McLaren Packaging, a specialist supplier of sustainable paper-based solutions to the UK Food and Drinks sector, is proud to announce that it has developed an innovative range of recyclable presentation tubes for spirits.
Presentation tubes are synonymous with whiskey. However, most cannot be easily recycled even though they are made of two of the most widely recycled materials: metal and card.
With the design and development stages now complete, several well-known brands have adopted the innovative packaging, saving more than 300 metric tons from ending up in landfill every year for those brands alone.
“We have solved the recyclability challenge by developing a range of eco-friendly solutions for tubes of all shapes and sizes,” said McLaren Packaging’s Sales and Marketing Director, Michael McLaren. “For our shaped tubes, including square and oval, we’ve introduced a vertical perforation, positioned discreetly on the side of the pack, allowing the paper body and metal base to be easily separated and recycled. We have a patent pending for this novel solution which ensures that the tube can be handled responsibly at end of life and have received approval from On Pack Recycling Label (OPRL)* in the UK.”
For the traditional round tube with a metal base, the company’s eco-design utilizes a horizontal perforation at the rear of the tube, enabling consumers to effortlessly remove the metal base for recycling.
Cardboard tubes are considered challenging to recycle because the metal base is so securely fitted to the paper body that it is hard to separate. By including a discreet line of perforations on the pack, McLaren has made it easy to separate the body from the base. Meanwhile, the strength, structure and security of the packaging retains the same high standards that both brands and consumers have come to expect.
“We have also developed a mono material tube with a paper base which can be disposed of without the need for separation,” McLaren notes. “This tube contains no metal at all, so that the tube body can easily be put in the paper recycling bin. Both tubes use a high percentage of recycled content, giving end-of-life paper fibers – which would have otherwise been wasted – additional life.’’
McLaren added: “The tube format is utilized by some of the leading brands in the Single Malt Whiskey category, with examples including Bushmills Single Malt Irish Whiskey. It is our role as manufacturers to ensure that the format allows our customers to offer the highest quality of presentation for their brands with the least environmental impact possible.”
McLaren says the new design has already saved 64 metric tons of metal and 261 metric tons of paper from going to landfill.
Perhaps the most famous brand to be associated with hard-to-recycle tubes – Pringles – recently announced an £86m investment to enable it to switch to entirely paper packaging.
As a family run Scottish business committed to minimizing the environmental impact of its products, McLaren Packaging is on a mission to support the spirits industry in reducing its environmental impact and making the switch to fully recyclable packaging.
* OPRL (On Pack Recycling Label) are the UK’s independent experts in the recyclability of packaging which let consumers know if packaging can be collected for recycling or if it needs to be taken to a local recycling center. For more information visit: https://oprl.org.uk
