The future of sustainable development
2023-09-26
Flexible packaging is currently the fastest growing packaging application. Almost all end-user markets are expected to maintain steady growth in the next few years, covering food, beverages, pet food, personal care, medical pharmaceuticals and consumer products, with a CAGR of approximately 4.3%.
Flexible packaging is popular for many reasons. First, it greatly reduces packaging shipping costs between processors, packers/fillers, retailers and end users. Flexible packaging takes up less space than rigid packaging and can be made from rolls, minimizing shipping costs for preformed packaging. In addition, flexible packaging features product protection and resealing, reducing product damage. For example, flexible packaging for food often uses barrier layers to extend shelf life and reduce waste associated with perishable foods.
Globally, plastic flexible packaging accounts for 93% of consumption, while paper flexible packaging accounts for less than 5%. However, according to a 2020 Two Sides-commissioned survey, 62% of consumers believe paper and cardboard packaging is more environmentally friendly, and 70% of respondents said they are actively taking steps to reduce the use of plastic packaging.
Paper has a long history in flexible packaging. Many flexible packaging applications such as confectionery, pet food and dry food have always used paper as a material. However, as scrutiny of the use of plastics in flexible packaging increases, there is growing interest in switching from plastic to paper.
Although plastics have excellent performance in protecting products during transportation, they are made from non-renewable resources. At present, although plastics are recyclable, it is difficult to achieve high collection rates due to pollution problems after waste. Paper is better biodegradable than plastic, and due to its ease of repulping and recycling, paper has obvious environmental advantages as a flexible packaging material.
However, many paper flexible packaging today often uses plastic/aluminum foil composite or coated resin technology, making it non-recyclable. As a result, some brand companies are starting to consider replacing plastics and non-recyclable materials with recyclable and compostable paper. The question they need to address is how to keep paper as a packaging material protected from the important properties of the contents, while still being recyclable and compostable.
In 2003, Simon Baldso founded the Sirane Group, a research organisation of scientists and engineers focused on developing packaging technologies. They are the UK's largest flexible packaging processor with distribution centres in the Czech Republic, North America, South Africa, as well as Australia, Singapore and Dubai.
"Our main business area is flexible packaging, especially in plastic substitution," says Mr. Baldeso. Sirane is committed to innovation and differentiation, and has been actively addressing environmental drivers, reducing packaging waste and extending shelf life, and has also ventured into plastic substitution technology in recent years.
They have been studying the use of paper as a plastic substitute in flexible packaging, but aside from the advances made by universities in technology, these technologies have not yet been used in practice. For example, research centers in Japan, Germany and the United States (such as DuPont) have carried out some early development, including coating technologies using polysaccharides, non-chain sugars or cellulose-like substances. These coating materials can be made into aqueous emulsions.
Sirane started applying these coatings to paper and found that these coatings were able to improve the strength, barrier properties, grease resistance and moisture resistance of paper, especially with good heat sealing properties in some cases. This is critical for flexible packaging, as the key issue for paper in flexible packaging has always been heat sealing properties. As more materials enter the market, some of which are plastic-free biocoatings, the use of paper as a plastic alternative in flexible packaging becomes more feasible, especially in terms of barrier properties, moisture resistance and heat sealing properties.
Many new technologies have also emerged in the paper industry, such as cellulosic materials. Many of these materials exist in nature, some of which are natural gum or "natural polymers". Take agar, a plant-based gum material that was widely used in binder production before the advent of plastics and is now returning to its original use.
Sirane is not good at small coating operations, but buys bulk liquid materials, mixes emulsions, and coats them on paper. Today, nearly 80% of Sirane's flexible packaging business has shifted from plastic to paper, and all of their flexographic inks are water-based. Their latest product, the HP Indigo 200K, is printed using food-standard toner and can be printed on coated paper. Sirane isn't the only company starting to look into recyclable and compostable paper flexible packaging.