Orkla Home and Personal Care launched D-PAK cartons that replace conventional fossil-based polyethylene with a blend of 10% post-consumer recycled PE and 90% bio-circular polymers derived from waste streams like used cooking oil, while maintaining performance identical to traditional packaging and compatibility with existing recycling systems.
- Material composition: D-PAK cartons use 10% post-consumer circular PE and 90% bio-circular polymers from biological waste and residue streams such as used cooking oil
- No equipment changes needed: The chemically identical polymers maintain comparable moisture resistance, sealing performance, and compatibility with laundry products, allowing manufacturers to use existing converting and filling equipment
- Recyclability maintained: Cartons are designed for established paper-based liquid packaging recycling streams in Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Denmark without requiring changes to collection or sorting processes
- Market success: Klar refill packs in D-PAK cartons sold out in record time with over 1,000 consumers joining waitlists, and the format now extends across Orkla brands including OMO and Comfort
- Future flexibility: Elopak indicates the ratio of recycled and bio-circular materials may evolve as material availability, regulatory requirements, and performance considerations develop
Orkla Home and Personal Care is rolling out a paperboard carton for liquid laundry and personal care products that replaces conventional fossil-based polyethylene coatings with a combination of recycled and renewable-content polymers. The D-PAK carton, supplied by Elopak and developed with Dow, uses 10% post-consumer circular PE and 90% bio-circular polymers attributed from biological waste and residue streams such as used cooking oil.
The carton is built around a responsibly sourced paperboard core with thin polymer coatings on both sides for liquid protection and heat sealing. Unlike many aseptic beverage cartons, the standard D-PAK structure doesn’t include an aluminum barrier because most home and personal care products don’t need protection from light and oxygen for long ambient shelf life. An EVOH barrier is included within the polymer layer.
Both polymer inputs are sourced through an ISCC PLUS-certified mass-balance system. That means recycled and bio-circular feedstocks enter a shared production system and are allocated to the carton through chain-of-custody accounting. Elopak says the approach doesn’t require the recycled or renewable material to be physically present in each individual carton, and the polymer specifications remain the same as those of conventional fossil-based PE.
“The current 10% circular, 90% bio-circular mix reflects an initial formulation designed to balance the use of recycled content with reduced reliance on fossil-based feedstocks,” said Emilie Olderskog, global head of sustainability at Elopak. The bio-circular portion comes from waste and residues rather than crops grown specifically for polymer production.
Elopak says the polymers are chemically identical to conventional PE, allowing the coating to maintain comparable moisture resistance, sealing performance, and compatibility with surfactant-based laundry products. Because the material performs like conventional PE, Orkla was able to make the change without modifying its existing converting or filling equipment.
The finished carton is designed for established paper-based liquid packaging recycling streams. During pulping, the paperboard fibers are separated for recovery, while the polymer fraction is removed and handled through downstream processes. Elopak says the switch to recycled and renewable PE has not changed how the cartons are collected, sorted, or recycled in Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Denmark.
Elopak began packaging Orkla Home and Personal Care products in D-PAK cartons in 2020, first using the format for Klar liquid soap and laundry detergent refill packs. According to Elopak, the refills sold out in record time, and more than 1,000 consumers joined an online waitlist. Use of the carton has since grown across Orkla Home and Personal Care’s portfolio, and the new material blend is now standard for D-PAK packages sold under the Klar, OMO, and Comfort brands.
As part of a 2026 Nordic redesign, Klar introduced three laundry detergents and three fabric softeners in D-PAK cartons at Normal, a Danish discount chain known for low-priced personal care, cleaning, household, and convenience products. The products are sold in Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Sweden, with the rollout marking the first introduction of both Klar and the D-PAK carton in Denmark.
Packaging World asked Orkla for additional information on how it evaluated the new material mix and its plans for the format, but the company was unable to provide more detail before publication.
Elopak reports that the ratio of recycled and bio-circular material in the package may change over time. “Going forward, the exact proportions are expected to evolve as material availability, regulatory requirements and performance considerations develop,” Olderskog said. PW
