Molkerei Forster from Herisau in the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden is among the first companies in Switzerland to use a self-separating three-component (K3) cup from Greiner Packaging for its 500-gram natural yoghurts available from Lidl's proprietary brand Milbona, according to a statement. The self-separating cup is the latest innovation of the K3 packaging, the first of which the Upper Austrian specialist in plastic packaging produced at its Swiss site in Diepoldsau in the canton of St.Gallen over 40 years ago.
The K3 cup contains aluminium, recycled cardboard and plastic, and each of these components can be disposed of separately. With the latest K3 product to launch on the Swiss market, the K3 r100 cup, the cardboard wrap and plastic packaging separate from each other during the waste disposal process without human intervention. As a result, the reusability of the components does not rely on correct separation by the end user. Standard recycling plants do not yet have automatic sorting streams, but Molkerei Forster and Lidl Switzerland from Weinfelden in the canton of Thurgau want to be prepared for such a sorting system. The companies are “assuming a pioneering role in future-proof packaging design”, writes the statement.
“Without good partners like Molkerei Forster, innovations such as our K3 r100 would not be possible,” commented Greiner Packaging Sales Director Antonios Kampouris. “Before we brought the cup to market, we perfected it in numerous filling tests - including on Molkerei Forster’s systems. Because having a good idea is one thing, checking it for marketability is another. This is only possible in collaboration with our customers."
