Ross Murdoch, Chief Sustainability Officer at Meadow, is a dedicated sustainability leader with over a decade of experience addressing social and environmental challenges. Renowned for his commitment to reducing single-use waste, Ross brings deep expertise in circular economy principles and sustainable consumption practices.
In the e-Magazine “Advanced Industrial Technologies in the Aluminium Industry”, Ross Murdoch shares valuable insights into how Meadow is leveraging sustainable innovation to reduce aluminium packaging waste. He discusses the company’s approach to circular design, the elimination of unnecessary materials, and how consumer behaviour change is central to advancing a more responsible aluminium packaging ecosystem.
AL Circle: How does Meadow’s technology redefine the traditional beverage can, and what specific engineering innovation sets the MEADOW KAPSUL™ apart from standard aluminium packaging solutions?
Ross Murdoch: The MEADOW KAPSUL™ transforms the traditional beverage can into a prefilled cartridge by modifying the can end, fitted with a proprietary twist-to-open mechanism, replacing the standard pull-tab with a resealable, easy-to-use solution ideal for personal care, wellness, and household products. Meadow offers this innovation as a technology for adoption, readily available to be licensed by brands to suit their idiosyncratic needs. Meadow is fundamentally optimising what is existent in the manufacturing and recycling infrastructure, with the MEADOW KAPSUL™ end, engineered in partnership with DRT Holdings, redefining the can end to allow for controlled dispensing and reuse. Ultimately, this innovation extends the life and application of the world’s most recycled container, enabling circularity at scale and new industry use cases without sacrificing convenience or consumer experience.
AL Circle: Sustainability is central to your mission. How does the MEADOW KAPSUL™’s 94 per cent recycled content and reduced raw material usage translate into quantifiable environmental benefits across the product’s lifecycle?
Ross Murdoch: It is worth clarifying that it is possible to have 94 per cent recycled content per MEADOW KAPSUL™ by working with responsibly sourced cans, yet the MEADOW KAPSUL™ itself is not made with 94 per cent recycled aluminium. Since it eliminates the pull tab, however, it drastically reduces waste, which, when married with the knowledge that recycled aluminium uses 95 per cent less energy than primary production, translates to a significantly lower carbon footprint per unit across the product’s lifecycle.
AL Circle: With aluminium being a critical enabler of the circular economy, what role does recycled aluminium play in Meadow’s scaling plans, and how do you ensure consistent sourcing and supply chain integrity?
Ross Murdoch: Recycled aluminium is critical to Meadow’s growth strategy. As a material that retains its properties indefinitely, aluminium is uniquely suited for circular use and Meadow capitalises on this by prioritising high-quality, consistent suppliers such as Novelis. By working with partners such as Novelis, Meadow maintains a steady supply of low-carbon, recycled material at scale. Not only is this environmentally strengthening, but it also bolsters supply chain resilience, which is vital in the current climate of ever-changing tariff policy. With the aforementioned production models, Meadow is ensuring that sustainability and scalability are not mutually exclusive.
To explore the full interview and gain deeper insights into sustainable aluminium packaging, click here.
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