Swiss dairy company Emmi is cooperating with Borealis and Greiner Packaging to offer Emmi CAFFÈ LATTE in drinking cups made from chemically recycled polypropylene.
Emmi CAFFÈ LATTE, one of Europe's leading brands for chilled coffee drinks, now uses chemically recycled polypropylene in its packaging. Greiner Packaging produces these cups and sources the chemically recycled material from Borealis, one of the world's leading suppliers of modern and recyclable polyolefin solutions based in Vienna, Austria.
As Switzerland's largest milk processor, Emmi is committed to climate protection and the circular economy. The dairy company is pursuing the goal of making all its packaging 100% recyclable. On the way there, it has made various commitments to promote the circular economy, including a recycled content of 30 % in its packaging by 2027. With its focus on recyclable packaging and the use of recycled materials, Emmi is now taking the first step with its successful Emmi CAFFÈ LATTE brand.
Material shortage and environmental policy
From September 2021, Emmi CAFFÈ LATTE, Emmi's successful brand for chilled coffee drinks, will source at least 100 tonnes of plastic from recycled materials each year. Chemical recycling turns used plastic into reusable plastic: recyclates are produced that have the same purity value as fossil PP, making them suitable for protective, food-safe and other demanding applications. In this way, Emmi uses plastics that are difficult to recycle and avoids plastic waste that would otherwise be destined for landfill or incineration. In future, the proportion of recycled plastic in Emmi CAFFÈ LATTE packaging is set to increase further, depending on the availability of suitable materials.
The technology for recovering polypropylene is new, and Greiner Packaging and Borealis are taking a pioneering role in its ongoing development. Currently, only limited quantities of chemically recycled PP are available and Emmi is one of the few food manufacturers to have secured a share of recycled PP plastic through early support and long-term collaboration with development partners.
"In order to reduce waste and make measurable progress towards the circular economy, joint efforts by food and packaging manufacturers are necessary," explains Bendicht Zaugg, who is responsible for sustainable packaging at Emmi.
"We have a long-standing and successful partnership with both Emmi and Borealis," emphasises Vincenzo Crescenza, Key Account Manager at Greiner Packaging. "This success is in line with our efforts to establish a circular economy. Our strategy includes the development of innovative products and the establishment of new partnerships and business models. We want to pioneer material partnerships."
"Borealis strives for a world free of plastic waste," adds Trevor Davis, Head of Marketing, Consumer Products at Borealis. "The chemically recycled polypropylene in Emmi CAFFÈ LATTE's new cups is produced using Borealis' Borcycle™ C range, which is created through transformative chemical recycling processes that put post-consumer polyolefin-based waste to new use. It offers numerous benefits and enables a shift to the circular polyolefin economy, creating virgin plastic products. We remain committed to our EverMinds™ philosophy and aim to accelerate the shift to a circular economy in the future. Together with our valued partners along the entire value chain, such as Emmi and Greiner Packaging, we are developing innovations for a more sustainable world."
The chemically recycled material in the cups for Emmi CAFFÈ LATTE is ISCC PLUS certified (International Sustainability & Carbon Certification) and complies with the mass balance approach. Mass balance is a method that makes the quantity and sustainability characteristics of circular and/or bio-based materials in the value chain and in each process step traceable. This also gives consumers the appropriate transparency and confidence that the products they buy are made from this renewable material.
Packaging details:
Technology: Injection moulding
Decoration: Sleeve
Material: 30% Borcycle™ C chemically recycled PP
www.borealis.com
