Reducing the amount of plastic litter is badly needed, because the negative effects on the environment are great. This also applies to single-use plastic products. Under the EU Directive 2019/904, drinks may in the future only be sold in plastic packaging if the cap remains attached to the containers. This has major consequences for the producers in the beverage industry who can experience problems with their cap inspection machines.
EU Directive 2019/904
For producers, this directive means that the plastic containers must be adapted to a variant in which the caps or lids are attached to the containers. This adjustment has major consequences for the entire production line. Think of all machines that are integrated in the line. This also applies to the control and inspection machines that inspect the products for food safety.
Control and inspection
For many control and inspection systems, after adjusting the plastic containers, applies that they cannot immediately inspect the products without adjustments. Most systems are not even able to monitor these new products at all.
The government’s hard deadline makes it clear that manufacturers cannot postpone their decision until the last minute. Making new molds and retrofitting and rebuilding old molds takes a lot of time. All stakeholders must make the switch at the same time, although for many it remains to be seen which variant will eventually become dominant. With every month that goes by without a solution, it becomes less likely that European markets will be able to switch in time.
Control and inspection systems of Antares Vision successful
The cap inspection systems of Antares Vision Group, formerly known as FT System, have now been extensively and successfully tested with the new caps. We recently completed a successful implementation of these machines at Coca-Cola.
