PRESS RELEASE

Now Carlsberg Sweden is introducing a new design on the PET bottles' plastic caps, which means that the caps will stick to the bottle after opening. The adjustment is made within the framework of the EU's Single-Use Plastics Directive, which comes into force in 2024. All caps on all PET bottles will have the new design.

First to use the new fixed cork are selected flavors and formats of Pepsi, Ramlösa and Apotekarnes Julmust, which will be rolled out with the new cork design during a test period from September to December. Starting in early 2024, we will convert the entire beverage portfolio to the new design. After 3 July 2024, only PET bottles with tight-fitting caps may be sold on the Swedish market, as well as on other markets within the EU.

- With the new tight-fitting cap, we hope that all caps will remain in place when the PET bottle is fitted. In this way, the new cork design can contribute to less littering in nature and increased recycling. Every PET bottle and cork that is collected contributes to reducing the packaging's climate footprint and that we can achieve an even higher degree of circularity of the material, i.e. that a collected PET bottle becomes a new PET bottle, says Anna Anderberg, Head of Sustainability, Carlsberg Sweden.

This is how the stuck cork works

The new design means that the cork remains attached to the bottle even after opening. It should not be removed, but should remain while you drink from the bottle and then be screwed back on when the bottle fits. Snap-on caps make it easier to collect and recycle the entire bottle once it's been drunk. Carlsberg Sweden's PET bottles, as well as the corks, have been 100 percent recyclable for several years.

The Swedes are good at pawning

The Swedes are very good at pawning their PET bottles. In 2022, Returpack collected and recycled 86.7% of all PET bottles sold on the Swedish market.* The cork remained on approx. 9 out of 10 PET bottles, so some corks end up outside the return system today.

- Carlsberg Sweden has a high proportion of recycled material in our PET bottles. We are proud of the high collection rate we have for both PET and cans in Sweden and want to contribute so that it increases further. The new cork design will help us to have an even more sustainable packaging portfolio, concludes Anna Anderberg.

*Returpack is responsible for the Swedish return system for the collection and recycling of PET and aluminum cans. In 2022, Swedes pledged over 2.6 billion cans and bottles. This gives a recycling rate of 87.4% (cans: 87.8% and PET bottles: 86.7%. Facts from Returpack.)

Carlsberg Sweden

We are Brewing for a Better Today & Tomorrow

Carlsberg Sweden is, with more than 50 strong brands, Sweden's leading beverage company. We develop, manufacture, distribute, market and sell beer, cider, mineral water and soft drinks. Some of our well-known and popular brands are Falcon, Carlsberg, Eriksberg, Ramlösa, Somersby and Pepsi. Carlsberg Sweden's success is a combination of strong local and international brands, brewing tradition and sustainable business that stretches back more than 300 years. By being innovative, we drive the development of Swedish drinking culture, while at the same time protecting tradition, craftsmanship, high quality and sustainability. Read more about Carlsberg Sweden and our sustainability work Together Towards Zero.