Package of the Month
W-Cycle and Melhoramentos join forces to produce compostable food containers
The new packaging from W-Cycle and Melhoramentos is made from renewable materials.
W-Cycle will supply Melhoramentos Latin America with its proprietary food-grade packaging formula and consulting services.
W-Cycle, Ltd., an innovator in sustainable food packaging, and Melhoramentos, a publicly traded Brazilian company with activities spanning publishing, renewable forestry, and real estate (Altea), have announced a strategic partnership. Together, they aim to produce compostable packaging made from renewable materials that naturally decompose within 100 days.
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The agreement, valued at a minimum of $3.45 million and set for an initial term of three years, involves the supply by W-Cycle to Melhoramentos Latin America with its proprietary food-grade packaging formula and consulting services. These resources will help Melhoramentos produce its new advanced biodegradable packaging. Melhoramentos will also incorporate their own high-performance cellulose fibers sourced from their extensive renewable forestry operations covering more than 80 million square meters.
Responding to growing demand within the food industry for sustainable alternatives, Melhoramentos is taking strides to offer packaging that's grease-resistant, moisture-proof, and able to withstand extreme temperatures, as an efficient eco-friendly replacement for single-use plastics.
The agreement between W-Cycle and Melhoramentos is set to last for three years.
The clean-tech start-up W-Cycle made a breakthrough in greener food packaging with its patented food-grade SupraPulp™ material. SupraPulp comprises a line of formulas that cleverly combines sugarcane waste (known as bagasse) or other sidestreams such as eucalyptus wood fibers and banana leaves with additives to produce molded fiber packaging.
This material is transformed into a new generation of highly functional food trays able to contain both frozen and heated foods. The molded-fiber containers are impervious to oil and water and need no plastic lamination for barriers. SupraPulp trays can sustain any type of frozen food and juice run-off without leakage through the container. The trays are designed to withstand extreme temperatures ranging from -40°C freezing to 220°C heat.
Courtesy of Melhoramentos
UPM Partners with Eastman on Paper Food Packaging with Compostable Coating
UPM Specialty Papers and Eastman have co-created a biopolymer-coated paper packaging solution, designed for food applications requiring grease and oxygen barriers.
The solution integrates Eastman’s biobased and compostable Solus performance additives with BioPBS polymer to form a thin coating on UPM’s compostable and recyclable barrier base papers. The solution is designed for recycling within existing fiber recycling streams.
“We are excited to introduce the result of our development work with Eastman,” says Esa Saukkonen, manager, packaging portfolio development at UPM R&D. “Together with our partners, we are constantly pushing the performance of fiber-based packaging. This new biopolymer coated solution, for example, provides a new option for difficult-to-pack foods ranging from confectionery end-uses to meat pies found in chilled-food aisles.”
This solution amplifies the barrier-boosting effect of UPM Solide Lucent and UPM Prego barrier base papers. It offers heat sealability while maintaining barrier protection when folded, making it suitable for flexible packaging.
Furthermore, this technology is compatible with conventional low density polyethylene (LDPE) extrusion coating equipment, requiring no additional capital investment.
Traditionally, the challenge of combining extrusion coating with paper lies in the adhesion of the coating to the paper, especially with biobased or biodegradable extrusion coatings. The solution developed by UPM Specialty Papers and Eastman helps resolve this issue.
The packaging solution has been validated for recyclability according to PTS method (PTS-RH 021/97 cat II), and individual components of the solution have been validated for both home and industrial compostability.
Courtesy of UPM Specialty Papers and Eastman
Wynn Petfood, Koehler Paper Announce Packaging First for Wet Pet Food Blends
Koehler Paper, a Koehler Group company, has made paper packaging for wet food blends a reality for the first time with pet food startup Wynn Petfood.
Wynn Petfood is now packing its entire product portfolio of premium pet food blends (that are mixed with water at home) and practical snacks for dogs 100% in paper, and is the first company in the pet food industry to do so.
Koehler NexPlus® Advanced flexible packaging paper by Koehler Paper provides ideal protection for these products thanks to its excellent oxygen, mineral oil, and grease barrier properties, all while helping conserve valuable resources.
In Germany alone, around 10 million cans of wet food for pets are consumed and discarded on a daily basis. Despite the fact that they are recycled at a good rate, this still results in high resource consumption and CO2 emissions.
That is why Wynn Petfood decided not only to develop innovative food offerings that are both practical and healthy for pets, but also to find sustainable packaging that would match this general vision. Koehler NexPlus® Advanced proved to be the perfect packaging paper for this.
The range covers a broad spectrum. It includes standard coated and uncoated paper used in laminates for pouches, sachets, and other applications, making them suitable for a wide range of packaging for food and non‐food products.
