Lunch! 2021: Coveris revels in recyclability with new food-on-the-move innovations

22 Sep 2021 --- Coveris is set to launch a monomaterial sandwich skillet called RecyclaPaper at UK trade show Lunch! tomorrow, taking place at the Exhibition Centre London (September 23-24). The supplier says the skillet delivers the same product protection and shelf life as more conventional options.

RecyclaPaper is an entirely paper-based, sustainably sourced and recyclable skillet, featuring a translucent window for product visibility, developed using monomaterial technology.

“We have combined our expertise in manufacturing sandwich packaging with knowledge of flexible packaging, barrier coatings and long-life products in the development of RecyclaPaper,” Will Mercer, graphics, label and board R&D director at Coveris, tells PackagingInsights. “A lot of work has gone into developing this product and maintaining important shelf life, functionality and performance features.”

The European packaging company will also launch icard trays at stand G21, which combine a thin, inner recycled PET (rPET) tray liner containing up to 100% recycled content with an outer, fully printable cartonboard tray.

Environmental and consumer health
The Lunch! event brings the food-to-go industry together, where environmental sustainability is expected to play out as the leading industry trend, followed by health consciousness and heightened hygiene concerns resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Sustainability is the largest driver for our packaging innovation with sustainable sourcing, recyclability and material downgauging key areas of focus,” notes Mercer. “This is reflected in our launches of RecyclaLite, RecyclaPEel and RecyclaPaper sandwich skillets in food-on-the-move.”The icard tray combines an inner rPET tray liner with an outer, fully printable cartonboard tray.

“The sustainability and health-conscious trend is increasingly expanding from environmental responsibility to personal well-being and as a result, there is a rapidly growing selection of healthy, fresh foods on-the-go. Hot food-to-go continues to evolve with a wider choice of foods, breakfast options and more hot cabinets in stores.”

“Throughout COVID-19, the protection and shelf life benefits of packaging have been recognized with consumer confidence in food safety and freshness,” he adds.

According to Innova Market Insights, 59% of global consumers believe packaging’s protective function is more important since the virus outbreak.

Moreover, consumers mostly support the increased use of plastic for hygiene during the pandemic, including conventionally unrecyclable films. While 20% of global consumers favor more plastics, 42% see them as an undesirable necessity at this time, according to the global market researcher.

Supporting these hot food-to-go trends, Coviers’ Heat dual-ovenable packaging enables touch-free cooking and merchandising for reduced direct-food contact and handling before consumption.

Realizing recyclability
In the realms of recyclability, Coveris and iPac have teamed up to create icard trays for premium shelf appeal. The solution uses no laminates or adhesive, making the tray’s components easily separable for recycling and compatible with lidding film, including MAP options for optimized product shelf life.

“The intelligent design of the tray enables the outer cartonboard tray to clip securely into a ledge created as part of the inner rPET tray without adhesives. Plastic reduction is a driver for many brands and retailers in packaging innovation, and our collaboratively developed icard tray hits the sweet spot in combining rPET and cartonboard,” explains Mercer.RecylaLite’s plastic liner is OPP and therefore recyclable in existing soft plastic recycling streams.

“It achieves plastic downgauging while maintaining the performance and functionality of rPET, and the premium, printable and sustainable sourcing benefits associated with cartonboard, with proven and widely available recycling streams for both components.”

The icard trays are designed for chilled, convenience and on-the-go foods. The pack has been announced as a finalist in the UK Packaging Awards 2021 and features in the Lunch! Innovation Challenge.

Lightening the plastic load
Coveris’ other big exhibit at Lunch! tomorrow is RecylaLite for wrap boxes and sandwich skillets, which claimed the Cartonboard Pack of the Year in the UK Packaging Awards 2020. The solution features 40% less plastic for carbon savings.

“RecylaLite’s plastic liner is OPP and therefore can be recycled if removed and placed within soft plastic recycling streams where they exist, for example, in front of store collections,” highlights Mercer.

“However, RecyclaLite is more likely to be recycled as a whole pack within the paper infrastructure, and if so, the film is removed as part of the recycling process and typically used as waste for energy to fuel the plant, meaning the benefit of the film is not lost.”

“Current technology does not allow paper to be manufactured in a like-for-like gauge or weight that we have achieved with OPP for RecyclaLite. Therefore, in the interest of carbon impact, RecyclaLite is our most lightweight skillet offering.”

RecyclaLite packaging uses a sustainability sourced board and is recyclable under OPRL 2020 and 2023 recycling rules for lined board packaging.

By Joshua Poole