ExxonMobil collabs with Hosokawa Alpine and IMA Ilpak to launch recyclable mono-PE cheese pouch
Key takeaways
- ExxonMobil Signature Polymer teams with Hosokawa Alpine and IMA Ilpak to develop a recyclable PE cheese pouch.
- The monomaterial design replaces rigid trays, reducing packaging weight by 60% while maintaining visibility.
- The pouch aligns with EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) goals and advances sustainable food packaging innovation.
ExxonMobil Signature Polymer has partnered with Hosokawa Alpine and IMA Ilpack to develop a monomaterial, recyclable, PE pouch for cheese packaging.
The solution reduced the weight by 60% compared to rigid thermoformed trays and contains more than 90% PE content. It is also hermetically sealed and offers product visibility due to low haze.
“This innovative solution replaces conventional multi-material rigid trays and lid films, offering a thinner, recyclable alternative that maintains shelf-life and runs efficiently on horizontal form, fill, seal (HFFS) lines,” says ExxonMobil.
Hosokawa Alpine specializes in advanced barrier film extrusion, while IMA Ilpak develops HFFS packaging machinery.
The cheese packaging incorporates Hosokawa Alpine’s nine-layer barrier blown film line with inline machine direction orientation (MDO) technology.
In addition, Hosokawa Alpine’s die head geometry and MDO capabilities enable a thin two-micron ethylene vinyl alcohol barrier layer using Eval LT172B, according to ExxonMobil, delivering strong oxygen barrier performance.
It also features ExxonMobil Signature Polymers resins for the PE barrier substrate and the sealant film. The laminate film was reverse printed, laminated, and converted into pouches on IMA Ilpak’s HFFS machine.
Meeting regulations
ExxonMobil explains that the collaboration resulted from evolving regulations like the EU’s PPWR. The regulation seeks to facilitate the efficiency of the internal market by harmonizing national measures on packaging and packaging waste while preventing its adverse effects on the environment.
Packaging manufacturers are increasingly designing recyclable food packaging to meet regulatory criteria. Recently, Costa, Australia’s fresh produce grower, partnered with Coles and Opal in a trial to switch the packaging for Perino tomatoes from rPET plastic to recyclable cardboard.
Siegwerk, Borouge, and TPN Food Packaging launched a fully recyclable, monomaterial barrier stand-up pouch. In addition, ProAmpac collaborated with Ireland’s meat supplier Divilly Brothers to introduce ProActive Recyclable FibreSculpt to the Irish chilled cooked meat market.
