Anja Siegesmund leaves the BDE
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Its materials are designed to improve the performance of fibre-based packaging. significantly. This is another reason why speciality chemicals manufacturer Kuraray from Hattersheim is now involved in the 4evergreen Alliance. The alliance has set itself the goal of achieving a recycling rate of 90 per cent by the end of the decade.
Fibre-based packaging is a sustainable alternative to glass, metal and plastic. Paper and cardboard packaging has particular advantages when it comes to recycling. According to the European Union, more than 82 per cent of this packaging is already recycled across Europe. The 4evergreen Alliance wants to utilise this potential even better. The aim is to increase the recycling rate for fibre-based packaging to 90 percent by 2030. To achieve this, the initiative brings together companies from all sectors along the value chain.
Packaging papers with excellent gas barrier
Kuraray has now joined the alliance as a new member, complementing its sustainability promise. With its EVOH brand, a renewable starch-based thermoplastic and PVOH polymers, the global speciality chemicals manufacturer headquartered in Hattersheim, Germany, offers a broad portfolio of materials to significantly improve the performance of fibre-based packaging. The polymers enable packaging papers with an excellent gas barrier, for example.
„Many companies are already relying on fibre-based materials for sophisticated packaging solutions. This trend will continue to grow in the future. As a cross-industry initiative, the 4evergreen Alliance is developing guidelines for packaging design and material cycles that will significantly improve the sustainability profile of packaging in the future - an important step for environmental and climate protection.
Kuraray is involved in all of the Alliance's working groups and can contribute its expertise in particular to the design of the Recyclability Evaluation Protocol and the Design Guidelines for fibre-based packaging.
The company cites water-soluble PVOH coatings as an example. The copolymer provides paper packaging with an excellent barrier against oxygen, grease and oil, enabling barrier packaging for food, for example, which can be fully recycled via the paper cycle.
Another material from the portfolio of Curaray, The extrusion-capable barrier material EVAL is one example of a material that contributes to more sustainable packaging. Multi-layer packaging made from the polymer can be efficiently processed in existing recycling loops that are equipped with appropriate separation systems.
Source: Kuraray
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