PETpla.net Insider 09 / 2021

CAPS & CLOSURES 26 PETplanet Insider Vol. 22 No. 09/21 www.petpla.net Tethered caps: Production requirements and strategies What are the specific requirements of the new EU directive for caps & closures for producers? Jörg Leonhartsberger, Sales Director Packaging Engel Austria, sheds light on the effects on equipment and the manufacturing process. Tethered caps are caps which remain firmly attached to the bottle after opening and during the prod- uct’s service life or life cycle. The relevant part of this EU regulation for caps & closures production reads: “Plastic closures and lids used for beverage containers are among the single-use plastic items most fre- quently found as litter on the beaches of the European Union. Therefore, the placing on the market of single-use plastic beverage containers should only be allowed if they comply with certain product design requirements in order to significantly reduce inputs of plastic container closures and lids into the environment. For beverage containers that are both single-use plastic articles and packaging, this is an additional requirement to the basic composition, reusability and recover- ability, including recyclability, require- ments for packaging set out in Annex II to Directive 94/62/EC.” This Regulation shall apply to the caps of all beverage containers up to a capacity of 3 l, i.e. containers used to hold liquids, such as beverage bottles, including their closures and lids and composite beverage containers, includ- ing their closures and lids, but not:  Glass or metal beverage containers with plastic closures or lids;  Beverage containers intended for liquid foodstuffs for special medical purposes. The legal foundations based on this regulation must be created in the EU member states by July 31, 2021, and the entry into force of the legal and administrative regulations is scheduled for July 3, 2024 at the latest. Basic requirements for tethered caps The requirements for the design and function of tethered caps resulting from this regulation are currently still being defined and can be summarised as follows at the moment: GAWiS D featuring AutoJob ™ – job set up in seconds +1.724.482.2163 AGRINTL.COM ACCURATE • FAST • REPEATABLE SEE GAWIS4D IN ACTION Dimensional and thickness measurements for plastic containers and preforms. ®