Plastic tubes sometimes have a bad reputation in terms of sustainability – often unjustifiedly so. Over the past few years, LINHARDT has developed a range of sustainable plastic tubes. The suPErtube is a consistent combination of the three core principles for sustainable tube packaging, REDUCE – REPLACE – RECYCLE, implemented in a single product.
In order to save resources, all tube components are particularly light: The wall thickness of the tube body is reduced by 40% to 0.3 mm, the shoulder by 20%. The closure is at least 25% lighter than a regular closure.
Another goal is the minimal use of virgin plastic. Therefore, the virgin plastic is replaced with 100% post-consumer-recycled plastic in the tube body and shoulder. The used PCR originates from household waste collections within Europe. Thus, the suPErtube contributes to a meaningful utilization of plastic waste while keeping the transport distances and emissions at a minimum. The closure contains 50% of recycled plastic.
It is important to keep resources in the loop, so high recyclability is a key criterion for sustainable packaging. In order to increase the recyclability and improve the quality of the resulting recyclate, all components of the tube, namely tube body, shoulder and closure, are made of PE. In addition, the artwork relies mostly on light colours reducing the discolourations of the PCR granulate and thereby increasing the recyclate quality.
Reduction of material, replacement of virgin plastic, and high recyclability – this tube is an important step towards more sustainable plastic packaging. As a result, the suPErtube won a German Packaging Award in 2021 and was nominated for the German Sustainability Award.
