Wipak and Woodly design cellulose-based bioplastic for HKScan sausage packaging

05 Feb 2021 --- Food manufacturer HKScan is replacing fossil-based plastics in meat packaging with a new type of renewable plastic made from wood cellulose. 

Finnish wood-based plastics innovator Woodly is developing the bio-material, with Wipak converting the raw material into final packaging solutions for food applications.

According to HKScan, the wood-based plastic will allow HKScan to halve its film’s CO2 emissions, compared to traditional plastic packaging.

“We have set ourselves an ambitious packaging strategy to reach our 2025 targets,” HKScan’s vice president of packaging development Hanna Lehtonen tells PackagingInsights.

The targets include:

• 100 percent recyclable packages.
• 20 percent less packaging plastic.
• A 20 percent smaller packaging carbon footprint.

The new plastic will pack HKScan’s selected grilling sausages from mid-2021 in Finland. The company will then decide on the next steps based on the pilot run, Lehtonen explains.

The wood-based plastic is also suitable for fish, cold cuts, cheese and various household applications.

Performs like fossil-based plastics
HKScan will be the first company to have exclusive rights to use these Woodly plastics in Finland’s meat product category.

The new plastic will pack HKScan’s selected grilling sausages from mid-2021 in Finland.Coniferous cellulose, the main raw component in Woodly materials, comes from certified, sustainably managed forests.

“The performance and quality of Woodly and Wipak final products is identical to that of traditional packaging films,” Mikko Meriluoto, product manager of Wipak sustainable products, shares with PackagingInsights.

He affirms the Woodly film is compatible with standard sealing layers, and therefore can be used on any traditional packaging line without issues. 

This provides both leakage control and high safety to prevent food waste and extend shelf life. Lehtonen adds the wood-based plastic can be recycled as conventional plastic.

On the road to carbon neutrality
Wipak began its partnership with Woodly in early 2019. Both companies are striving for CO2 neutrality by developing sustainable raw materials, creating sustainable concepts and using only environmentally-responsible energy for production.

“We don’t need to build plants and production lines all over the world to scale up and go big,” Woodly CEO Jaakko Kaminen maintains.

“Instead, we can partner with the plastic industry that already has a global infrastructure and a hundred years’ work experience.”

Previously, HKScan changed its minced meat packaging to bag packs, enabling 71 percent plastic reductions in comparison to traditional box packs.

PackagingInsights recently spoke with Wipak about making baby food packaging more circular.

By Anni Schleicher