Cover Application Story
Cover Application Story News Fair play Commitment to Environment Huhtamaki’s PLA beer cup assortment emerges as a clear winner in stadiums and arenas Sustainable packaging is quite a new addition to the environmental considerations for packaging. With eco-friendly PLA cold drink cups for the catering market, Huhtamaki has since several years been promoting this aspect. Recently, more and more organizers of big events and football games in stadiums decided to join the ranks. In 2009, the first Premier League arenas in Germany together with several Second League stadiums pioneered the concept of using biodegradable NatureWorks ® PLA beer cups for their big events. These were the early birds in recognising not only the positively practical benefits of these products, but also their sustainable aspects: PLA is made from annually renewable resources, is compostable and thus can be disposed of completely naturally. Other stadiums as well as various breweries were quick to follow, and soon both operators and visitors appreciated the evident advantages of this environmental-friendly solution for cups. Single use cups offer guaranteed hygiene, as each guest gets a new cup. There is no need for dishwashing as for reusable cups. This saves labour time, water, heating energy and detergents. The lightweight PLA cups are safe, as they do not break nor splinter. The cups are light to carry and easy to handle and in addition allow a faster and more focused customer service. Last but not least, the possibility for customised printing offers additional promotional opportunities. In terms of sustainability, the concept offers far more. Belonging to Huhtamaki’s future friendly BioWare packaging portfolio, PLA beer cups together with molded fibre strongholders stand out as 12 bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/12] Vol. 7
Cover Story Our cover photo protagonists and their friends enjoy beer from PLA cups the stadium’s visible demonstration of environmental awareness as promoter of new and fair-play solutions: The PLA cups offer a simple way of contributing to more sustainable environmental performance. Their PR appeal can rise an increased media interest. For sponsoring or advertising companies the cups can be used to improve the corporate and brand image and can help to differ from competition. And finally cups made from PLA offer a possibility for single waste stream. Moreover, the PLA beer cups are compostable and certified in accordance with EN 13432, European norm for compostability of packaging, meaning that they degrade completely in industrial composting facilities. The options for disposal are plentiful: incineration with energy recovery, composting and recycling. Apart from that, Huhtamaki and stadium operators are jointly working on a promising ‘from cradle to cradle’ project, planning to build a closed recycled PLA material loop for stadiums and arenas. Huhtamaki was the first to launch a complete range of compostable tableware. The BioWare family was launched in 2004 and is continuously developed with new products. BioWare products are available in Europe and Oceania. Huhtamaki has maintained the Pass status in the Kempen SNS Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) Universe since 2002. Only those European companies that meet or exceed the strict business ethical, social and environmental performance standards set by Kempen Capital Management and SNS Asset Management qualify for inclusion. www.huhtamaki.de/foodservice bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/12] Vol. 7 13
