Airtight boxes
A new way of assembling boxes, combined with new coatings for cardboard, will make cardboard boxes airtight for the first time. This would be an end for the crinkly paper bags that nestle inside cereal boxes. Rob King of Crystal Openings of Faversham, Kent, UK, predicts that the first airtight cardboard boxes will be on British supermarket shelves early next year. The doing away with the bag makes room for between 10 to 30 per cent more cereal in each box. The secret of the design lies in lightweight paper patches glued to the inside of the box at each end, where the slits and folds are made to form the base and lid.