Abel & Cole launches its first refillable milk packs
Iranpolymer/Baspar The product, which will join its growing refillables range, uses new refillable packaging which Abel & Cole said will save 450,000 single-use plastic milk bottles (23 tonnes of plastic) and 60 tonnes of carbon each year.
The ‘ground-breaking’ packaging innovation has received hundreds of thousands of pounds of investment, including a grant from Innovate UK’s Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging (SSPP) Challenge.
It took three years and seven teams of experts including Berry Global, Campden BRI and key collaborators, Berkley Farm Dairy.
Made from 100% Poplypropylene (PP), the Club Zero Refillable Milk bottle will cut the carbon footprint of Abel & Cole’s single-use milk bottles in half after just four returns, and would take over 15 returns to reach similar emissions savings.
Hugo Lynch, Sustainability Lead at Abel & Cole, said: “Club Zero Refillable Milk utilises existing packaging resource and technology, safely allows for multiple refills and is completely recyclable. There’s been plenty of trial and error along the way, but we’ve trailblazed a more sustainable way to deliver and refill milk and are proud to choose plastic. Imagine the impact we could have if the entire dairy industry made the switch too.”
Nick Cliffe, deputy director of Innovate UK’s SSPP Challenge, added: “We are delighted to be able to support this genuinely ground-breaking project from Abel & Cole. To deliver the biggest positive impact, refill needs to work for high volume everyday products and Club Zero Refillable Milk does just that! It also demonstrates that plastic packaging can be a very effective material for refill applications.”
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