Mondi opens first laboratory for testing paper-based packaging recyclability

01 Sep 2022 --- Mondi is opening its first recycling laboratory to test the recyclability of paper and paper-based packaging using non-paper components such as coatings at its Frantschach mill in Austria. 

Conducting recycling tests in-house speeds up the process of developing environmentally sustainable packaging. While paper packaging offers many environmental sustainability benefits, it also has certain barrier functionality limitations for products like perishable food. To enhance its functionality, non-paper components such as barrier coatings may need to be added, which can impact recyclability.

The data collected at the laboratory can be used to improve existing products and provide reliable information about their environmental impact. Mondi will also use the results to determine how the design of new packaging can be improved and how best to enhance the circularity of its material flows.

Reliable recyclability evidence
The tests are carried out on various paper and paper-based packaging products developed by Mondi and can determine whether the packaging can be efficiently recycled. The laboratory works in a similar way to industrial recycling facilities but on a smaller scale. The results generated provide concrete evidence that the material can be recycled.Mondi will use the results to enhance its packaging designs.

“The ability to provide our customers with information on the recyclability of our products will be a key enabler in our efforts to develop more [environmentally] sustainable solutions and enhance our value proposition for customers,” says Elisabeth Schwaiger, head of R&D and IP flexible packaging at Mondi.

“Currently, 78% of Mondi’s group-wide portfolio is already either reusable, recyclable or compostable. This recycling lab enables us to move closer to our MAP2030 goals of making 100% of our products fulfill these requirements by 2025.”

Mondi showcases paper-based solutions
At Packaging Innovations 2022, Paul Wormald, the company’s sales director for UK & Nordic, told PackagingInsights that Mondi had received increased inquiries about fiber-based food packaging due to the recently-introduced UK Plastic Packaging Tax.

In April, Mondi showcased its paper-based food packaging solutions at Anuga FoodTec 2022. We spoke to Falk Paulsen, sales and business development director at Mondi Functional Paper & Films, about how Big European retailers have pledged to reduce their plastic consumption and are now searching for the right solutions to fulfill those pledges without exacerbating food waste.

Edited by Joshua Poole

To contact our editorial team please email us at editorial@cnsmedia.com