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Scan Sverige’s Pärsons brand range of sliced ham, salami, and plant-based products is now packaged in a mono-polypropylene pack from Mondi, intended to enhance recyclability compared to previous designs.

Mondi’s WalletPack consists of a top and bottom film integrated with a high oxygen barrier, aiming to extend the product’s shelf life. It is designed for recyclability and replaces the previous, multi-material pack made of PET-PE and PA-PE laminates.

Reportedly, it can be effectively sorted at Site Zero, Swedish Plastic Recycling’s recycling plant for ‘practically all’ kinds of plastic.

It also comes with an easy-peel mechanism geared towards consumer convenience, and it is said to offer ‘good printability’ and inside print for communicating brand and consumer messages.

WalletPack aims to align with the goals of Mondi’s customers, and NPA’s as a producer responsibility organization aiming for circular and traceable material recycling. It has been introduced to the Pärsons meat and meat substitute line over two years of collaboration.

“It was a pleasure working with Scan Sverige, bringing over a century of experience in responsible Swedish food production to the table,” says Helene Brynell, regional sales Nordic, Consumer Flexibles at Mondi. “The team closely oversees the full farm-to-fork value chain, which seamlessly aligns with our values.

“Throughout the trial process, we were both focusing on the same clear goals: to best protect the food while developing packaging that could deliver from a sustainability standpoint, being designed for recycling.”

Einar Ahlstrom, Material specialist at NPA, continues: “Multi-layer laminates, such as PET/PE and PA/PE, are commonly used in diverse flexible plastic packaging, limiting the potential for material recycling. To enhance and facilitate more efficient material recycling, there is a need to shift towards using mono-material in plastic packaging.

“It is encouraging to note that Scan Sverige has introduced a novel packaging solution for Pärsons, in collaboration with Mondi. This alternative not only replaces traditional multi-layer laminates but also proves to be more conducive to material recycling.”

“The Mondi WalletPacks will be used on a wide range of sliced products for Pärsons’ cold cuts,” adds Eva Tiedman, category manager at Scan Sverige. “We knew Mondi was the right partner to achieve our goals and are delighted to see the new solution running efficiently on our existing machinery.

“Our objective was to follow a forward-thinking approach to packaging sustainability as we are investing in getting 100% recyclable packaging by the end of 2025 and working hard to change to recyclable mono-materials.”

In related news, UK retailer Morrisons aims to cut 250 tonnes of plastic from its supply chain every year with a recyclable photographic print pressed board tray from Graphic Packaging. The new packaging will apply to its private label steak portfolio.

Asda’s Just Essential beef mince range will also be vacuum-packed in a lighter, recyclable plastic film, which claims to contain 60% less plastic and save over 60 tonnes of plastic annually.

Additionally, SEE (formerly Sealed Air) reports that it has utilized 90% FSC-certified fibres in its paper-based bottom web for food packaging, which aspires to lower the plastic consumption of food processors and retailers.

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