The European one-piece cover will meet the huge demand!

According to EU Directive 2019/904, by July 2024, for single-use plastic beverage containers with a capacity of up to 3L and with a plastic cap, the cap must be attached to the container
.

The bottle cap of the one-piece bottle cap packaging is fixedly connected to the bottle body.
The bottle cap will no longer be discarded at will, but will be recycled together with the bottle body as a whole bottle.
After sorting and special processing, it will enter a new plastic product cycle.

.
This will significantly increase the recycling of caps, thereby reducing the impact on the environment and bringing considerable economic benefits
.

Industry insiders believe that in 2024, all plastic bottles that meet the requirements in Europe will use serial caps, the number will be very large, and the market space will be broad
.

Today, more and more European plastic beverage container manufacturers are accelerating technological innovation to meet this opportunity and challenge, designing and manufacturing more product portfolios of continuous caps, some of which are innovative
.
Challenges brought by the transition from traditional caps to one-piece caps, new cap design solutions have come to the fore
.

Alpla horizontal swivel one-piece cover

Alpla, a world-renowned plastic packaging manufacturer, has developed a new one-piece lid for the Austrian mineral water company Vöslauer
.

As long as the one-piece cover is opened with a slight horizontal twist, the bottle cap can be rotated to the other side, which is very convenient for pouring out beverages or drinking directly without causing obstruction
.
There is only one plastic strap connecting the cap and cap ring, saving material and making it lighter
.
In addition, the concave side of the cap is facing down to reduce contamination
.

Alpla supplies one-piece caps for Austrian mineral water company Vöslauer

Vöslauer says the caps are attached to bottles made of 100% recyclable material, which is done to facilitate recycling at recycling facilities in Germany
.

Alpla has designed four versions of its one-piece cap portfolio, including DANCE, RELAX, SOUL and JAZZ, which remain tethered to the bottle after opening, complying with EU 2024 requirements
.
This time Vöslauer chose Alpla's DANCE one-piece cap, which is currently used in its 1L drinking water bottle, which is sold in the Austrian and German markets
.

Birgit Aichinger, managing director of Vöslauer, said: “The cap is attached to the bottle by a plastic strap, which is an innovative design
.
With this solution, we are also doing pioneering work as a supplier in the field of sustainability
.
"

180 degree flip snap cap

U.
S.
-based Closure Systems International Inc.
(CSI) is a company that designs and manufactures innovative closures for the consumer and industrial markets, producing more than 5 billion closures annually at its nine manufacturing sites
.
Recently the company demonstrated a new one-piece lid design solution
.

The company's Twist & Flip®  bottle cap needs to be rotated and then flipped open.
When the bottle cap is fully opened, it can be pressed down and locked to achieve a 180-degree flip of the bottle cap.
This design can ensure that the mouth and nose can be kept clean when drinking beverages.
The bottle cap will not be touched, thereby improving the drinking experience of consumers
.

Twist & Flip caps remain attached to the bottle throughout the product life cycle, increasing cap recyclability
.
Twist & Flip closures are produced with CSI's proprietary  PolyCycle™ recycled resin
.
This post-consumer recycled resin is FDA approved, and the recyclable design of the cap and body provides an excellent closed-loop packaging solution
.

In addition, carefully designed, Twist & Flip®  caps minimize overall cost and weight, and are dimensionally interchangeable with existing industrial packaging caps to suit a variety of products or packaging request, which includes caps in 26mm, 28mm and 38mm diameters, available in 14 colors and clear, to enhance shelf appeal for the bottle and increase brand awareness
.

Sidel's wide range of one-piece cap solutions

Novembal, the bottle cap manufacturer owned by Sidel, is accelerating technological innovation to provide safe, personalized and more environmentally friendly bottle cap packaging, promoting the sustainable development of the industry and practicing the plastic circular economy
.

Screw one-piece cap solution

The screw-on one-piece cap solution allows manufacturers of carbonated soft drinks, bottled water and sensitive products to keep the existing cap design, and with Sidel technology, the one-piece structure can be realized, which not only ensures the tightness of the cap , improve production efficiency
.

Snap-on one-piece bottle cap solution

The snap-on one-piece cap solution is designed for bottled water producers
.
The consumer simply presses on the top of the cap to close the cap, and the inner rim ensures that the cap is tightly fitted to the mouth of the bottle
.
This design can ensure excellent performance even on high-speed production lines, and is also very flexible in design, with good sustainable use and convenience of consumption
.

"Hybrid Design" Closure Solutions

The "Hybrid Design" cap solution combines the tightness of screw caps with the easy opening and closing features of snap caps, which not only effectively ensures product safety, but also is convenient and flexible.
It is very suitable for high-end product packaging
.

Security and user-friendliness

To better understand consumers' environmental perceptions and perceptions of the new one-piece caps, Sidel conducted a survey of 3,200 European adults
.

The survey found that although respondents believed that the one-piece caps help in waste sorting and recycling, bottle caps should ensure product safety and user-friendliness, and snap-on one-piece caps may be risky for children
.

There are also some people who are concerned about whether the bottle cap can be easily opened and closed.
Many people are more interested in the design of opening and closing the cap with one hand
.
In addition, a tight cap is crucial to prevent beverage leakage
.

This user survey report from Sidel is quite a reference for bottle cap manufacturers.
One-piece caps have been a promising market for the European market in recent years, but how to design the front end more in line with practicality and safety As well as environmental protection and economic benefits, it is an issue worthy of in-depth discussion by the industry
.