UK company milks the lightweight trend with new bottle

Nampak Plastics, a UK producer of plastic milk bottles, has created what it says is the world’s lightest ever four-pint high density polyethylene (HDPE) bottle.

Weighing in at just 32g, the company states the bottle – which is currently undergoing trials with a number of Nampak’s customers – represents a 20% material saving on the standard four-pint version found in most supermarkets today (which weighs 40g).

The breakthrough is the latest incarnation of Nampak’s multi-award-winning ‘Infini’ bottle, which is stocked in a number of major retailers including Marks & Spencer, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s. Nampak says its estimates reveal that a move towards the 32g bottle could herald significant environmental improvements for the wider milk sector. If the company was to move its entire annual output of two billion bottles to the new, lighter Infini, 15,000 tonnes of resin would be saved each year. But more importantly, if lighter Infini became the bottle of choice, Nampak says it would reduce the overall amount of resin used in UK milk packaging by 30,000 tonnes – a 25% saving.

Eric Collins, Managing Director of Nampak Plastics, said: “Since its launch in 2012, Infini has been responsible for a paradigm shift in milk packaging, using considerably less material and more recycled plastic than has ever been achieved before. Feedback on Infini from milk processors and retailers has been extremely positive – and we know from extensive research that consumers also prefer the design to the standard bottle.

“However, at Nampak we’re always aiming to push innovation boundaries and our environmental leadership credentials as far as possible. With this in mind, we believe that we’ve reached a new pinnacle with the creation of a 32g four-pint Infini bottle.

“With HDPE lightweight savings of 20% on the industry’s current bottle, it’s greener and more affordable, and performs extremely well in all aspects of the dairy supply chain.”