Packaging Strategies has reported extensively on innovations in caps and closures in recent months. Perhaps most astonishing — aside from the innovations themselves — is that each of them is uniquely different as far the materials utilized, the applications, and the specific benefits being touted.

Take, for instance, Blue Ocean Closures, which has introduced a cellulose fiber cap that it describes as “recyclable as paper.” Blue Ocean Closures has found a great partner in nutritional supplements producer Great Earth, which is using the fiber screw cap to reduce its plastic use by 2.6 tons a year.

Then there is SnapSlide, LLC, which has introduced a line of no-torque, child-resistant caps for pharmaceutical products that allows for single-handed opening and closing for anybody who might have physical limitations. Packaging Strategies received samples of pharmaceutical vials featuring these caps, and they are the real deal. Adults really can open them easily with one hand.

In the distinctly different category of closures for wine and spirits, Amcor Capsules has introduced more than 90% recycled tin into its premium tin capsules and sparkling foils range. Amcor Capsules remains at the forefront of innovation in the wine and spirits market by introducing tin capsules with an unprecedented level of recycled content sourced from Europe, including recycled tin from end-of-life products such as car radiators and ship propellers.

Finally, it’s not surprising that many consumers like to control the flow of, say, ketchup from the bottle. Aptar Closures, an industry leader in flow control dispensing solutions for over 25 years, has one-upped themselves by offering a line of fully recyclable flow control dispensing solutions for a wide range of products.

Learn more about these exciting new developments in caps and closures on the following pages.