Guala Closures develops eco-design guidelines

Italian closures company Guala has developed a set of eco-friendly design guidelines which will be applied across its five research and development centres around the world.

The four main principles will inform product development and will ensure Guala’s closures are more environmentally friendly.

The first principle is ‘design to reduce’, the idea that the design must eliminate “anything that is not necessary”. ‘Design to change’ sees the company adopt recycled materials or those made from renewable sources for its closures. ‘Design to fade’ stipulates a switch to using biodegradable polymers and “few, easily removable components”. Finally, ‘design to revive’ is achieved by being able to recover and recycle the materials used in the closures.

Later this year, the company intends to launch a new range of sustainable closures for wine, spirits and other drinks which will meet at least one of its four new design principles.

Guala said the news is a “major step” in its development of sustainable packaging. The company has set itself the goal of using 35% of recycled materials in its products by 2025.

Fulvio Bosano, research and development director of the Guala Closures group, said: “These guidelines are a very big step towards providing our customers with products which meet their requirements on performance, quality and sustainable performance. They can be guaranteed Guala Closures has looked at every aspect in the development of the best closure for their needs.”

Guala’s first sustainable closure, Greencap, was launched a few years ago, and allows for the “safe separation of aluminium and glass after use”. It has also developed a closure for Tequila using a bio-based resin made from 30% agave fibres sourced from distilling waste. Its UK development centre recently created a t-bar closure from 100% recycled ABS plastic with agglomerated cork.

Sustainability director, Maurizio Mittino, added: “Guala Closures’ own CSR commitment is at the core of its future development plans. We recognise the need for a common strategy which will provide certainty and clarity to our customers. These guidelines help us to achieve this.”