An Italian company, Taplast specialise in the design and production of closures and dispensing systems for products in the personal care & household detergent sectors.

In collaboration with Giovanni Dotelli, Associate Professor at the Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering “Giulio Natta” at Milan Polytechnic, a model has been developed specifically for the calculation of CO2 emissions produced by dispensing systems and this has been applied for the first time to dispenser pumps for liquid detergents.

The study, based on the LCA (Life Cycle Analysis) methodology and according to criteria set out in the ISO 14040 standard, was carried out in the later half of 2007 on two Taplast products that have identical performance but are made with two different design criteria : the Nautilus model 216 with a steel spring, and the pump model 229, that has a plastic bellows to provide the spring action instead of metal parts. The first model is comparable, as far as characteristics and performance are concerned, to the majority of pumps in this category marketed by all the pump producers. The Bellows model, on the other hand, is specific to Taplast and is part of the companies range of ‘All Plastic’ Pumps , protected by international patent, and which uses a moulded thermoplastic element, with the form of a bellows, to replace the usual metal spring.

The study, carried out by professor Dotelli from Milan Polytechnic, compares the two products with the objective of determining emissions of CO2 into the environment throughout entire lifecycle of these two products - from the raw materials used to the disposal means post consumption. Various outcomes are hypothesised, depending of the given scenario (i.e. incineration or recycling). The quantities emitted by the two systems, expressed in terms of “g CO2-eq”, are 53,4 g (1.884 ounces) for a traditional pump with metal spring and 47,3 g (1.668 ounces) for the plastic Bellows pumps.

A difference of 6,1 g per unit of product on a total of 53,4 g means an 11,5% reduction of CO2 emissions referred to this class of products in absolute terms.

But that does this mean in relative terms for the environment and for the market?

“If we multiply the result by 10 million units of the ‘All Plastic Pump’ product - that is to say the average annual quantity consumed by a leading branded product – explains Paolo Santagiuliana, Managing Director of the Italian company – this means a saving of 61 tons a year in terms of CO2 discharged into the air. We were even more surprised when we asked Santagiuliana to compare this result with the emissions and the ‘uptake’ of CO2 relating to both human activities and consumption as well as to compensatory mechanisms occurring in nature, such as carbon dioxide absorption by plants”: The saving obtained by the replacement of just 10 million units of traditional pumps with Taplast’s All Plastic Pump means a saving equivalent to the energy consumed for the functioning of a 100 watt tungsten lamp bulb for 1 million hours, or to the annual energy consumption of 34 families living in dwellings of 100 (m2)- 119,6 (yd2) (class A); or, in other terms, the saving corresponds tothe natural action of transformation of CO2 of a newly planted chestnut wood of 110 108 (m2) – 131 700 ( yd2).

In reality, the benefit produced at European level is much more significant in that since 1997 to the present day over 830 million All Plastic Pumps have been sold and as most of these replaced metal spring pumps on existing brands that means an overall reduction of 5 053 tons of CO2 in the period.

“We are now applying this method of calculation to all our products – explains Santagiuliana - The objective is to include the estimated calculation of CO2 emissions in the design phase of each new product and to introduce any corrective actions or solutions necessary to make our dispensers more sustainable”.With very promising intuitions … Taplast – specialised in dispensing systems is a partner supplier to leading multinationals in the FMCG sector, for personal care and household cleaning products.A family company founded in 1973, today with second generation management team headed up by the original founders sons, Taplast innovates by bringing together design, ergonomics, precision and environmental sensitivity. The innovation coherent with the product’s identity has allowed Taplast, since 1995 to win 11 awards for best product in international packaging and design competitions where it found itself up against some of the most important global companies in the packaging sector.

Sustainable development in the design phase (reduction of materials, components developed to be re-used and recycled) is the company’s mission. Compared to competitors offerings Taplasts products allow for a reduction in CO2 emissions into the environment throughout their lifecycle that spans from their production to their disposal. This is Taplasts contribution to a sustainable future.

From September 9th to the 11th, Taplast will be participating at the HBA Global Expo in New York. Stop by and visit them at booth number 1651.