Biofore Magazine 2020

By Craig Houston Background photo iStock Illustration Spoon Agency

HISTORY OF THE...

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UPM’s innovative BioVerno renewable naphtha, made from crude tall oil, a residue of pulp production, is key to making better containers. Not only does it eliminate the need for plastic in milk cartons, it could well set the trend for food and drink packaging around the world.

Tetra Pak Swedish entrepreneur Hans Rausing launches the Tetra Pak brand. Made using a groundbreaking combination of polyethylene and paperboard, the carton was much lighter and easy to both distribute and package.

Modern milk carton Arla Suomi announces that 40 million of its packages will become more environmentally friendly. This will be achieved by introducing a wood-based gable top paperboard carton for milk, which is recyclable with cardboard.

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Paper milk carton This carton was coated in wax to provide a waterproof layer, which replaced the less-than- desirable paraffin wax layer. Soon afterwards, polyethylene, the most common type of plastic used today, took over as the waterproofing material of choice.

Milk jug Made almost entirely of plastic, the plastic milk jug quickly became popular due to its lightweight design, mass production, low cost and increased sealant values. For decades, this was the acceptable face of milk.