Amcor wins two WorldStar 2026 awards for recycle-ready cheese packaging

SWITZERLAND – Amcor has secured two WorldStar Global Packaging Awards 2026 for its AmPrima recycle-ready packaging developed for shredded cheese applications.

The honours, presented by the World Packaging Organization, recognize the solution in both the Food and Packaging Materials and Components categories.

The award-winning structure replaces traditional multi-material laminates – often incorporating PET or PVDC – with a mono-material polyethylene film engineered to meet recyclability requirements without compromising performance.

Designed to comply with Australasian soft plastics recycling standards, the packaging is approved to carry the “Check Locally” logo under the Australasian Recycling Label (ARL) program.

The updated pack is now on shelf in Australia under the Perfect Italiano brand.

Shredded cheese packaging is widely regarded as one of the more technically demanding flexible formats, requiring high oxygen and moisture barriers, strong seal integrity, grease resistance and compatibility with high-speed filling lines.

Historically, these requirements have led to complex, non-recyclable multi-layer constructions.

Phil Van Houts, R&D Director ANZ, Amcor Flexibles Asia Pacific, said AmPrima delivers a simplified, recycle-ready alternative while maintaining pack integrity, visual appeal and food-grade compliance.

The solution was previously awarded Silver at the 2025 Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design Awards (PIDA), qualifying it for entry into the WorldStar competition.

The development was carried out collaboratively by Amcor’s Asia Pacific and North American technical teams.

More recently, the company partnered with Fonterra to roll out AmPrima recycle-ready film across its shredded cheese portfolio in Oceania, spanning both retail and foodservice channels.

According to Fonterra Oceania sustainability general manager Rosie Cotter, the transition is expected to remove approximately 270 tonnes of non-recyclable material from the Australian market annually.

She said the move supports improved post-consumer recyclability while maintaining the product protection standards required in dairy applications.

The new packs feature the ARL “Check Locally” logo, offering clearer disposal guidance as soft plastics collection systems are progressively re-established across Australia.

The ARL program has become a central mechanism for improving on-pack recycling transparency and aligning packaging design with evolving national recycling infrastructure.

Amcor’s latest recognition underscores the accelerating shift toward mono-material flexible packaging solutions as global brands seek to balance recyclability targets with high-performance food protection requirements.

To receive our email newsletters with the latest news and insights from Africa, the Middle East and around the world, SUBSCRIBE HERE.