Lithuanian dairy swaps plastic bottles for cartons
One of the best-known dairies in Lithuania has made an important decision to change the packaging for fresh organic milk from plastic bottles to Pure-Pak® cartons.
Pure-Pak® carton packaging for AB Žemaitijos pienas products is supplied by Elopak, the world’s leading manufacturer of sustainable packaging.
Juha Oksanen, Managing Director Elopak Finland and Baltics.“We are happy to be able to support our client AB Žemaitijos pienas with attractive and environmentally friendly solutions for many years. By working closely together and using creative fiber-based packaging solutions, we can help package their dairy products in a safe, convenient and more environmentally friendly way and make the world a little better.
Tens of tons of plastic reduced per year
There are probably no Lithuanians who have never tasted AB Žemaitijos pienas dairy products, therefore, there might be questions about the change of packaging.
The Pure-Pak® carton has many advantages and is “friendly” both to nature and to consumers. Plastic waste is one of the most pressing problems today. It is estimated that people in the world buy about one million plastic bottles every minute. Currently, one of the most effective ways to reduce the use of plastic is to make packaging from fiber-based alternatives. AB Žemaitijos pienas also chose this path.
The customer has calculated that the switch to Pure-Pak® cartons from plastic bottles will enable the company to reduce the amount of plastic by 80%. The company has also calculated that if the current milk bottle packaging is changed to more environmentally friendly one, the amount of plastic consumed per year will decrease drastically. For example, the average sales of 1-liter packaging for “Clover” Organic milk with 2.5% fat are expected to reduce plastic by almost 24 tons per year.
In addition, switching the packaging of another product, the popular “Žemaitija long-standing traditions” milk (3.2% fat) is estimated to decrease the amount of plastic by an additional 49 tons per year.
More sustainable packaging a gift to nature & consumers
The Pure-Pak® carton is one of the most popular packaging for milk and other drinks in the world and the leading type of packaging for dairy products in Europe. The cartons are made from renewable materials that are fully recyclable where facilities exist. The raw materials for the packaging are obtained from sustainably managed forests. In this way, it is ensured that more trees grow in the forest than are cut down.
Studies have shown that fiber packaging has a lower carbon footprint than plastic and glass bottles. Pure-Pak® cartons also have excellent protective properties (for example, protection from light) that ensure a longer product shelf life.*
Companies like AB Žemaitijos pienas are constantly looking for ways to help protect the environment and further improve the quality of products for consumers. The Pure-Pak® cardboard packaging is a significant step towards a more sustainable future.
*LCA Fachverband Kartonverpackungen für flüssige Nahrungsmittel e.V. (FKN) / Institut für Energie und Umweltforschung Heidelberg (ifeu), 2020