The Green Packaging Star Awards have been running since 2008. The awards are intended to highlight eco-friendly packaging solutions, recycling, and packaging-related improvements in production, logistics, and distribution that focus strongly on the environment. The self-separating cardboard-plastic combination K3® r100 was particularly impressive this year. The Austrian company Berglandmilch is the first company on the Austrian market to use the innovative packaging - for its Schärdinger, Tirol Milch and Stainzer brand products. Both companies are very pleased that the award recognizes and honors their commitment to sustainable packaging.
Doing the work for you: self-separation for outstanding recyclability
Cardboard-plastic combinations consist of a thin-walled plastic cup surrounded by a cardboard wrap. The packaging solution is characterized by a low plastic content and reduced CO2 emissions. The thin-walled white or transparent plastic cup additionally, makes excellent recycling material. Until now, separating cardboard-plastic combinations has been heavily dependent on consumer cooperation. But in the case of K3® r100, the two materials separate on their own – even while they are still on the way to the recycling plant. This means that the cardboard and plastic can be assigned to the correct material streams during the initial sorting process before being recycled. However, the K3® r100 design also retains its intuitive and easy-to-use tear-off solution, which allows consumers to keep separating the packaging into its components themselves.
Innovation with symbolic character
By switching to the innovative packaging solution, Greiner Packaging and Berglandmilch are not only bringing an innovative and sustainable packaging onto the Austrian market. They also want to set an example. Both companies are in intensive and regular exchange with political actors as well as the dual system – the goal: paper and cardboard that end up in the recycling stream of light packaging should be sorted and consequently, recycled in the future. While that happens in other countries, such as Germany, this is currently not possible in Austria. Currently, paper and cardboard that end up in the yellow bin will be sorted out with other interfering materials in the sorting plant and are then thermally recycled. By that an important part of recyclables is lost. To fully exploit the potential of K3® r100 in the future, Berglandmilch and Greiner Packaging are striving for realignment of sorting streams in Austria.
