Page 43 - Plastics News April 2021

produCt news

Smurfit Kappa launches new light Amcor produces Australia’s first

EVOH film recycled KitKat wrapper

reland-based corrugated packaging company Smurfit ustralia-based packaging company Amcor has
IKappa has launched an ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH) Aformed a coalition to create the country's first soft
film for its Bag-in-Box solution. The 60-micron film, to plastic food wrapper to be made with recycled content.
be marketed as E Compact 60, will reduce the amount of The company partnered with Nestlé, CurbCycle, iQ
plastic used by the company when manufacturing bags. Renew, Licella, Viva Energy Australia, LyondellBasell,
The solution is based on new polyethylene (PE) resin REDcycle and Taghleef Industries to develop the
technologies, making the film more resistant and the prototype KitKat wrapper. To make the product, the
companies gathered and processed soft plastic waste
that was then turned back into oil using advanced
recycling technology.Amcor Flexibles Australia and New
Zealand vice-president and general manager Simon Roy
said: “As the global leader for consumer packaging, we
were proud to contribute our expertise in designing
a structure that meets consumer needs and has a
responsible end of life, when it can be reprocessed and
reused in food-grade packaging.“Soft plastics create
a strong consumer-friendly packaging solution, with
great barrier properties, and are lightweight and cost-
effective. This collaboration shows how soft plastics
packaging sustainable without compromising productivity can be part of the circular economy when stakeholders
or consumer convenience.It will allow Smurfit Kappa to across the entire value chain work together. “It is a
reduce a bag’s weight by 16% and its CO2 emissions by fantastic outcome for the environment and for our
12%, as estimated for the 3l bag format equipped with communities.” Nestlé Australia CEO Sandra Martinez
the Vitop Compact tap. Smurfit Kappa Bag-in-Box CEO said: “Between us, we have shown there’s a pathway
Thierry Minaud said: “Bag-in-Box is an environmentally to solve the soft plastics problem. “Manufacturers
friendly solution containing less plastic than other liquid like Nestlé will have a key role in driving demand for
product packaging solutions. We are constantly working food-grade recycled soft plastic packaging and creating
on our materials and technologies to make our packaging
most sustainable. Bag-in-Box has already made significant
improvements in the area of plastic weight reduction
and showed a 15% decrease in film thickness in the last
15 years. “The launch of the Vitop Compact tap has also
contributed positively and enabled 2.7t of plastic to be
saved for every million bags. Reducing materials goes hand
in hand with other environmental benefits: fewer trucks
and lower CO2 emissions, less waste, less storage space.”
Smurfit Kappa introduced the Vitop Compact tap last
March. The tap’s lightweight design uses less raw material market conditions that will ensure all stakeholders in
compared to other Vitop taps, with all its components the value chain view soft plastics as a resource, not
being made from linear low-density polyethylene (LLEP). as waste”. The company aims to make packaging that
Last month, Smurfit Kappa introduced Safe&Green, a
fully renewable, recyclable and biodegradable punnet is increasingly recyclable, reusable and made using
packaging line, in Europe. Part of the company’s Better recycled content. It currently operates from around
Planet Packaging portfolio, the solution is a sustainable 230 locations in more than 40 countries, employing
alternative to plastic packaging for fresh produce. around 47,000 people.

43 April 2021 Plastics News