Finnish dairy producer, Valio, is selling its products to consumers in carton packaging made entirely from plant-based materials from Tetra Pak in Finland from this week.
The package, Tetra Rex Bio-based, is manufactured solely from a combination of plastics derived from plants and paperboard.
Valio will trial the package with Valio Eila  lactose free semi-skimmed milk drink in retail outlets across Finland until mid March, and will then use feedback from consumers to decide whether to adopt the cartons more broadly across its chilled product range.
“Valio is committed to increasing the share of renewable resources in its packaging material. We share a common vision of innovation and environmental responsibility with Tetra Pak and we are proud to be the first in the world to make our products available in a fully renewable carton package,” says Elli Siltala, marketing director at Valio.
The products will be available in one-litre capacity Tetra Rex Bio-based packages, with a TwistCapT OSO 34 opening. They will be produced at Valio’s Jyväskylä dairy in Finland, using a standard Tetra Pak TR/28 filling machine.
In Tetra Rex Bio-based cartons, the low density polyethylene used to create the laminate film for the packaging material and the neck of the opening, together with the high density polyethylene used for the cap, are all derived from sugar cane.
These plastics, like the Forest Stewardship Council-certified paperboard, are traceable to their origins.
The Tetra Rex fully renewable package can be identified by the words “Bio-based” printed on the gable of the package.
