Iggesund releases recyclable fiber food tray on path to plastic-free

23 Oct 2020 --- Swedish company Iggesund Paperboard is launching a pure cellulose-based food tray to replace traditional plastic designs. The material, called Inverform, is sourced from sustainably managed forests.

Inverform is designed to maintain more conventional plastic trays’ advantages while reducing plastic and can be molded for varying functions such as hot and cold foods.

Elin Li, business development manager at Iggesund, tells PackagingInsights that reducing plastic waste is one of the company’s central objectives. 

“We were determined to come up with a renewable and recyclable material for food trays that would be more environmentally friendly than plastic while maintaining the same high packaging performance throughout the value chain.”

A stride toward plastic-free
Made principally from Solid Bleached Board, a virgin fiber grade of paperboard, Inverform must still be complimented by a polymer barrier for heat sealing and tray forming.

Li says including a plastic layer in the solution is still necessary for most applications but Iggesund is hoping this is a step toward eliminating plastic in its products entirely. Inverform is a fully recyclable alternative to traditional plastic food trays.

“The industry is not ready yet to do away with plastic material entirely, but stakeholders across the supply chain are more and more open to involvement in making this the case.”

The Inverform product is a marker for the progression industry players are achieving and the distance that still needs to be covered. “To find better solutions, more brands are talking about collaborations across the supply chain, which is what is required,” Li adds.

“The product is not something that is simply manufactured and delivered to consumers but tailored to specific needs with the aim of minimizing carbon footprint.”

Compromising on plastics
With more regulations on plastics in store for both European and global markets, Iggesund is trying to create greater cooperation across the industry.

Notably, the EU’s Circular Economy Action Plan requires all packaging to be reusable or recyclable in an economically viable way by 2030.

The European Commission is setting mandatory requirements for recycled content and waste reduction measures, including a plastic tax starting January 1, 2021, that foresees a €0.80/kg levy on non-recycled plastic packaging waste.

Inverform is complimented by a polymer barrier for heat sealing and tray forming.“We need to look at how to minimize plastic usage across the board before regulations are implemented,” says Li.

“Whether that means optimizing the polymer to fiber ratio, increasing biodegradability or the use of recycled plastics, the industry needs to be ready, and this can only happen by working with all stakeholders across the entire supply chain.” 

Li stresses that Iggesund is not against the use of plastics in principle. “We are not at war with plastic. It’s fantastic material, but we have to work together on what is necessary for the environment and to use it solely for the right purposes where it is needed.” 

Innovating plastic reductions
Iggesund’s Inverform design joins several other industry innovations reducing plastic use in their products. 

Recycled fiber packaging supplier Cascades is launching a 100 percent recycled and recyclable thermoformed cardboard tray for fresh food using automated equipment on the North America market.

Meanwhile, UK frozen food supermarket Iceland is adopting Ravenwood’s linerless labeling called Fruit Lid for trialing plastic-free packaging across its range of conference pears.

Managing plastic waste
The use of fossil fuels to create plastic has a detrimental impact on the environment. Less than 40 percent of plastics produced are fit for recycling in the UK, according to the UK Local Government Association (LGA). This generates waste, much of which ends up collecting in the oceans and elsewhere.

Chemical recycling technologies are being developed to increase the quantity of plastic that can be recycled, though these methods are often energy-intensive and sometimes controversial. 

Greenpeace USA recently stated that chemical recycling can be environmentally damaging and that industry should focus on plastic reduction and conventional recycling methods.

By Louis Gore-Langton