Consumers' desire for environmentally friendly products is increasingly prompting companies to put the issue of sustainability on the agenda. This also includes the challenge of producing less plastic waste. Alternatives to plastic packaging do exist. Recycled paper fibers, for example, are the basic material from which the Cologne-based start-up PAPACKS offers a wide variety of packaging solutions. The range extends from egg boxes and cream jars to inlays and cardboard packaging for industry. Now the product portfolio is being expanded to include paper beverage bottles.

Plastic free solution for drinks

PAPACKS will partner with North American beverage producer Keurig Dr Pepper to do precisely that. "We look forward to working with Keurig Dr Pepper and combining our complementary expertise and resources to create an innovative plastic-free beverage solution that meets consumer expectations for quality and convenience," PAPACKS announced in a press release.

100 % compostable

Keurig Dr Pepper aims to reduce the use of virgin plastics by 20% by 2025. Based on PAPACKS' fiber molding technology, both companies aim to create a product that is fully compostable from the bottle to the label to the cap and closure, and can thus be recycled with other paper products via waste collection in the USA.

The fiber casting technology developed by PAPACKS offers the possibility to process recycled paper fibers or virgin fibers for food packaging, as well as plant fibers from green waste, hemp, algae, bagasse and miscantus. In this process, the desired screen shape is drawn through a basin in which 1% fibers are dissolved with 99% water. The water is sucked in with the fibers, the fibers remain attached to the screen, and the molded part can be removed from the screen. In addition, the water remains in the production cycle and is reused. PAPACKS has already received several awards for this innovation.

First prototype expected at the end of 2022

Development of the first fully recyclable and compostable paper bottle has already begun and a first prototype of the paper bottle is expected to be ready by the end of this year. Keurig Dr Pepper plans to test this innovation on various products - from water to juice to carbonated beverages.

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