FrieslandCampina announces shift to 100% rPET bottles

From February 2021, FrieslandCampina will start using bottles made from 100% recycled PET (rPET). To further aid recyclability, the new packs will also include a brand new "zipper" that makes it easier to separate the label from the bottle.

According to a statement issued by the Dutch dairy giant: “This makes us the first company in the dairy sector to make our bottles virtually circular for its brands in the Netherlands, Belgium, the United Kingdom, and Hungary.”

Patrick van Baal, global director of packaging development at FrieslandCampina, added: “With the 100% recycled PET bottle, we are taking a new step in making our packaging circular. Our ambition is to become fully circular.

“That is why we are increasing the recycled content of our PET bottles from 20% to 100%. This step is crucial because, in order to achieve our sustainability goals, all packaging must first become recyclable and/or reusable.”

One of the objectives of FrieslandCampina's sustainability programme, "Nourishing a better planet", is to make its entire packaging portfolio fully circular and carbon neutral and to also reduce the amount of packaging materials to a minimum.

Five years ago, the company made the decision to switch to PET for all its drinking bottles for recyclability reasons. Now, by making all of its new bottles from old PET bottles, it hopes to prevent the production of nearly 1.9 million kilos of virgin plastic.