Paboco makes the paper bottle interactive to encourage recycling

Packaging has more to offer than protecting and branding products. It can help reduce a product’s climate impact by offering a low carbon packaging with waste management instructions. With new IoT technologies we can engage, encourage,and instruct consumers how to recycle.

As a relevant sustainable packaging supplier, Paboco explores how to take the responsibility to ensure that the material put on the market is recycled and be transparent about the product’s life cycle. We see an opportunity to add additional value for our clients and brand owners by offering an end-to-end solution of a paper bottle with digital direct printing of labels including unit-level traceability already applied at the Paboco production facility.

Paboco has in partnership with recycl3R and Kezzler developed a recycling application concept. The three companies know each other by all being partly owned by the paper packaging material expert BillerudKorsnäs.

“It is great that we found a way to make use of our different expertise’s and collaborate to create value for the market towards circularity. Since Paboco wants to establish a totally new packaging type from scratch we explore the opportunity to already now implement a digital solution to target increased recycling and collect data to support decisions that can improve ours and our customers’ footprint on the environment.” says Gittan Schiöld, Interim CEO/CCO at Paboco.

The concept

For consumers - Consumers can scan the QR-code on the bottle to receive practical and local recycling information for this totally new packaging type. The application will give guidance on how and where to sort and recycle depending on the location of the consumer. It will also provide additional information about the packaging itself, sustainability footprint and insights about the product journey. In the future, the consumer will be able to collect rewards for their recycling actions.

“When you have a Paboco bottle in your hand, you realize the great power behind this new sustainable packaging. You experience being part of History, being part of these pioneers and frontrunner companies that looked at the future and presented something that will move us forward towards a more sustainable future. But as with every new packaging, we will face doubts as consumers on how to properly sort and recycle it. It has been a genuine honor and pleasure working with all the partners to present a powerful tool to help consumers understand the power of these bottles, their benefits to the environment and how can we all be part of this sustainable future as consumers and recyclers” says Iván Gonzalez, CEO at recycl3R.

recycl3R - Consumer engagement throughbetter recycling

For brand owners - Brands can track and trace products from creation to consumption, garnering deeper insights into the product journey and the entire product life cycle. Unit-level traceability presents many opportunities to greatly enhance supply chain visibility, in this case the focus is on collecting the recycling data with the goal to improve cycling levels, reduce the CO² footprint and change consumer behaviors in a positive direction. This solution also enables consumer engagement directly through the product which can act as a brand owned digital marketing channel.Reinforcing transparency with consumers through connected products enables brands to build trust, increase loyalty, and instantly reward consumers for their actions.

“We are proud to be part of the solution to a sustainable future. Working together with two innovative partners, we are able to create a brand new augmented product experience for a pioneering packaging solution. Brands have the chance to offer socially conscious consumers an alternative to plastic, glass and metal bottles while being at the forefront of the transformation towards sustainable bottle packaging. The recycling application allows brands to use every paper bottle as a direct channel to interact and communicate with end consumers. Providing easy, instant access to relevant information related to the sustainability footprint for the bottle in hand.Through a simple scan, consumers can experience the product journey of each individual product and find the closest recycling point to their location...” says Christine C. Akselsen, CEO Kezzler.

World-leading platform for productdigitization and traceability | Kezzler

Next step is to evaluate the potential and market interest even further and build up commitments to support investments in both hardware and software to make the recycling concept come true.

Paboco – the Paper Bottle Company
Paper bottle maker.
www.paboco.com
Recycl3R
Consumer engagement for better recycling.
www.recycl3r.com
Kezzler
Unit level traceability 
www.kezzler.com