Coca-Cola and its strategic bottling partners Coca-Cola HBC and Coca-Cola European Partners have announced that they will begin rolling out the KeelClip, an innovative, minimalist paperboard packaging solution, on its multipack cans across Europe, with Ireland being one of the first countries to go live.
Essentially, the KeelClip is a recyclable paperboard “topper” which will replaces plastic shrink film.
The global soft drinks brand forecasted that two hundred and fifty tonnes of plastic will be saved in Ireland alone as a result of the move.
This move, representing a first for non-alcoholic ready-to-drink (NARTD) industry, underscores the Coca-Cola system’s commitment to reduce the use of plastic by using solutions that are more sustainable in terms of recyclability and overall environmental footprint, the drinks giant explained.
"Alongside the four water brands we introduced this year in 100% recycled PET bottles, the increased use of recycled PET and continued lightweighting across the portfolio, KeelClip is another demonstration of our commitment to delivering our World Without Waste goals,” said Marcel Martin, group supply chain director, Coca-Cola HBC.
Roll Out
As part of this initiative, Coca-Cola HBC said that will remove shrink wrap from all of its can multipacks in all European Union markets by the end of 2021.
In total, Coca-Cola HBC will invest €15 million in KeelClip and will begin the roll-out in Ireland and Poland early next year, followed by Austria, Italy, Switzerland and Romania in 2020.
All of Coca-Cola HBC’s European Union markets will have KeelClip by the end of 2021.
“The KeelClip technology is effective for can multi-packs of various diameters and heights. This means that we can provide a safe, effective package with no need for secondary plastic," said Steve Gould, Graphic Packaging International’s new product development and marketing director, beverage division, Europe.
"When businesses such as Coca-Cola HBC and Coca-Cola European Partners invest in these technologies, we can really make a difference to the way we package goods and drive the industry to continue to change too.”
The KeelClip will be used on all can multi-packs of up to eight cans, larger can multi packs will be bound by a carton pack, saving 2,000 tonnes of plastic and 3,000 tonnes of CO2 annually.
© 2019 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Donna Ahern. Click sign-up to subscribe to Checkout.
