Milk packaging wins accolade for being green

UK producer of plastic milk bottles, Nampak Plastics, has been awarded the accolade of ‘Green Product of the Year’ at the British Engineering Excellence Awards (BEEAs) for its Infini bottle.

The bottle has been recognised as an exemplary design for its lightweight properties and reduced carbon footprint.

Nampak says this year has seen it achieve two global firsts with Infini. The company recently trialled, tested and supplied the first four-pint milk bottle containing up to 30 percent rHDPE. This was after it created a four-pint Infini bottle weighing in at just 32g, representing a 20 percent material saving on the standard four-pint version found in most supermarkets. These factors combined, says the company, could mean savings of 35,000 tonnes of material each year for the industry.

Commenting on the win, Eric Collins, Managing Director of Nampak Plastics, said: “We’re delighted that our Infini bottle has been recognised as Green Product of the Year at the BEEAs. This is an area we feel very strongly about at Nampak. The team has worked extremely hard, undertaking a four-year journey to reduce the weight and carbon footprint of the standard milk bottle.

“At Nampak we see sustainability at the very heart of our business, from our commitment to producing innovative, lightweight packaging solutions, to the understanding of how our processes impact on the environment.”

Judges at the BEEAs commented: “The reduction in material used in the Infini bottle is very impressive and will have a significant environmental impact. Further to this, Nampak has a route-map to even greater reductions in a very high volume product.”

Now, more than 300 million Infini bottles have been sold, stocked in retailers including Marks & Spencer, Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Morrisons.