Smurfit Kappa introduces Banabag for plastic-eliminating banana farming boost

07 Oct 2020 --- Smurfit Kappa is releasing an innovation to reduce non-sustainable materials in banana production. The BanaBag is a paper-based wrapping that covers the fruit to protect against insects and diseases while acting as an insulator against overheating.

Once the fruit has been harvested, the wrapping is 100 percent recyclable and biodegradable and useful as compost.

Iñaki Urdaci, Market Insight Manager at Smurfit Kappa, tells PackagingInsights the innovation could mean a massive reduction in plastic usage. "Today, the Banana market is using around 100kg per hectare of plastic to bag bananas in the plantations during the crop cycle. This means that in Colombia alone more than 5,000 tons of plastic is used each year. If we think in worldwide terms, we could be speaking about 900,000 tons of plastic every year."

Improved quality and output
Packaging used during banana-growing cycles usually contains plastic, causing problems to the fruit and adding environmentally harmful waste to production.

International markets are increasingly seeking better transparency in supply chains and assurances of sustainable production methods. The BanaBag is the latest in new packaging to offer fruit producers such guarantees.

Smurfit Kappa operates throughout Central and South America, where most of the world’s bananas are grown.

Ecuador, Columbia, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic are among ten nations producing over 80 percent of the world’s bananas, mostly sold to European markets.The Banabag is 100% recyclable, biodegradable and useful as compost.

Successful trials 
Dominique Banana, a collection of Columbian producers, has adopted the Banabag in its growing process at two plantations.

Manager Louis Hasselholt says the Banabag “perfectly matches the needs of our plantation by reinforcing the organic characteristics of our export product and contributing to our goal of eliminating 100 percent of all contaminant plastic waste from our farms.”

The use of non-sustainable materials has caused great difficulty due to complicated recycling processes and land pollution. 

Dropping traditional plastic bunch bags produced a greater banana yield by avoiding the overheating that would often occur.

The fruit’s quality also improved with the Banabag, while soil fertilization was aided since the bags are compostable after use.

Spreading sustainability
Laurent Sellier, chief operating officer at Smurfit Kappa Europe, adds, “we are committed to innovation and the development of paper-based sustainable products that support our customers in the improvement of their processes and products.”

“With a continuing drive to make a positive impact on the agricultural sector with innovative solutions like BanaBag, we aim to positively contribute to better outcomes for farmers who are moving towards more sustainable methods.”

Smurfit Kappa operates in 350 production sites across 35 countries, 12 of which are in the Americas. With the innovation’s initial success on Columbian plantations, the hope is the Banabag will improve the efficiency and environmental impact of banana production throughout the industry.

This product compliments similar Smurfit Kappa innovations aimed at improving agricultural production processes, such as AgroPaper for eco-friendly mulching in crop growing, the SoFru corrugated pack for berries, and Safe and Green biodegradable trays for fresh fruit.

By Louis Gore-Langton