Interpack highlights the push for lightweight beverage packaging

Traditional beverage formats, including PET bottles, glass, and cartons, are undergoing a significant technical evolution. Maximum material reduction, intelligent barrier functions, and improved recyclability now serve as the primary benchmarks for new packaging systems. This shift is highlighted at Interpack 2026, where international players demonstrate how regulatory requirements and sustainability targets influence machine and material design.

The lightweighting imperative
A central theme at the Dusseldorf showground is the "premium lightweight" approach. KHS presents the Premium Lite, a bottle designed for still water manufactured from 100% PET. The container weighs 6.2 g for a 0.25-l format. The design manages to maintain high-end aesthetics despite the minimal material usage, and it is specifically engineered for the rigours of high-speed production lines.

KHS also showcases the Supreme PET bottle, which incorporates Plasmax technology. This process applies a silicon oxide coating of less than 100 nm to the interior of the bottle. The glass-like barrier protects oxygen-sensitive beverages, such as premium green tea, from oxidation and extends shelf life. During the alkaline recycling process, the thin glass layer is removed without contaminating the PET stream, ensuring the bottle remains fully recyclable.

Innovations in label recyclability
Beyond the primary container, the recyclability of secondary components takes centre stage at Interpack. CCL Label focuses on circular economy solutions that integrate with industrial recycling systems. The company utilises its EcoFloat polyolefin shrink-sleeve solution, which enables the near-complete removal of self-adhesive film labels during the recycling process.

In the sink-float separation process common in PET recycling, the sleeve material floats while the PET flakes sink. This physical separability is essential for achieving high-quality bottle-to-bottle recycling. Furthermore, CCL introduces the Ecoshear adhesive technology. This development improves the recyclability of one-way glass bottles by facilitating cleaner label removal during the washing phase.

Adhesives for high-speed efficiency
The demand for high-performance materials continues with Henkel Adhesive Technologies. The company introduces a new mineral-oil-free hot-melt adhesive that is up to 98% removable during the recycling process. These residues are separated from the material stream alongside label remnants, preventing contamination of the recycled feedstock.

The hot-melt adhesive is designed for both paper and plastic labels, maintaining a bond at speeds of up to 40,000-bph. It operates at a low processing temperature of 110°C to 140°C, which reduces energy consumption and equipment wear while increasing operational safety on the factory floor.