Multi-award-winning ReZorce® Circular Packaging set to halve the carbon footprint of beverage cartons
Zotefoams will showcase its ReZorce® Circular Packaging range at Pack Expo 2024. (McCormick Place, Chicago, 3-6 November) This pioneering mono-material barrier substrate is currently being developed for beverage carton applications, where it will deliver a lower carbon footprint, 100% recyclability and, for the first time for this pack format, the prospect of circularity.
Hot on the heels of success in two major awards schemes – the German Packaging Prize and the Reuters Sustainability Awards – Zotefoams will use Pack Expo to demonstrate how ReZorce mono-material barrier packaging can help brand owners and retailers halve the carbon footprint of aseptic beverage cartons, while contributing towards the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) National Recycling Goal of 50% by 2030.
These commitments are possible for two reasons: firstly, ReZorce is a mono-material produced from common, easily processed and recycled polymers, and second, its structure, which enables incorporation of a high proportion of post-consumer recyclate within its inner, foamed layers.
“We are excited to be bringing a product to the USA that has the potential to assist companies currently supplying products in composite cartons, such as juices, dairy alternatives, soups, stocks and broths and even laundry and personal care, to make huge leaps towards circularity,” says Neil Court-Johnston, President of Zotefoams’ MuCell Extrusion LLC business unit.
“Legislation in Europe and indeed, in some States in the USA, is aimed at promoting circular economy goals and disincentivising packaging that is not designed for recycling. Until now, liquid packaging board (LPB), produced from layers of wood fibre, polyethylene and sometimes aluminium, has been the only choice for beverage cartons. While LPB offers advantages in terms of weight and transport efficiency, it is not designed for recycling: the world has moved on.”
ReZorce is based on a proprietary microcellular foaming technology originating from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). This technology is used to inject atmospheric gases into plastic extrusions during the melt phase to create a foamed core bounded by solid skins.
The foamed layers create an inherent barrier to atmospheric oxygen and moisture, while enabling the material to be folded in the same way as paperboard. ReZorce has been designed for easy transition from LPB cartons, using the same filling and sealing machinery with minimal modification. An independent Life Cycle Assessment demonstrates that, compared to an aseptic LPB carton for the same duty, ReZorce uses a 53% less energy, 51% less water and has a 55% lower global warming impact.
Zotefoams is currently in the latter stages of developing ReZorce for beverage carton applications and in May this year, announced its Joint Development Agreement with Refresco, the world’s leading independent packer of beverages for retailers and A-brands, up to and including market trials for a north European supermarket chain.
“ReZorce is a disruptive packaging product that has a lot of potential: the global beverage carton market alone is estimated at over 250 billion units per annum and ReZorce has applications for other formats, such as pouches and trays,” says Neil Court-Johnston.
“Regulations impacting choices of packaging materials are changing across the world. The appetite for sustainable, circular options is growing, partly due to legislative drivers and partly because brand owners and retailers recognise that their customers expect them to do right by the environment. ReZorce is the right product at the right time and what’s more, it offers frictionless transition with low capital outlay.”