German Packaging Award 2020: designed with an eye to recycling

Krones | On 25th August, the German Packaging Institute announced Krones AG and its subsidiary, Dekron, as winners of the German Packaging Award 2020 in the category “sustainability”. The prize-winning entry involves a beverage bottle, the design and lifecycle of which were comprehensively created in accordance with sustainability criteria.

With the “3 Circles” bottle, all of the individual elements and the entire lifecycle were designed to be sustainable. It is made one-hundred percent out of recycled PET and it itself can be completely recycled again after use. Instead of having a label which is normally unable to be recycled, the bottle was decorated using a digital direct print. The inks used here dissolve in the recycling process without leaving any residues, meaning that the bottle material can be used once again for food packaging in the subsequent lifecycles without loss. A tethered cap was selected as the closure. This cap remains firmly attached to the body of the bottle after opening and thus meets the requirements of EU directive 2019/904.

Marketable overall concept from tried and tested technologies

The leitmotif of “sustainability” is also reflected in the artwork displayed on the bottle print and – in a slightly more subtle manner – in the design of the bottle body.

The technologies for the production, decoration and recycling of the bottle are already available at Krones and Dekron as standard products. The recycled starting material, the specially designed preform, and the container and its decoration with environmentally friendly ink are all self-produced. “3 Circles“ is thus a marketable all-round concept for the sustainable packaging of beverages for commercial use in the beverage industry.

Greatest European performance showcase

The internationally advertised German Packaging Prize is sponsored by the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy and is viewed as being Europe’s greatest showcase of performance in the field of packaging. According to the German Packaging Institute, the variety of submissions was the greatest ever and the quality of innovations was at a very high level. The competition is open to companies, individuals and institutions, both domestic and abroad. The submitted entries are assessed by an independent jury. The 22 members originate from the industrial, trade, branded product and research sectors.