Together with Kellanova Europe, Sonoco redesigned the Pringles packaging to make it widely recyclable by replacing the metal bottom with a paper fibre-based bottom.
The new paper-based tube takes into account “Circularity by Design” guidelines from the European fibre-based packaging value chain, the 4Evergreen Alliance. It obtains a good recyclability score for its suitability for recycling in standard paper mills under 4evergreen’s Recyclability Evaluation Protocol. The tubes are accepted in recycling streams across Europe, as the new paper end makes it easier for paper recyclers to recycle. The launch follows Kellanova’s trial of a steel can in Italy in 2019 and a paper tube in the UK in 2020. The vast majority of the paper used for the old and new tube is made from recycled material, helping to boost the circular economy for recycled paper packaging.
The introduction of the recyclable Pringles tube is an important step towards Kellanova’s commitment of all its packaging being recyclable, reusable and compostable by 2030. Ultimately, the new paper-based Pringles tube sets an example for the food packaging industry while bolstering brand loyalty too.
The new Pringles paper-based recyclable tubes are already available in Belgium, Luxemburg, the UKI and the Netherlands with plans to scale up their launch across Europe.
The result of this is Sonoco’s successful, rigid paper packaging lines as part of the EnviroSense® family including EnviroCan®, GREENCAN® and EnviroStick™.
