US – American multinational food company, Kraft Heinz in collaboration with palstic packaging manufacturer, Berry Global has introduced its inaugural fully recyclable cap for its squeezy ketchup bottles.
Heinz sauce bottles have previously used a flexible silicone valve, while this aided in the consistency of portion size, the valve made the cap challenging to recycle.
The caps are now a mono-material meaning that they meet the requirements for recyclability.
The switch addresses environmental concerns associated with the prior design, which often posed difficulties in recycling.
Matthias Hammersen, Sales Director – Food Market at Berry Global, commented: “Heinz set us the kind of challenge that suits us and our development departments best: to reconstruct the design of the cap to make it fully recyclable, without affecting the performance that millions of consumers know and love.”
The caps are being rolled out UK-wide on 400ml and bigger top-down bottles of Heinz Tomato Ketchup, including 50% Less Sugar and Salt varieties.
In the future, the cap will also be rolled out across more of the Heinz sauces range in the U.K. and Europe.
Heinz claims the move to the recyclable cap will save a potential 300 million plastic lids from being sent to landfill every year globally.
Jojo de Noronha, President of Kraft Heinz Northern Europe, said: “We know our consumers care about their impact on the environment and so do we, which is why we’re delighted to see our innovative, more sustainable caps on Heinz Tomato Ketchup bottles across the UK.
Although a small change, this makes it easy for the millions of Heinz lovers across the country to recycle their whole squeezy bottle at once – a small action with big potential for impact.”
