International consortium and EU flagship project BIOWRAP has launched this month, aiming to develop and scale up PapairWrap - said to be the ‘first’ fully paper-based bubble wrap - to an industrial scale.
Supported by the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU) and its members and funded by the European Union, the project is due to run for five years with a total budget of around 19 million Euros. Project management and overall coordination are handled by Papair from Hanover, Germany, which developed and patented the underlying technology.
The project consists of 14 partner organisations from Germany, Portugal, Austria, the Netherlands, Spain, Denmark and Poland. This includes paper manufacturers, mechanical engineering firms, coating companies, producers of plant-based paper alternatives, research institutions and universities.
Apparently, PapairWrap can be disposed of via the used paper cycle and fully recycled. The product seeks to reduce CO2 emissions by 25%-50% per square metre compared to plastic. A production plant at technology readiness TRL 8 is due to be commissioned in Lower Saxony, Germany, said to operate with a width of 1,200 mm and production speeds of up to 100 metres per minute.
Papair says the plant integrates nanocellulose compounds, precision embossing, bio-based coatings and fully digitalized process management into a single production line. The company states that the plant’s technical design, economic efficiency and environmental data will be documented and made available for the replication of further production sites in Europe.
By 2031, the consortium has set out targets to replace over 100 million square metres of plastic bubble wrap within five years of the project’s completion; save around 10,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalents per year; demonstrate at least a 90% material recovery rate in paper recycling; 70% consumer acceptance in Europe-wide tests and create more than 200 skilled jobs across the supply chain.
In other EU news, in April the European Commission published a fact sheet to help consumers understand the aims and implications of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation. We examined how the document explains the legislation’s impact on the general public and addresses financial and practical concerns.
The following month, SK Chemicals announced that its plastic materials had been verified compatible as feedstock for recycling processes in Europe. Its copolyester ECOTRIA CLARO and its PET-based SKYPET product family have been recognized by RecyClass as recyclable within the PET recycling stream.
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