Hoffmann Neopac recently launched a new range of post-consumer recycled (PCR) caps suitable for a wide variety of the company’s tube solutions in the personal care and beauty markets.

At its inception, the new series will include recycled high-density polyethylene (rHDPE) screw caps from 19-40 millimetres in diameter, a flip-top cap 35mm in diameter, and an octagonal cap for sample tubes. Each is fully recyclable in existing HDPE streams.

Recycled and recyclable materials

The range offers a remarkably high content in PCR material – approximately 70%. Combined with Neopac’s various eco-designed tubes, the result is a capability to create packaging solutions comprised of up to 77% recycled material.

According to Neopac, the new rHDPE caps comply with the International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC+) requirements, and can come with food-grade light statements from government entities like the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and US Food & Drug Administration (FDA).

Neopac’s new rHDPE caps can also help brand owners save on extended producer responsibility (EPR) fees in markets where they are have to be paid. The rHDPE caps are produced using 50% green electricity in Neopac’s Switzerland and Hungary manufacturing facilities.

“As tube manufacturers have continued to make progress toward true circularity, caps have always presented a significant sustainability hurdle,” said Cornelia Schmid, Head of Marketing for Neopac. “Rooted in research and materials science, our new rHDPE caps, which contain 70% PCR material, represent a substantial step in the right direction, and we look forward to adding to the series in the coming months.”

Eco-designed solutions

The rHDPE are the latest in Neopac’s portfolio of EcoDesign packaging solutions. Earlier this year, the company introduced Eco-Stripped Tube, which combines a significantly reduced sleeve wall thickness with a comparable materials reduction in the shoulder and cap. The result is a 30% reduction in overall virgin materials without sacrificing product protection, haptics or aesthetics.

According to Neopac, four Eco-Stripped Tubes can be made with the amount of materials it takes to produce three conventional tubes of the same size. Trimmed-down tubes therefore help to substantially reduce the carbon footprint of packaging solutions.

Other solutions in Neopac’s EcoDesign portfolio includes Polyfoil MMB, whose mono-material barrier brings vastly improved recyclability; Sugarcane Tube, made from renewable raw materials; and PICEA wood tube, comprised of 95% renewable material in the tube body and shoulder – including 10% of spruce wood from wood waste in sawmills.