German meatpacker seeks out Mondi’s fully recyclable thermoforming film

20 Jul 2020 --- Germany-based meat producer Hütthaler has looked to Mondi and its EcoSolutions approach – “paper where possible, plastic where useful” – for a fully recyclable meat packaging solution. Hütthaler’s collaboration with Mondi has resulted in a new mono-material film for thermoforming applications that improves food protection and extends meats’ shelf life. Hütthaler has now launched the packaging for meat and sausage products in Austria, where the new thermoforming film is fully recyclable in existing plastic recycling streams.

“Flexible food packaging has traditionally presented brand owners with a choice – either extract the maximum performance parameters or make it recyclable. Achieving both goals at once has been almost impossible – until now,” Thomas Kahl, Project Manager EcoSolutions at Mondi Consumer Flexibles, shares with PackagingInsights.

The key challenge in developing this new solution was meeting all the requirements of its application, Kahl continues, such as oxygen, moisture barriers and high puncture resistance, while advancing the solution’s environmental credentials.

The recyclable thermoformable film is capable of packaging products with “excellent sealability.”The recyclable thermoformable film is capable of packaging products with “excellent sealability,” as the top and bottom films are made from the same material. In particular, the bottom film is supplied by Mondi’s Styria plant in Austria, which has also been awarded AA+ for food safety by the British Retail Consortium (BRCGS).

Using its customer-centric EcoSolutions approach, Mondi was able to reduce raw material usage and design packaging that was ready for recycling where suitable recycling infrastructures are in place.

The route to fully recyclable
“Fully recyclable” is the name of the game at Mondi Consumer Flexibles. While sniffing out eco-friendly pet food packaging, Germany-based Mera Tiernahnung turned to Mondi for its 12.5 kg FlexiBag Recyclable that boasts a convenient recyclable reclosure system.

In household applications, Mondi and Reckitt Benckiser joined forces in April to launch a fully recyclable, mono-material flexible plastic packaging portfolio for the premium line of Finish dishwasher tablets Quantum Ultimate.

For eco-conscious soup consumers, Unilever also sought Mondi’s assistance in replacing the previous multi-material laminate of its recyclable polypropylene mono-material pouch with a recyclable mono-material film alternative for the Knorr dry soup powder range.

Reflecting on the Mondi-Hütthaler partnership, Kahl identifies it as a “great case” that has “once again proven how important collaboration among different stakeholders in the value chain is.”

By Anni Schleicher