Two unique and innovative winners of the recent round of the Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) Awards are examples of re-designing packaging with the end in mind – TetherSafe cap and Blueberry Punnet with wood-pulp film.
By Author Nerida Kelton FAIP, Executive Director AIP – Vice President Sustainability & Save Food – WPO
With packaging design changing at such a rapid pace, impending federal government regulations, and extended producer responsibility (EPR) programs coming, now is the time to stop and look at the way businesses design its packaging. The next couple of years should be used to re-design packaging with the end in mind, to consider the true recyclability of all components, to build in as much recycled content as possible and to review the environmental impact of the packaging that companies put out to market.
Right now, we are seeing a shift in mindsets in the industry with the way they design packaging. Materials are evolving, alternative packaging and material choices are being made, and there is a new perspective on what sustainable packaging design should really look like. Packaging can no longer just be fit-for-purpose and functional, it also needs to be recyclable in the country that it is sold in and offer the lowest environmental impact.
Two unique and innovative winners of the recent round of the Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) Awards are examples of re-designing packaging with the end in mind. Both are category-first designs for the region.
Tethered caps arrive in Australia
The TetherSafe cap by Caps & Closures is an innovative, sustainable packaging solution that combines functionality with regulatory compliance. It features a tethered cap mechanism and advanced materials, making it suitable for diverse industries such as food and beverage, health and wellness, beauty, and household products.
The TetherSafe is an Australian-first new generation of tamper-evident (TE) caps that transforms regulatory compliance into an opportunity to deliver sustainability, safety, and everyday ease of use. Developed by Australian family-owned business Caps & Closures, TetherSafe enhances performance by integrating a tether between the cap and the TE band. This small innovation helps reduce litter, supports the recycling of caps, and ensures an improved and secure user experience.
Rather than using a hinged design, TetherSafe keeps the cap connected to the container through a secure tethered band after opening. This design eliminates the possibility of cap separation while maintaining resealability, cleanliness, and control during use. It answers the growing demand for closures that comply with environmental directives, including the EU Single-Use Plastics Directive and the Packaging & Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), without disrupting the consumer experience.
Made from mono-material polypropylene, TetherSafe is lightweight, durable, and recyclable. The one-piece construction supports closed-loop recovery by eliminating mixed materials and loose components. The TE band provides a clear visual indication of first opening, building trust and reassurance with every use.
From a user perspective, the TetherSafe cap has also been designed with accessibility and inclusivity in mind. The ribbed outer surface offers a firm and comfortable grip for people of all ages and abilities, helping to reduce strain and support independent use. The tethered connection ensures the cap stays attached to the bottle, reducing the risk of contamination, spills, or misplacement in both domestic and healthcare settings. Whether the product is opened by a parent, patient, child, or carer.
This closure does more than protect products. It supports sustainable behaviour, simplifies recycling, and provides an accessible experience that welcomes all users.
Category-first Blueberry Punnet with wood-pulp film
Opal have designed a category-first, paper-based fresh produce punnet with a renewable cellulose window that is manufactured in Australia, is kerbside recyclable, meets pulpability standards for recycling, and incorporates locally sourced recycled content into the pack.
The punnet is offered as an alternative to a traditional PET punnet and was designed for Mountain Blue and Coles supermarkets to offer the first retail paper-based blueberry punnet in Australia. These types of punnets are a viable alternative to single-use plastic and are easy for consumers to dispose of in kerbside recycling bins in their home.
The additional feature that makes this pack unique is that it includes a transparent film window that has been made from renewable wood pulp, which is a cellulose fibre renewable film. The folding lid and re-seal function, paired with the fibre cellulose window, is a new innovation in paper-based punnet packaging for the Australian market.
The window enables the punnet to be re-sealed for food safety, food waste management and product visibility; all the while being recyclable through the paper stream in Australia. The cellulose window provides both barrier protection and visibility of the punnet’s blueberry contents and does not need to be separated when disposing of the punnets in kerbside recycling bins.
The punnets are lightweight and are designed to not only withstand the transportation and logistics required for fresh produce distribution, but also ensures that the blueberries maintain freshness, shelf life and are not damaged across the value chain.
The punnet improves performance with a hinged lid that allows optimal emptying to reduce product capture and food waste, reveals the full contents to the customer, and includes a re-seal function for repeat use.
Opal will work with brands that are wanting to shift to paper-based alternatives to ensure that there is an ease of moving from plastic punnet packing lines to cardboard punnet packing lines. This enables brands to have a smoother transition in their packing lines.
Caps & Closures and Opal have one thing in common – both companies have embedded the Sustainable Packaging Design Guidelines into their new packaging solutions. They have carefully researched alternatives to existing designs on the market and have re-designed legacy packaging to be new, unique and first-to-market.
The AIP would encourage all brands to keep moving forward, to not slow down and to ensure that they are designing to be recycle-ready for the regulations that are coming.
Businesses that follow the Sustainable Packaging Design Guidelines, makes sure that all packaging maximises recyclability, eliminates chemicals of concern, incorporates recycled content wherever possible, will be well on its way for when EPR arrives in Australia. The AIP have the qualified technical packaging experts available for guidance, to work through re-design and to help businesses prepare for the eco-design and eco-modulation regulations that will be here before food and beverage businesses know it.