Cutting plastic from craft beer packaging

Start with an inventory

Before you replace anything, list every plastic item that leaves the brewery with your beer. Note how much of each you buy in a year. Typical items include shrink film around multipacks, plastic ring carriers, stretch wrap around pallets, plastic tape on cartons, keg caps, plastic growlers, labels on plastic film and packing material for online orders.

Weigh a sample of each. Multiply by annual use. Most breweries find that one or two items make up most of the weight, often pallet stretch wrap and multipack film. Those are where effort pays back first.

Multipacks: film, rings or paperboard

Four-packs and six-packs of cans are often held together by shrink film or by rigid plastic carriers that clip onto the can tops. Paperboard alternatives include wraparound sleeves, fully enclosed cartons and clip-style paperboard carriers. Each needs different packaging equipment or manual labour. Each also has a different cost per unit.

Test any alternative in Indian conditions before switching. Paperboard that is fine in a dry warehouse can soften in a humid monsoon cold room, where condensation forms on cold cans. Ask suppliers for wet strength grades and run a trial batch through your real cold chain before committing.

Pallet wrap and secondary packaging

Stretch wrap holds pallets together on trucks. You cannot drop it without another way to stabilise loads, but you can cut how much you use. Pre-stretched film uses less material for the same hold. A simple wrapping routine with a set number of turns, written on the wall, often cuts use noticeably compared with wrapping until it looks secure.

Paper tape can replace plastic tape on cartons. Returnable plastic crates for local deliveries to bars can replace single-use cartons altogether. They are plastic too, but a crate used hundreds of times carries far less plastic per delivery than a carton used once.

Kegs, growlers and refills

Returnable stainless steel kegs last for decades and carry no single-use plastic beyond the cap. One-way plastic kegs are convenient for distant or export customers, but each one is a large piece of plastic used once. Our guide to kegs versus cans for a brewery business sets out the trade-offs. Our guide on keg deposits shows how to get steel kegs back.

For takeaway, refillable glass or steel growlers beat single-use PET. Check your state's rules on takeaway sales and refills first. Our guide to takeaway beer rules in India covers the basics.

Know the rules that already apply

India banned a list of identified single-use plastic items, including straws, cutlery and stirrers, from July 2022. A taproom that still hands out plastic straws or stirrers needs to stop. Brand owners that put plastic packaging on the market may also have extended producer responsibility (EPR) obligations under India's plastic waste rules, including registration and arranging collection or recycling. Whether and how these apply to your brewery depends on your packaging and volumes. Check the current rules on the Central Pollution Control Board portal or with a compliance adviser.

Claim only what you can show

When you cut plastic, say so honestly and specifically. "We replaced shrink film on our four-packs with paperboard sleeves" is a claim you can stand behind. "Plastic-free beer" probably is not, because cans carry an internal coating and crowns carry a liner. Vague green claims invite scrutiny. Our guide to honest sustainability claims on beer packs sets out how to word them.

Changing packaging touches cost, equipment, suppliers and marketing at once. Seeing the full effect on your cost per case before you switch is the difference between a sustainable change and an expensive one you quietly reverse.

Count the cost per case

Every change shows up in cost per case. Paperboard carriers can cost more per unit than film. A new carrier may need a change part on the packaging line or extra hands on packaging days. Returnable crates need a deposit system and someone to chase empties. Write each option out per case, including labour and equipment, before you pick one.

Some changes save money. Using less stretch wrap per pallet is cheaper as well as lighter. Dropping a decorative plastic insert that nobody misses is pure saving. Do those first. They build the habit and fund the harder changes.

Talk to your biggest customers too. Bars and retailers that sell your beer may have their own plastic targets and may prefer a pack that helps them meet them.

Your first step

Walk through your packaging area this week and list every plastic item you buy, with last year's quantities from your purchase records. Weigh one of each. The item at the top of the list by total weight is your first project.

Common questions

What is the biggest source of plastic in craft beer packaging?

It varies, but pallet stretch wrap and multipack shrink film or ring carriers are often the largest by weight. Measure your own to be sure.

Are paperboard can carriers suitable for Indian conditions?

They can be, but test them in your real cold chain first. Humidity and condensation can weaken paperboard that is not made for wet conditions.

Can I call my beer plastic-free?

Usually not accurately, because cans have an internal coating and crown caps have a liner. Make specific claims about what you changed instead.