Paper manufacturer Arjowiggins has launched Sylvicta – a recyclable, compostable, marine-degradable translucent barrier paper made from renewable raw materials.
According to the company, Sylvicta’s distinct advantage is its very high barrier to oxygen which means it can reduce food waste by prolonging shelf life during the transportation, retail and consumer phases of the value chain.
Through precision fibre refining, Arjowiggins’ R&D teams have developed this translucent paper with a natural bonding, without the need for any harmful chemicals.
The company highlights a number of potential applications, from pouches for dry fruits, bags for salads, sachets for solid soap, sacks for pet food and flow-packs for chocolate bars, to metallised versions of the product for butter or margarine packaging.
When running through conventional converting lines, Sylvicta offers a number of creative possibilities: it can be foil-stamped, glued, embossed, printed in offset, gravure, and flexography, metallised, or coated with heat or cold-sealable materials.
In addition, Sylvicta is FSC and PEFC-certified, produced on a site that’s ISO 14001-compliant, and is carbon-offset through the World Land Trust’s Carbon Balanced programme.
“Despite the ongoing movement towards more sustainable packaging solutions, plastics still remain a popular choice, largely for practical reasons. Until now, most of the existing offer, mainly in single-use packaging, use unrecyclable, multi-layered laminates incorporating plastics or aluminium foil,” says Christophe Jordan, managing director of the Translucent Papers division at Arjowiggins.
“With Sylvicta, such solutions can be turned into fully recyclable, compostable and biodegradable paper packaging. The product is simply revolutionary - it can help to create the circular economy society we all desire.”
