Graphic Packaging launches fiber-based PaperSeal to increase food tray recyclability

26 Feb 2020 --- Graphic Packaging International (GPI) has launched a new line of fiber-based trays called PaperSeal, which replace Modified Atmosphere (MAP) and Vacuum Skin Packaging (VSP) plastic trays with a new barrier-lined paperboard alternative. Using up to 90 percent paperboard, the trays are designed for the film liner to be easily separated from the paperboard after use. This facilitates the recyclability of the paperboard portion of the tray, which contributes to a circular economy.

“The transition to fiber-based packaging is a priority for many of our customers and it’s clear that sustainable paperboard packaging solutions must meet the functionality and performance of existing tray designs,” says Paul Tye, Business Development Director, Graphic Packaging Europe.

The new PaperSeal tray solution utilizes 80 to 90 percent paperboard and 10-20 percent film, depending on tray dimensions. While the paperboard is produced from renewable fiber sourced from sustainably-managed forests, the tray’s film liner is easily peeled off from the paperboard tray so that the paperboard can be better recycled.

StoraEnso recently developed sustainable barriers for formed fiber products in collaboration with HS Manufacturing Group. PureFiber, StoraEnso’s formed fiber technology, enables manufacturing products that are designed for circularity, meaning that they are renewable, recyclable and biodegradable.

As an additional functional advantage, PaperSeal’s design facilitates high-volume packaging and flat stacking for logistics and inventory, further reducing the carbon footprint of the supply chain.

Paperboard applications in the packaging industry are on the rise.The hermetically-sealed tray is suitable for a wide range of applications including cheese, fresh or processed meat, ready-made products, frozen foods, snacks, salad and fruit. PaperSeal provides up to 28 days of shelf-life, depending on the application. StePac’s packaging solutions similarly help prevent food loss and waste with its shelf life-extending modified atmosphere bulk packaging called Xtend.

Sustainable packaging movement
GPI previously made headway in the environmentally-conscious packaging movement when it developed the paperboard KeelClip technology for Coca Cola’s multipack aluminum cans. This move aimed to reduce plastic rings from drinking cans that strangle birds, fish and other animals in aquatic habitats.

“The KeelClip technology is effective for can multipacks of various diameters and heights. This means that we can provide a safe, effective package with no need for secondary plastic. When businesses such as Coca‑Cola HBC and CCEP invest in these technologies, we can really make a difference to the way we package goods and drive the industry to continue to change too,” says Steve Gould, New Product Development and Marketing Director, Beverage Division, Europe, for Graphic Packaging International.

Other recyclable food trays arriving in the packaging industry include Faerch’s Evolve natural crystallized polyethylene terephthalate (cPET) trays – a form of detectable and recyclable plastic – and BillerudKorsnäs’ FibreForm packaging trays that have up to 71 percent less global warming impact compared to trays made of only plastic. Additionally, recent research from the University of New South Wales, Australia, brought biodegradable and recyclable packaging trays made from banana waste to the fore.

Edited by Anni Schleicher

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