AptarGroup has launched its first fully recyclable mono-material pump for the beauty and personal care industries, called Future.

Certified and sustainable by design

To facilitate recycling, Future was designed using polyethylene (PE) mono-material only, and is certified by Cyclos-HTP, the institute for Recyclability and Product Responsibility. The innovation is also recognized “A” by RecyClass – a comprehensive cross-industry initiative that works to establish a harmonized recycling approach and traceability in Europe.

“Today we are pleased to launch our latest sustainable innovation, Future, a game-changing dispensing solution. Following more than two years of design, engineering and testing, I am very proud of our team’s mono-material design and it truly reflects our commitment to a more circular economy,” said Marc Prieur, president, Aptar Beauty + Home.

In developing the concept for Future, Aptar’s experts turned to recognized eco-design principles, which call for plastic dispensing products to be made from a mono-material to facilitate the recycling process. Traditional pumps may contain different materials, including metal components that can in some cases complicate the recycling process. Because the Future pump is made from PE only, it also aligns with the most common materials used to make bottles – PE and PET. Therefore, the complete packaging, including pump and bottle, are more easily recycled.

Christophe Marie, product sustainability director, Aptar, explains, “The ideal situation for the complete value chain is to have mono-material packaging where the container, the closure or dispensing system is made from the same material family. This was the big challenge our innovation team overcame with the development of Future.”