Carlsberg developing paper beer bottle prototype

Danish brewer Carlsberg has announced plans to develop a paper beer bottle made from sustainably-sourced wood fibres.

The Copenhagen-based company unveiled two prototypes that it said are "fully recyclable and have an inner barrier to allow the bottles to contain beer".

The inside barriers are made of polymers but Carlsberg said it is trying to create a bottle made entirely of bio-materials, without polymers.

The prototypes are part of the company's efforts to have zero-carbon emissions at its breweries and reduce by 30% the carbon footprint across its value chain by 2030.

There are two separate prototypes. Credit: Carlsberg

Myriam Shingleton, Vice President Group Development at Carlsberg Group, said: “We continue to innovate across all our packaging formats, and we are pleased with the progress we’ve made on the Green Fibre Bottle so far.

"While we are not completely there yet, the two prototypes are an important step towards realising our ultimate ambition of bringing this breakthrough to market. Innovation takes time and we will continue to collaborate with leading experts in order to overcome remaining technical challenges, just as we did with our plastic-reducing Snap Pack.”

The brewer said it will join forces with Coca-Cola, Swedish vodka maker Absolut, and make-up group L'Oreal to develop paper bottles.