, which opens when the pouch is squeezed and closes when it’s released, reducing the risk of spillage. The lack of any rigid plastic reduces waste. No air is sucked back into the package, so the pouch collapses when it’s emptied, making it flat for disposal so it takes up less space.
It’s the first consumer pack allowed to bear the ‘Clean Netherlands’ mark: an initiative from the Dutch government designed to support innovative packaging solutions that reduce waste.
Functional drinks are traditionally packaged in either a sachet, which has to be mixed with water or in a bottle.
Andrew Streeter is director of Pack-Track.
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