Eco-friendly dairy cups made from 100% rPET by ILPRA SpA

ILPRA's renewed range of Form Fill Seal (FFS) machines has been designed and developed by a dedicated team of product specialists with more than 30 years in the FFS and thermoforming businesses. Starting from their long experience accumulated over the years, ILPRA's FFS team applies the most recent dictates of technological innovation connected to the food & dairy industries. Further, it guarantees the lowest possible Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) without forgetting the latest developments in terms of snappable bottom material no matter if PP or PET, as well as pots/cups appealability with its integrated solutions for cups/pots labeling.

ILPRA Form Fill Seal machines are designed and built for different production requirements. These machines are fully customizable in format, dosing systems, and cutting configuration, allowing for both individual and multi-pack production. The main movements are servo-driven, allowing maximum precision, reliability, and efficiency to enable high-level production performance. FFS machines use heat and air pressure to obtain a customized cup shape from the plastic film, which is then filled with the product, sealed, and finally cut. ILPRA's FFS models can pack any pumpable product from cold to hot filling, standard to extended shelf-life filling, and dosing different product categories simultaneously and in various configurations: layered, mixed, or twist effect.

Over the years, ILPRA has become a unique supplier for small & medium size dairy & food companies able to supply both Fill Seal (FS) and FFS packaging technologies. ILPRA allows everyone to have access to quality packaging with a limited investment.

Case Study - Sustainable dairy cups made from 100% rPET by ILPRA Spa

Many companies demonstrate how the circular economy works with sustainable dairy packaging made from recycled PET. The developed white yogurt cup made from 100% rPET can be recycled after use and made into a yogurt cup again.

Benefits of PET in a closed-loop

PET is currently the only plastic in the European Union that can be recycled back into food-grade plastic packaging. Compared to virgin PET, recycled PET has a much smaller carbon footprint. The recycling rate has to increase, though, to take full advantage of the benefits of rPET. The European Union set a quota for the separate collection of plastic packaging waste of 90% by 2030 and introduced a tax for non-recycled plastic waste in 2021. It is the right moment to demonstrate the efficient and sustainable possibilities of the PET recycling cycle.

Organic yogurt in rPET cups

One of ILPRA's main costumer in the dairy sector runs an organic dairy and wants to pack their organic products as ecologically and sustainably as possible. The customer stated his requirement, "In the past, we sold our yogurt in glass containers. These are heavy, and the washing is time-consuming and requires a lot of water and detergent." Therefore, they started looking for more sustainable packaging. Their requirements were clear, but none of the existing solutions met them, since "The packaging should be environmentally friendly, stable and lightweight. We wanted the packaging to be recyclable and protect the dairy products from UV light - ideally, it is white."

ILPRA support a 100% recyclable approach

In Europe, dairy products are currently mainly packed in polypropylene (PP) or polystyrene (PS), which according to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), cannot be reprocessed into recycled material for food contact. Strictly speaking, recycling these materials is "downcycling" rather than "recycling". With rPET, ILPRA SpA relies on upcycling.

Paolo Gobrili, Ilpra FFS Product Manager, stated, "For us, recyclable means that the same product can be made again after being used by the consumer and recycled."

ILPRA stated that since there has been no packaging solution for yogurt which is recyclable according to food-grade standards, they developed the first white cup made from 100% rPET. The new rPET cup is not just made from recycled material; it is also designed for recycling. This assures 100% recyclability and turns the cup into valuable input material for recyclers after its use. First, the consumer removes the cardboard banderol and peels off the seal made from aluminum. The rPET cup itself remains, which is not printed nor laminated with other plastic types. Both print colors and multilayer material would contaminate the material and impede recycling for food packaging applications.

Closed-loop recycling

Italian Institute of Packaging (Istituto Italiano Imballaggio) highlights the importance of efficiently collecting and sorting packaging waste. It is a crucial prerequisite for recycling and the circular economy to work. Therefore, the project partners initiated a regional collection system for the white rPET cups and installed collection points at recycling centers and supermarkets. Thousands of cups have been collected, recycled, and reprocessed to close the recycling loop.

rPET is the most sustainable option

Packaging made from rPET has a low CO2 footprint and leaves reusable glass packaging and plastic packaging made from virgin material far behind in terms of emissions. Unfortunately, many consumers are not aware of this. ILPRA SpA provides information for customers to allow a factual discussion about what constitutes environmentally friendly packaging. When recycling PET, energy is saved, emissions are reduced, and waste is avoided. So far, PET can be recycled virtually infinite times. From cup to cup – as shown by the rPET yogurt cup.

For more information contact:

ILPRA SPA

Marketing Office, Via Mattei, 21/23 - 27036 Mortara(PV) - ITALY
Email info@ilpra.com, Tel +39 0384 2905

https://www.ilpra.com/en/packaging-machines/thermoforming-filling-machines-form-fill-seal/