Sappi and Innovia extend partnership

- Sappi’s Algro Nature and Innovia’s NatureFlex both made from wood sourced from managed forests

 

- New EU Packaging Directive to place the responsibility for ensuring that “packaging is not excessive for the purpose intended and is suitable for recycling, energy recovery or composting” with the packaging producer

 

Innovia Films and Sappi Fine Paper Europe have extended their partnership to join their respective compostable substrates, NatureFlex and Algro Nature, to offer an end-of-life option for flexible laminates that permits industrial/home composting, and turns waste into a useful energy source. 

 

In 2014, a new EU Packaging Directive is set to come into force that will place the responsibility for ensuring that “packaging is not excessive for the purpose intended and is suitable for recycling, energy recovery or composting” firmly with the packaging producer, the pair of substrate suppliers said. 

 

The emphasis is that waste minimization and recovery should be built into the package at its design stage to ensure resource efficiencies as well as protecting products. 

 

Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, claims waste plastics packaging material in the EU15 increased from 9.9 million tonnes in 1998 to 13.1 million tonnes in 2008, representing an increase in share from 17.9 percent to 21.6 percent. Of this, 40 percent of municipal waste was landfilled, 20 percent incinerated, 23 percent recycled and 17 percent composted.

 

Antoine de Forton, business development manager at Sappi, said: ‘Many European countries have realized that home composting is a viable opportunity for managing some of the domestic household waste stream. It empowers home owners to take responsibility for their own degradable waste. 

 

‘Packs made from compostable packaging, such as the Innovia Films and Sappi products, make this task much easier.’

 

Both NatureFlex and Algro Nature are manufactured from wood sourced from managed forests. These cellulose-based products have been fully tested and independently certified to be compostable both in home and industrial environments by “OK Compost Home” certification by Vinçotte, and DIN E13432 certification by DIN CERTCO. In addition, they are food contact approved.

 

Innovia Films offers a range of NatureFlex flexible packaging films that provide a moisture barrier that can be tailored to meet the requirements of the product to be packed and an excellent gas barrier. They also offer enhanced print and conversion capability, as well as high seal integrity. Their inherent anti-static and thermal stability aids the lamination process to Sappi’s flexible packaging papers, and other biopolymers for more complex laminate structures.

 

Algro Nature is a one-side coated, glossy paper, and Leine Nature is its uncoated equivalent. Both offer the advantage of using vegetable-based coating ingredients instead of traditional paper/oil-based materials. This reduces the papers’ environmental impact and carbon footprint.

 

These papers are available in weights of between 40g per sq m and 80 g per sq m. They can be used in such applications as confectionery or snack wrappers, soup pouches, sugar sachets, pharmaceutical sachets, etc.

 

Packaging using these papers will meet the EU Packaging Directive to come into force in 2014.

 

Using these technically proven products, Innovia Films and Sappi set out to develop sample pack structures to show end users in the food, confectionery and home and personal care industries what is possible.

 

Their first pack development was a stand-up pouch that received a lot of interest at the various exhibitions it was displayed. Taking this concept further, a new selection of pack types has been created to demonstrate versatility in application and formats while representing viable laminate replacements for oil-based paper/polyolefin laminates.

 

Paul Barker, Innovia Films product manager for cellophane and NatureFlex, said: ‘The combination of these natural materials provides the essential barrier requirements of each of the product groups represented by these prototype coffee, snack bar and single serve drink packs. 

 

‘In real applications this packaging would facilitate the disposal of the contents with the packaging into either home or industrial composting environments.’

 

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