Package Design | packagedesignmag.com

(February 2005) posted on Tue Dec 08, 2009

By Carro Ford Weston

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Most people come across plastic closures in a dozen or more products every day without giving them much thought. In fact, some consumers still look negatively on anything “plastic,” but such purists would find their world a trifle more inconvenient and a lot more messy without these unsung little wonders of packaging.

Plastic closures are gaining ground in packaging for a number of reasons. They can be leak proof and break proof, and they offer ease of use both in removal from the bottle and in dispensing the contents. They are typically easier to open than their metal counterparts, and aesthetically, plastic closures offer opportunities for unique looks that metal closures can’t match.

Compared to other materials, another major advantage of plastic closures is design flexibility—everything from tamper-resistant bands to the hinge action of a flip-top. Cost is also very competitive, even with today’s high resin prices. The ability to introduce a variety of colors and a variety of finishes gives marketers many more options compared to alternatives.

As plastic closures acquire new features and production becomes more refined, markets for these products are expanding. As more packages move from metal and glass to various forms of plastic, a plastic closure is often required. They have penetrated all segments—from soft drinks and beer to hot fill food to antiseptic products.

The director of product development for Silgan Closures, Bill Thomas, won’t deny the numbers. Silgan Closures is a leading manufacturer metal, plastic, and composite closures for the vacuum packed foods market in North America. “For the vacuum closure market, the split of metal to plastic closures for 2000 was 66/34, with plastic growing to over 60 percent by 2005,” says Thomas. For the hot fill beverage market, plastic closures accounted for 56 percent of the usage in 2000, growing to almost 80 percent by 2005.”

The transition to plastic is driven also by strong consumer preferences for products that are lightweight, shatter-resistant, and easier to open. Safety is a concern, and child-resistant closures are required for more and more products such as petroleum distillates and other hazardous products—even baby oil.

The food market is the latest segment to adopt innovative plastic closures, although some would say it has lagged behind the beverage crowd. Many products historically presented in non-dispensing packages—like ketchup, mustard, jelly, peanut butter, and mayonnaise—now come in squeezable dispensing containers with plastic dispensing closures.