Printing Innovation Asia Issue 7 2020
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Sustainable Packagin When it comes to addressing the plastic pollution issue in packaging, paper and bioplastics are two materials that often gets discussed. We scope out some of the latest sustainable packaging materials to have come out of Asia’s world of packaging in recent times. Toppan develops paper-based tube-pouch Paper-based material for body of easy to squeeze tube-shaped pouch further reduces plastic volume. Toppan Printing (Toppan), has developed the paper tube-pouch, a new paper-based version of the existing tube-pouch, which is shaped like a tube and easy to squeeze like a pouch. The paper tube-pouch is ideal for use in the food, toiletry, and pharmaceutical sectors, and full-scale sales are scheduled to be launched in Japan in fiscal 2020. Due to the use of thinner film material, the conventional tube-pouch is easier to squeeze and uses 30% less plastic than the type of laminated tube widely used for toothpaste. The new paper tube-pouch maintains the tube-pouch’s functionality while demonstrating even better environmental performance by employing a paper-based material for the body, making possible a 50% reduction in plastic volume according to Toppan.
Coupled with a redesign of the plastic parts of the head section, this enables plastic to be reduced by a total of 65%. Although plastic has been replaced with paper, the tube-pouch still maintains its shape even when the volume of content inside decreases, and the use of Toppan’s proprietary GL BARRIER film on the inner surface ensures the world-class and complete barrier performance required for such items as food and cosmetics. Pinyapel – the sustainable pineapple paper from the Philippines Made from discarded pineapple leaves, Pinyapel is food-safe, naturally waterresistant and 100% biodegradable, making it a viable packaging option. Developed by the Design Center of the Philippines, Pinyapel is a specialty paper that is processed and manufactured from the locally sourced pineapple leaves. The Philippines is the second largest pineapple producer in the world, and Pinyapel is made from the discarded leaves of its plants.
Pinyapel is reinforced and print-ready for packaging applications. The specialty paper can be used to make a number of products from paper shopping bags to coffee cups, most of which in the market are lined with plastic to make them water resistant. Pinyapel requires no extra plastic film layer, as pineapple leaves are naturally water-resistant. Pinyapel-made packaging can be in direct contact with food, making them a feasible alternative for food packaging. Pinyapel is 100% biodegradable. It can also decompose faster than other paper products. According to tests by the Design Center of the Philippines, Pinyapel reached about 55% mass loss in four weeks, much higher than the 21% mass loss in commercial paper bags. The innovation won the 2019 Wood Pencil award by the UK-based charity D&AD Future Impact for sustainability. It is also the Philippines’ first award for the category. Seaweed is the new Plastic Based in Jakarta, Indonesian company Evoware uses seaweed as an alternative material to plastic. Their seaweed-
