The New Packaging Heroes – Two Sides

From the iconic Heinz ketchup bottle to COVID-19 test kits, we look at the latest innovations in pulp, paper and wood fibre packaging.

Heinz Plays Ketchup With Paper Packaging

The Heinz tomato sauce bottle could be about to receive an upgrade, moving from glass to paper. One of the most iconic pieces of packaging in the world – known for the slow pour, the ‘57’ stamp, the bottom slapping – is going through a development process to create a more renewable and recyclable bottle, keeping up with the general packaging trend for greater sustainability.

Heinz has teamed up with Pulpex, the packaging company that created the paper Johnnie Walker whisky bottle, to develop a bottle made from 100% sustainably-sourced wood pulp. If successful, Heinz Tomato Ketchup would be one of the biggest brands to switch from glass packaging to paper – a move that would encourage more brands and companies to follow.

“We believe that the scope for paper-based packaging is huge,” said Pulpex CEO Scott Winston, “and when global household names like Heinz embrace this type of innovative technology, it’s good news for everyone.”

Sustainable COVID-19 Tests

At the height of the pandemic, it’s understandable that sustainability was low on the list of priorities for most people. But now the worst seems to be over, the spotlight is falling on the amount of plastic used in the COVID-19 test kits. With the average test kit containing 10 grams of plastic, thousands of tons of unrecyclable waste is being sent to landfill across the world, so designers are looking into more sustainable solutions.

One solution could be Eco-Flo, a rapid test that’s both biodegradable and recyclable. Made of paper pulp, the test consists of a single piece that flips open to reveal a small saliva dish. The user would then spit into the dish and close the unit, passing the saliva onto an absorbent pad. Results displayed via two checkboxes would be ready in 15 minutes.

While the kit is still being developed and it may be months or years until it’s available to the public, it shows that sustainability is now a key consideration in every aspect of our lives. “We can’t save people’s lives and simultaneously affect them later on with global warming,” says Jo Barnard, founder and creative director of the design studio Morrama. “We know these kinds of things happen, so let’s be prepared for the next time, so we can just roll it out.”

Grape Expectations

This month, Ocado has become the first UK supermarket to sell wine packaged in a paper bottle. Made by sustainable wine brand When In Rome, the £11 white 94% recycled paper and has a carbon footprint that’s about a sixth of a single-use glass bottle. With the production of glass using a huge amount of energy, the cost of a glass bottle is currently increasing rapidly, and more and more companies are looking toward paper bottles as an alternative.

“Great wine doesn’t have to come in glass bottles,” says Rob Malin, founder of When In Rome. “Whether you’re drinking from a glass bottle or a paper bottle, the quality of the wine is not impacted.”

The only thing to remember when drinking from a paper wine bottle is not to put it in an ice bucket. “It will go soggy,” says Malin. “You need to use a dry chiller.”

Window Dressing

The move from single-use plastic to paper and cardboard packaging isn’t just limited to the consumer retail world. Many B2B retail companies are now looking closely at their product packaging and investigating how they can make it more sustainable.

Velux, the manufacturer of roof windows, has announced that it has switched 90% of the packaging for its sloped window to paper-based materials. The switch will not only reduce the amount of plastic packaging by 900 tonnes per year and a 13% reduction in carbon footprint, but make the packaging a lot easier to dispose of.

“We’re proud to be significantly reducing the amount of plastic we use to package and protect our roof windows,” said Tina Mayn, Senior Vice President of the Velux Group. “It’s an important step towards achieving what we call the ‘Green our packaging’ sustainability target.”

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