Coca-Cola launch will fire US shrink sleeve growth: CCL Label

A rising number of brands are using full-sleeve labels for extra shelf standout but they involve significantly higher costs for plastics recyclers, since typically they cannot be recycled and must also be removed to recycle PET bottles.

Until now, CCL claims, given that its low density TD material, coupled with a non-bleeding ink system, has been engineered for the sink/float separation process to improve PET yields at grind/reclaim sites.

As Jens Winkler, business development manager, CCL Label tells us in this exclusive podcast recorded at Interpack 2014, the TD shrink material met Coke’s internal standards prior to the holiday promotion and has also been approved by the Association of Plastics Recyclers (APR).

‘Unlocks new growth, new possibilities’​

“Meeting the internal standards for Coca-Cola bottle-to-bottle recycling was a challenge,”​ Winkler tells Ben Bouckley; Coke’s 2013 winter bottle using CCL’s TD shrink material is pictured.

Winkler admits that there are rival products striving to meet the same need, but says: “But this is, in the US, really the first qualified by Coke and also the recycling companies to be launched to market. ​

“So it’s really quite new, and the first step for Coke but also other brands to have a sustainable solution,”​ he adds.

“A lot of brands really discovered the shrink sleeve to upgrade their brands in different market segments, and it grew to a certain level where the recycling levels were not happening,”​ Winkler says.

“I think this is a step now to unlock new growth…new possibilities,”​ the CCL executive tells us.