EcoCore PP Cups Drive Zero‑Waste Success at COP26

For the past four years, we have highlighted Bockatech’s patented EcoCore foam‑core technology, a lightweight, reusable packaging solution that has partnered with Austria’s Borealis (U.S. office in Port Murray, N.J.) and Westfall Technik Inc., a global holding company supplying advanced plastics manufacturing to the healthcare, packaging, and consumer goods sectors. This licensing arrangement enables Westfall to introduce EcoCore to U.S. prospects, with the potential to expand into toolmaking and mass production for select applications.

Free, reusable and recyclable cups produced with Bockatech’s EcoCore manufacturing process earned recognition at the 2021 U.N. Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, commonly known as COP26. EcoCore fabricates polypropylene (PP) packaging featuring a skin‑foam‑skin wall in seconds—dramatically cutting material use, cycle times, and costs while boosting strength and thermal performance. The patented “form‑controlled free expansion” (FCFE) technology, refined over many years, enables significant density reductions without compromising structural integrity.

Unlike conventional foam‑molding, EcoCore delivers cycle times below ten seconds and density reductions of up to 70%. The process requires only minor design modifications and is compatible with existing injection‑molding machines, using either chemical or physical blowing agents.

The distinctive blue‑and‑white reusable “Zero‑Waste” cups were deployed by Levy, the food‑service arm of Compass Group, across the Scottish Event Campus. Crafted from Borealis PP and fitted with PP lids, the entire container remains mono‑material, simplifying end‑of‑life recycling.

After use, participants returned the cups to dedicated collection bins. They are then cleaned in a Winterhalter wash system and ready for reuse, ensuring minimal contamination and preserving material quality.

Over the two‑week conference, the reusables are projected to replace up to 250,000 single‑use cups. Compared to popular single‑use dual‑wall lined polyethylene or compostable paper cups, EcoCore reusables cut CO₂ equivalents by 20–30 % after just two uses and achieve an 80–85 % reduction after 30 uses. Even a single double use halves the risk of littering land and sea, while thirty uses cut that risk by a factor of thirty.

“We’re thrilled to see our Greentech in action with global leaders. By delivering low‑cost, durable cups, EcoCore empowers food‑service brands to adopt reusables in a way that meets both business and customer needs,” said Bockatech CEO Henri Gaskjenn. “The experience at COP26 demonstrates the practical viability of widespread reusable solutions.”

The 250 ml and 430 ml COP26 cups were manufactured by MikoPac, a division of Paccor. While the event cups were unbranded, the platform supports full‑color PP in‑mold labels (IML), maintaining a mono‑material construction that facilitates easy recycling.