Krones AG and its subsidiary Dekron are delighted to have received an award from the German Packaging Institute. Their 3 Circles beverage bottle has now received the German Packaging Award 2020 in the category Sustainability.
The award-winning entry is a drinks bottle with a design and life cycle that is fully in line with sustainability criteria. Both the bottle and all associated technologies are already available as market-ready products.
Every element of the 3 Circles bottle is designed for recycling
With the 3 Circles-bottle, all individual elements and the entire life cycle have been designed to be sustainable. It is made from 100 per cent recycled PET and can also be fully recycled after use. Instead of a label, which is generally not recyclable, the bottle is decorated using digital direct printing. The inks used for this dissolve without residue during the recycling process. This means that the bottle material can also be used to repackage food in subsequent life cycles without any losses.
Krones chose a tethered cap as the closure. This remains firmly attached to the bottle body even after opening and thus fulfils the requirements of EU Directive 2019/904.
Market-ready overall concept based on tried-and-tested technologies
The main theme Sustainability is also reflected in the artwork on the bottle and - albeit somewhat more subtly - in the design of the bottle body. Because the idea of the three-legged floor is based on the globally recognised recycling icon. The same applies to the shoulder section, which, in the form of three rounded triangular surfaces, creates a very unusual, yet harmonious connection between the neck and body of the PET bottle.
The technologies for producing, decorating and recycling the bottle are already available as series products from Krones and Dekron. The recycled raw material, the specially designed preform, the container and its decoration with environmentally friendly ink are all produced in-house. 3 Circles is thus a market-ready all-round concept for the sustainable packaging of beverages, which can be used immediately for commercial purposes in the beverage industry.
SourceKrones AG
