Beer Giant Carlsberg Partners with ecoXpac to Produce Wood-Fiber Bottle with ‘Zero-Waste’ Attributes

For several years now, the beverage packaging industry has earned brownie points by using rigid recyclable containers made from aluminum, PET and glass. But now, a few market leaders are taking their eco-credibility quotient several notches higher with innovative materials. Carlsberg and ecoXpac, a supplier of molded-fiber packaging, have partnered to produce a biodegradable bottle using wood-fiber. The new project has already garnered much interest in the sustainable packaging sector worldwide after the beverage manufacturer announced it at the 2015 Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The project – currently being called the Green Fiber Bottle initiative – will also see participation from the Technical University of Denmark and the Innovation Fund Denmark.

The goal of the project is to produce a beverage bottle that’s 100% biodegradable and uses wood fiber that is sustainably sourced. The partners on this project will make use of both biodegradable and bio-based materials not just in the bottle, but also on components used for closure.

The bottle is being touted as ‘zero waste’ and those close to the project say that it will be compatible for use not just with beer, but with a wide variety of beverages such as carbonated soft drinks and juices. However, it might still be early to understand how the bottle will shape up. Though one thing is clear – it will not be a transparent bottle. However, this attribute of the bottle will make it especially suited for beer. Wood-fiber will block light and keep beer from going off. An opaque material also brings another advantage to the table – blocking UV rays. Other aspects such as taste testing cannot be predicted just as yet, said officials from Carlsberg. However, the aim of the project will obviously remain to ensure that the taste of beverages does not change on account of the container’s material.