The company said the redesigned caps do not compromise on convenience and will be compatible with existing filling machines and closure applicators.
Customers choosing the company’s SIGNATURE packaging solutions will also get the additional environmental benefit of tethered caps made from polymers linked to 100% renewable, forest-based materials.
Ali Kaylan, SVP innovation and VP global marketing at SIG, said, “By announcing the launch three years ahead of regulatory requirements, we are providing reassurance for customers as they prepare to comply with forthcoming EU regulations. Thanks to SIG’s flexible and adaptable systems, our tethered caps can be used with existing SIG filling lines and closure applicators, making our solutions a secure investment for the long-term.”
Customers are facing increasing demand for sustainable packaging from consumers and regulators, with a particular focus on single-use plastics to tackle today’s concerns about plastic waste leaking into the environment, especially into the world’s oceans.
The European Union’s Single-Use Plastics Directive includes a requirement for all single-use beverage containers to come with their caps attached by July 2024 to help ensure the caps are disposed of and recycled together with the rest of the pack.
SIG’s tethered caps will be launched initially for the closures used with its most popular packs in Europe. The tethered domeTwist will be available for SIG’s carton bottle combidome, as well as tethered combiMaxx and tethered combiSwift options for SIG’s core family-size carton portfolio. Together, these account for around 90% of SIG’s European closures by volume.
The new tethered caps are designed to be used with existing SIG filling lines and closure applicators, with no major capital expenditure required by customers. SIG said compatibility with existing SIG filling lines and customers’ existing packaging designs, secondary packaging and logistics was a key consideration in the design of SIG’s tethered caps.
SIG’s tethered caps use a double-hinge solution: When the pack is opened for pouring, the cap can be firmly fixed at the desired position by pressing it down until it clicks. This means the consumer can pour from the pack without the cap getting in the way and without needing to hold down the cap with their fingers. To close the pack, the cap is lifted slightly before closing in the usual way.
Tethering the cap to the pack adds also avoids the cap getting lost. The pack can be opened and closed easily as needed until it’s empty, then the cap and the pack can be recycled together.
The tethered caps will also be offered with polymers linked to 100% renewable, forest-based raw materials (via a certified mass balance system) for customers choosing SIG’s SIGNATURE solutions that include these polymers in the packs themselves.
