At Roberts PolyPro, sustainability is a leading principle engrained in every part of our business. Each of our products, processes, and solutions are intentionally designed to minimize environmental impact.
From the raw materials that make up our products to the time our products are discarded by your end user, we strive to make greener choices through the entire product lifecycle for future generations and their well-being.
"When initially evaluating multipacking options, we performed an ecological impact analysis and concluded that the Roberts PolyPro ring was the best choice for the environment in comparison to competitor products. And that was over 20 years ago. Now that the Grip-Pak ring is 100% biodegradable, it’s truly a green package. It's a better product for the overall picture of our world."
–Steve Indrehus, Director of Operations, Tommyknocker Brewery
For your business, we know sustainability extends beyond your doors. The partners you choose to help you create your product have a big impact on your performance, reputation, and bottom line.
Our team strives for environmentally responsible, sustainable solutions that keep today’s recycling infrastructure at the forefront without negatively impacting product function or inflating product costs.
Sustainability Decades in the Making
Rolled out photodegradable LDPE (low density polyethylene) can rings.
Era of research and innovation – realized need for more sustainable multipacking products and worked on new product designs.
Introduced 100% recyclable HDPE (high density polyethylene) multipack bottle and can handles that use significantly less plastic than competitive options, setting new standard in eco-friendly packaging solutions.
Explored ways to optimize production and reduce environmental footprint; engineered energy efficiency into our production process.
Obtained 100% biodegradability certification for Grip-Pak™ LDPE can rings, spurring on our goal of waste elimination.
Target all products to be 100% biodegradable, solidifying our commitment to sustainability and the environment.
Sustainable Solutions At Our Core
Product Innovation & Design
Each of our products is innovatively designed with sustainability front of mind. Our LDPE and HDPE handles and multipack carriers are 100% recyclable* and designed with minimal plastic.
Our unique design and sheet extrusion process allows us to manufacture HDPE multipack can handles that use up to 30% less plastic and are up to 75% thinner than competitive injection molded products. This results in a leaner, less wasteful product and allows for more efficient shipping and storage.
Biodegradability
Our Grip-Pak product line is certified as 100% biodegradable. These low-density polyethylene (LDPE) can carriers completely decompose over time, produce fewer emissions, and create less waste, helping to reduce our overall carbon footprint.
This certification instills confidence in our customers and their end users — confidence that each partner with a hand in creating the end product and its packaging has done their part to protect the environment.
We’re working to ensure the same product performance certification will be awarded to our full product line by 2025, including Craft-Pak, our entire low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) handles for bottles and cans. Sign up for updates.
Manufacturing Process
For over 15 years, we have implemented lean manufacturing methodologies to reduce waste and improve line and machine utilization.
Any scrap material resulting from the creation of our plastic products is reused as post-industrial regrind (PIR). This enables a closed-loop manufacturing process, produces zero waste, lowers the amount of plastic being sent to landfills, and emits fewer transport emissions compared to the use of recycled plastics.
Since our regrind material has gone through an initial heat and molding process, it cannot be considered “virgin” material — and its performance remains unaffected. Plus, the efficiencies in our process help keep our costs down so we can pass on savings to our customers.
Shipping & Storage
Our products require as little as one-fourth the shipping and storage space of competitive products due to their unique design and use of less plastic.
This means more of our lighter parts can fit into a smaller space, translating to less gas used and ultimately fewer trucks to ship the products from our facility to yours. This also means less corrugated dunnage (scrap) after our products are pulled from their boxes for use with your products.
Product Discarding
Since our injection molded products are 100% HDPE, they can be recycled in most areas with plastic recycling programs. HDPE can be downcycled into plastic lumber, tables, roadside curbs, benches, truck cargo liners, trash receptacles, and other durable plastic products.
Similarly, as of January 2023, our Grip-Pak™ LDPE products are certified 100% biodegradable.
We collaborated with an independent agency to conduct laboratory testing under controlled conditions that replicate an urban landfill environment. This rigorous 28-week scientific test demonstrated that our Grip-Pak can rings completely biodegraded, without any false-positives or false-negatives.
As a result of this successful testing, we have received certification for the biodegradability of our Grip-Pak LDPE rings, bolstering our commitment to sustainability.
For more information on sustainable packaging, visit the Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC) website.
