Walki has entered a strategic partnership with Lactips to create ‘fully biodegradable, plastics-free’ food packaging using natural polymers, designed to be to be fully recyclable in the paper stream.
The companies say the EU has taken the lead in addressing the growing plastic waste problem with the Single-Use Plastics Regulation, pushing customers in the food packaging industry to find ways to replace traditional fossil-based plastics with biodegradable alternatives. The SUP regulation targets plastics products that are typically used once and then discarded such as yoghurt cups, salad bowls and snack pouches.
Walki has been working on developing a portfolio of biopolymer materials and collaborating with different companies that develop natural polymer-based coatings. It states there are multiple sources of natural polymers such as cellulose, algae and chitin - derived from insects and crustaceans - that can be used as a substitute to fossil-based plastics.
The company has teamed up with French startup Lactips to develop a paper-based food packaging material with a polymer coating, based on casein. Apparently, Lactips will provide Walki with the casein-based polymer, while Walki will conduct pilot trials on the extrusion line in its Technical Competence Center in Pietarsaari, Finland. During the two-year partnership, Walki plans to conduct properties analyses for the produced materials regarding coating weight, adhesion, barrier and heat-sealability properties.
“When you process milk, you end up with casein as a side stream. Lactips has developed this casein into a bio-based natural polymer that is 100% biodegradable. Thanks to its water solubility, the material is recyclable in the paper stream without leaving any microplastics behind or polluting the wastewater streams. Finding the optimal material that protects the food from being spoilt while still being fully biodegradable is challenging. Casein ticks all the boxes when it comes to the SUP regulation,” explains Mats Käldström, manager of Development & Innovation at Walki Group.
Last year, Walki collaborated with Rovema on an ‘easy-to-open’ pouch concept and recyclable solution to package nuts, chocolate, dried fruit, and other snack products. Made of a LDPE-based film with a laminate of an MDO-PE film, the mono-material design was said to make it compatible with the PE recycling stream.
More recently, UPM Specialty Papers and Eastman created a pack for food applications requiring grease and oxygen barriers with a compostable biopolymer coating. The companies say the solution is ‘designed for recycling’ within existing fibre recycling streams.
If you liked this story, you might also enjoy:
The ultimate guide to the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation in 2024
How are the top brands progressing on packaging sustainability?
Sustainable Innovation Report 2024: Current trends and future priorities
Everything you need to know about global plastic sustainability regulation
No comments yet