Paper as an alternative for collation shrink film

Abstract

Collation shrink film is often used for bundling single packages of consumer goods.Like other plastic films, this type of film is currently under social pressure. Paper could be an environmentally friendly alternative if a suitable type of paper can be applied in such a way that the requirements for manipulation and transport of the bundles are met. In this study, the use of paper for bundling bottles is experimentally investigated. The study focuses on bundles of six PET bottles of 1.5 L containing flat water and sparkling water. Suitability of a paper-based bundling method is evaluated in terms of rigidity of the bundle and in terms of resistance to horizontal inertial forces that inevitably occur during transport. Behaviour of collation shrink film-based bundles is taken as a minimum performance level. The study shows that various paper-based bundling methods can technically qualify as a replacement for collation shrink film and even offer additional benefits. A particular promising concept consists of a band of paper that is stretched around the bottles. It allows lifting the bottles by grasping two caps only, and it beats shrink film regarding resistance to varying horizontal inertia forces. Further research is necessary to optimise the concept and to adopt it for a wider range of products and for industrial use.

Cardboard Eco-Bundle as an Alternative for Collation Shrink Film

“…V: Vertical, meaning that the flute direction is parallel to width of the strips. It is known [11] that individual bottles tend to tilt under horizontal inertial forces during transport. To meet the criterium of transportability, the eco-bundle packaging should force the 6 bottles to behave as a quasi-rigid bundle, meaning that relative displacements of individual bottles must be prevented.…”

“…Lifting test: The lifting test is described in [11] and shown in Figure 8. Two diagonally opposite bottles are grasped by hand and lifted.…”

“…The standard of the RAHIF test is found in 3 and a practical implementation is described in detail in [11]. A complete layer of bundles, in this case 21 bundles, are placed on a pallet.…”

Assessing the Sustainable Potential of Corrugated Board-Based Bundle Packaging of PET Bottles: A Life Cycle Perspective—A Case Study

“…In previous research [6,7], an extensive search was conducted to explore alternatives to collation shrink bundle packaging (Figure 1a). The aim was to develop a packaging solution that could be applied to a wide range of bundles, including shampoo bottles, milk cartons, small bottles and even larger 2 L bottles in bundles ranging from four to eight.…”

“…This collaborative development effort involved the VPK company as a fiber-based material expert, and two packaging solutions were developed, as shown in Figure 1b,c. Ecobundle [6] and Ecogrip [7] have proven to be effective alternati collation shrink film while retaining the essential functionality [6,7]. packaging solutions exhibit remarkable resistance to alternating horizon and outperform conventional collation shrink-based bundles [6,8].…”