The future for plastic packaging might be bleak as companies and consumers seek to find alternative options to single-use plastic to support their lower carbon footprint and sustainable lifestyles. Nevertheless, it might be hard for the global economy to quit plastic, and companies are innovating new ways to recycle.
However, in some markets, it is now well worth to consider alternatives to conventional packaging solutions at an early stage, especially in regions that are considering bans on disposable plastic, in particular, or have already initiated appropriate legislation.
Plastic rings for can packs are among the packages that are coming under intensified scrutiny, especially in regions near the sea coast, because if they are not properly disposed of and end up in the sea, this entails an environmental hazard for both sea creatures and humans.
LitePac Top from Krones constitutes an eco-friendly, sustainable alternative. It is a cardboard package containing neither plastics nor adhesives, which is produced from renewable raw materials and can be easily recycled after use. It is fitted underneath the can seam, thus keeping the pack stable.
Top for both consumers and the natural environment
LitePac Top is an attractive solution not only for the environment, but for consumers as well, as the pack features recessed grips with which it can be conveniently grasped and carried. If you want to remove a can, you simply pull it vertically out of the packaging – it’s not necessary to tear open the cardboard.
To ensure an eye-catching presence on the supermarket shelves, moreover, the pack offers space for design options. With the associated machine technology, for instance, it’s possible to selectively orientate the cans – eg. in order to ensure prominent placement of the brand logo or to form a coherent motif from several different can designs.
Pack and machine as a team
For the sustainable packaging concept, Krones is of course also offering the associated machine technology. Its Varioline, which as a multi-talented allrounder among packaging machines, copes effortlessly with this type of pack as well.
The Varioline’s modularised construction enables it to be individually customised to suit the task involved, and several packaging variants to be run on one and the same system. Like the machine itself, its individual modules are also multifunctional. In the case of LitePac Top, for example, the first module can accept, orientate and group the cans. For creating the tertiary packaging, for example in order to insert the packs in trays, the Varioline can be combined with a Variopac Pro – in a space-economical block configuration without any lengthy conveyor sections.
Visit Krones booth at Propak Asia 2022 in Bangkok from 15-18 June (Hall 99, Stand AK11)
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Krones (Thailand) Co. Ltd
