ill re ased pa a in de el p ilst t e rld still suffers from plastic paranoia?

How will fibre-based packaging develop whilst the world still suffers from plastic paranoia?

Article by Paul Jenkins, Managing Director, ThePackHub

The packaging industry The packaging industry permanently changed around three permanently changed years ago. The Blue Planet 2 programme shown worldaround three years ago. Blue Planet 2 has been wide presented by the excellent David Attenborough painted an ugly picture. He described how our oceans are being filled ith literally millions of tonnes of plastic aste. he haunwidely acknowledged as ting scenes of sea life trying to e tricate themselves from aste starting a domino effect, plastic left an indelible mar on our memories and created a starting a series of events grounds ell of action from everyone involved in pac aging. that has changed how we all feel about plastic Blue Planet 2 has been widely acknowledged as starting a domipackaging. no effect, starting a series of events that has changed ho e all feel about plastic pac aging. f course, the environment has al ays been of consideration for the ma ority of brand o ners and retailers. o ever, rather than being a nice to have , sustainability is no an essential top priority for anyone that ants to sell a successful product. he Blue lanet effect sa supermar et plastic bans, plastic free aisle trials, plastic ta plans, the outla ing of many single use plastic items as ell as the founding of lastic acts around the orld. his has seen many of the leading brand o ners, retailers and suppliers around the orld pledge to ma e their pac aging recyclable, reusable or compostable by .

lastic pac aging is no under increased pressure and scrutiny. he rene ed focus on the environment and devastation of our oceans, is really all about plastic. any organisations have put strategies in place to reduce or remove plastic from their supply chains. ther materials such as aluminium and glass as ell as, of course, fibre based pac aging are no often the preferred alternative. his means that e are trac ing many ne initiatives in he ac ub s nnovation one database of pac aging innovations that are fibre based and a direct replacement for plastic.

assachusetts based arpa A has announced the launch of a new paper-based packaging technology. uch of today s multi layered and material packaging cannot be reprocessed with existing recycling systems. The ongoing drive for mono material and paper based solutions is high on food pac aging suppliers development agendas. arpa A is advancing . on-

dini s line of aper eal trays as a sustainable alternative to plastic trays. he concept is the outcome of a collaboration bet een . ondini and raphic ac aging nternational and has already had launches in Europe and Asia. Trays are produced with renewable fibre sourced from sustainably managed forests. ach tray utili es paperboard and film, depending on tray dimensions limiting base tray aste to ust an industry lo . n addition, the tray film liner is easily separated from the paperboard after use to simplify recycling. A one piece ange design ma es sealing surface strength e ual to traditional plastic trays. he trays can be stac ed at to improve logistics efficiencies. he tray can deliver up to days of shelf life. t is suitable for a ide range of applications including cheese, meat, ready made meals, fro en foods, snac s, salad and fruit.

lastic foam containers for eeping food and drin cool for outdoor occasions are increasingly being replaced with other materials. eading pac aging, paper and recycling leaders mith is part of this change ith an announcement that it has produced a recyclable disposable cooler. The solution incorporates the packaging group s proprietary moisture resistant and food contact safe reencoat corrugated material. reencoat is made of rene able paper fibre and is biodegradable. he initiative is fully recyclable as ell as lea proof. mith s reencoat coolers offer fully bespo e and customi able printing. he paper based and recyclable option is suitable in those environments here food and beverage contents need to stay cold. mith s durable reencoat cooler is a good foam replacement.

ultinational distribution and outsourcing company Bun l etail and ndustry is or ing on reducing the environmental impact of packaging via a switch in materials. Their EcoCoolBox solution is a fully paper based insulation pac , hich is able to provide effective protection of temperature sensitive products. Applications include fresh and fro en products as ell as other items that must remain at room temperature during transportation. The EcoCoolBox is seen as a more sustainable alternative to bo es and apparently offers an e ual or better insulation performance than . he plastic free solution consists of recycled material and is reusable. The insulation is achieved by applying a thick layer of cardboard fibres to the all of the shipping bo . hese fibres have good insulation properties and comply with

food contact standards. he co oolBo is also suitable for transporting fro en products in combination ith dry ice. t is recyclable and available in various different si es and all thic nesses.

An Australian start-up has developed a paper-based alternative to replace plastic for items li e single use coffee pods and pharmaceutical blister pac s. he paper is derived made from plant aste. Varden have introduced the new solution called Paperseal and have received funding from ori on entures to accelerate e pansion. A bespoke machine has been designed that gets around the challenges of forming shapes using paper. he process forms paper fibres into shapes ithout creating holes that let product avour out and air in. he machine is able to mould the fibres to create an effective ater and o ygen barrier. he aperseal solution promises to ultimately lower production costs and decrease the carbon footprint at no sacrifice to product performance. arden is in tal s ith t o coffee brands along ith several large multinational pharmaceutical companies. A production facility is planned for urope ithin months and the . . ithin t o years.

t is he ac ub s vie that s itching from plastic to fibre based pac aging solutions is li ely to continue for the foreseeable future presenting a good ongoing opportunity.