Containers from surplus material

Plastic containers for the pharmaceutical and dietary supplements industries are produced using blow molding. This process is more sensitive and harder to control than traditional injection molding, which means the production of containers generates slightly more surplus material. For this reason, Nolato has started a project to assess the possibility of using such material in the production of our standard containers instead of selling it for use in the production of plant pots and door panels.

“The surplus material is mostly what is automatically screened out from in-­line systems that monitor each individual product for visual flaws such as oxidized material, thin sections, etc.,” explains Jonas Henriksson, Project Manager at Nolato Cerbo.

“We’re now seeing promising results, with the ability to produce our standard containers from raw material consisting of up to 100 percent of this material,” says Jonas. “But because it’s complex maintaining complete traceability, which is what the pharmaceutical industry requires us to have, the most appropriate use for these containers at the moment is for dietary supplements.”