By eliminating labels, manufacturers can create bottles that are easier to recycle, as there’s no need to separate different materials during the recycling process.
This streamlined approach improves recycling efficiency and reduces the amount of plastic used in packaging. Additionally, removing labels eliminates potential contaminants in the recycling stream, such as inks, adhesives, and other substances that can interfere with the quality of recycled materials.
Currently, South Korea is the leader in legislating for labelless packaging, but other countries might follow.
Of course, with no label on the container, the big question is “How to add branding, ingredients and other information to the package?”
To help address this, LazX Industries, a company specializing in using lasers for material processing, has partnered with Proctor & Gamble to develop LaserSharp® Marking, laser technology intended to help brands with labelless, sustainable packaging.
“LaserSharp® Marking uses LasX’s unique control technology to mark high-resolution graphics directly on bottles and other packaging materials at much faster rates than conventional laser marking. As lasers and motion technology continue to advance, LasX’s control platform does too – synchronizing laser motion and pulsing several million times per second, leading to high resolution and quality at extremely high speeds.”
~ Tom Weigman, VP of Technology at LasX
Moving to mono-material packaging is important for simplifying recycling and eliminating labels, inks and adhesives is a proven way to help advance this. LasX says that it’s LaserSharp technology is able to operate at higher speeds than conventional laser printing and can be used with materials such as HDPE, PE, and PET.
This is undoubtedly an exciting concept, and the LasX technology combined with P&G’s expertise in the CPG is a strong partnership. I’ll be interested to see how this progresses.
For more info, check out the LasX news release: LasX and P&G partnership.
