Nampak 32g Infini is ‘world’s lightest’ 4-pint plastic milk bottle
Following the launch of its Infini plastic milk bottle in 2012, Nampak Plastics says it has now created “the world’s lightest ever four-pint high density polyethylene (HDPE) bottle”.
According to Nampak, the UK’s leading producer of plastic milk bottles, the new bottle weighs in at just 32g, representing a 20% material saving compared to the current industry standard four-pint version found in most supermarkets today, which is said to weigh 40g.
The breakthrough, currently under trial, is the latest incarnation of Nampak’s Infini bottle, which was awarded a WorldStar prize at the end of last year, as well as Best Dairy Packaging Innovation at the 2012 Global Dairy Congress.
Nampak MD Eric Collins says Infini has been responsible for a “paradigm shift” in milk packaging since its launch in 2012, 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,” Collins says, “and we know from extensive research that consumers also prefer the design to the standard bottle.
“We believe that we’ve reached a new pinnacle [in environmental leadership] with the creation of a 32g four-pint Infini bottle.”
The company says that Infini’s “unique design characteristics” and its ability to be easily light-weighted have further innovation from Nampak’s design and engineering team.
The existing Infini bottle is currently stocked in a number of major UK retailers including Marks & Spencer, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s, and is said already to be the lightest and strongest bottle on the market.
Nampak projects that if it were 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, and that if the lighter Infini were to become the bottle of choice in the sector, it would “reduce the overall amount of resin used in UK milk packaging by 30,000 tonnes – a 25% saving”.
