Smurfit Kappa has reduced the amount of plastic used to manufacture the bags for its bag-in-box range by introducing a new 60-micron EVOH film – E Compact 60.
The development process for this film took more than a year, and before giving final approval for use, Smurfit Kappa says that it applied its qualification criteria with the aim of guaranteeing the film’s mechanical and barrier properties, to an even better than the market average requirement.
According to the company, this solution is based on new PE resin technologies that are more resistant and thus allow for reduced material usage without any compromise on productivity and consumer convenience.
Due to this innovation, Smurfit Kappa says that it has achieved a 16% bag weight reduction and 12% fewer CO2 emissions (estimated for the 3l bag format with the Vitop Compact tap).
Commenting on the developments, Thierry Minaud, CEO of Smurfit Kappa Bag-in-Box, said: “Bag-in-Box is an environmentally friendly solution containing less plastic than other liquid product packaging.
“We are constantly working on our materials and technologies to make our packaging most sustainable. Smurfit Kappa Bag-in-Box has already made significant improvements in the area of plastic weight reduction, and showed 15% film thickness decrease in the last 15 years.”
Minaud concluded: “The launch of the Vitop Compact tap has also contributed positively and enabled 2.7 tons of plastic saving per 1 million bags. Reducing materials goes hand in hand with other environmental benefits: fewer trucks and lower CO2 emissions, less waste, less storage space.”
