Flexible Packaging: Mondi’s eco-friendly BarrierPack extends applications

02 May 2018 --- BarrierPack Recyclable, Mondi’s fully recyclable plastic laminate for pre-made pouches and FFS roll stock is now constructed with an extra layer to provide a gas barrier that greatly extends the material’s potential applications.

The award-winning BarrierPack Recyclable laminate is a highly sustainable material with performance properties equivalent to conventional alternatives and fully compatible with existing industrial recycling streams. Thanks to additional layer, it is now suitable for more applications.

The product made its debut only recently but, even so, has already captured the attention of judges for the 2018 Plastics Recycling Europe Awards, which on April 25 in Amsterdam, named it as the “Best Technology Innovation in Plastics Recycling.” This award recognizes companies “that have instigated, developed or applied innovative technologies and provide quantifiable benefits in areas such as production efficiency, quality standards, product performance or profitability.”

“We believe that BarrierPack Recyclable is a major breakthrough for flexible packaging,” said Carl Stonley, Technical Account Manager at Mondi Consumer Goods Packaging, while accepting the award, “It complements the sustainability benefits already offered by flexibles – reduction of food waste, CO2 emissions and energy use – by adding recyclability, something laminates made of different materials cannot offer.”

In addition to being fully recyclable, the material offers exceptional mechanical properties and is suitable for a range of packaging style formats. “Constructed using two layers of polyethylene film,” Stonley noted, “BarrierPack Recyclable is a highly functional, flexible, packaging material that’s easy to open and reclose for consumer convenience.”

The material is stiffer, stronger and lighter than a conventional PET/PE laminate of the same thickness and it can be formed directly on form/fill/seal (FFS) machines as well as used for pre-made packaging.

The initial moisture barrier provided by BarrierPack Recyclable made it ideal for applications such as dry food, food ingredients, personal care and pet-care applications. But now, with the recent addition of an additional gas barrier layer between the PE layers, the material is also suitable for such uses as modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) for food products.

Mondi developed BarrierPack Recyclable to help address the plastic waste issue and to support the move toward a more circular economy. Industry-wide initiatives are driving development of recyclable packaging to maximize the lifecycle of plastic and reduce its ecological footprint.

“Plastic packaging plays a vital role in protecting products, reducing food waste, and increasing user convenience. Public and industry discussions recognize that more needs to be done to minimize the impact of waste plastics,” Stonley explained, “Since flexible packaging is growing in popularity with consumers, BarrierPack helps to address the market’s need for sustainable alternatives for flexible laminates by offering full recyclability. This has been validated by extensive trials by CeDo Recycling in the Netherlands, a leader in recycling technologies.”

Ton Emans, Managing Director at CeDo Recycling and president of Plastics Recyclers Europe, said: “Before the European Commission announced a strategy in January 2018 to ensure that all plastics packaging is recyclable by 2030, Mondi had already brought BarrierPack Recyclable to the commercialization phase. This innovation not only shows that flexible plastic packaging can become truly circular, but also that we can produce, use and recycle it on a large scale. Flexible material designed for recycling is key to enabling circular safeguards of precious resources in Europe.”

Mondi is a global leader in packaging and paper, employing around 26,000 people in over 30 countries. The company is fully integrated across the packaging and paper value chain - from managing forests and producing pulp, paper and plastic films, to developing and manufacturing industrial and consumer packaging solutions. The major operations are in central Europe, Russia, North America and South Africa. In 2017, Mondi had revenues of €7.1 billion and a return on capital employed of 19.7 percent.