Yara pledges “drastic” cuts to virgin plastic use in its FIBC fertilizer packaging

28 Nov 2023 --- Norwegian crop nutrition company Yara is pledging to introduce packaging made with at least 30% recycled plastic throughout Europe by the end of 2023 and aims to reduce the carbon footprint of its packaging materials by 40% by 2030 compared to 2021.

Yara’s flexible intermediate bulk containers (FIBCs), which transport fertilizers and other agricultural produce, use plastic materials to ensure safety and quality standards. But the company has not been able to source recyclate supplies in sufficient quantities until now. 

“Finding the best option that secures Yara’s safety and quality standards has been a long and thorough assessment, and producers have simply not been able to provide products with such high amounts of recycled plastic without compromising on the quality of the bags,” a Yara spokesperson tells Packaging Insights. 

“Fertilizer supply chains are long and complex, and there is a risk of product loss and deterioration along each step. That is why we can never compromise on quality.” 

Plastic packaging material helps preserve product quality, protects against ambient conditions (like moisture and humidity), prevents product loss and ensures safety and ease of handling (bags weigh up to over 1,000 kg), they explain. “In short, plastic fertilizer packaging helps ensure the quality and ease of handling of the product.” 

However, with plastic consumption having quadrupled over the past 30 years and plastic production doubling from 2000-2019, reaching 460 million tons, Yara wants to contribute reduction efforts through its FIBCs. 

Yara has launched plastic reduction initiatives throughout Europe, Asia and Africa.Yara initiatives 
The company is making its efforts primarily by incorporating more recycled content into its bags. Several projects “show promising results,” says a Yara spokesperson. 

• Big and small bags containing at least 30% recycled plastic have been rolled out across Europe this year. If all Yara’s bags in Europe are replaced with these bags, it would reduce virgin plastic use by around 3,000 tons per year and avoid some 6,000 tons of CO2 emissions, says the company. 
• In Brazil, Yara has signed an agreement with a supplier to jointly develop a new type of big bag made from 100% rPET, while maintaining the same technical properties. This project aims to replace around 2,000 tons of virgin plastic and reduce GHG emissions by about 4,000 tons per year.
• The company is also working on similar initiatives in other countries like South Africa. 

Yara says that almost all the plastic that is used in its packaging can be recycled, provided that local collection and recycling schemes are available. The limited packaging materials that cannot yet be recycled will be re-designed for recyclability where possible, it says. 

Reduction and lightweighting 
The company also says it is working on reducing the amount of plastic used per bag by optimizing specifications without compromising quality or safety, for instance, by using thinner material. 

“During the last few years, we have reduced plastic use by close to a thousand tons due to such optimizations in various markets around the world,” according to a company statement. 

• In Thailand, Yara developed a new fertilizer packaging material that “drastically” reduces the use of plastic. The special fabric is branded “Light and Strong.” The current implementation of the solution saves around 150 tons of virgin plastic per year, with the potential to increase this by up to about 800 tons per year soon, the company claims. 
• In India, Yara also reduced the thickness of its 45 kg urea bags, cutting the amount of plastic used per bag by a few grams and lowering total plastic use for these bags by around 200 tons per year.
• In West African markets, optimizing bag specifications has reduced plastic use by more than 500 tons per year. 

“As we do not produce or collect plastic packaging ourselves, we engage with various stakeholders to try to influence the way our plastic packaging is produced and the way it is handled after use,” says the company. 

“As with all complex value chains, one company cannot solve these challenges alone. We are using our purchasing power and strong supplier relationships to drive change in the areas where it is needed.” 

By Louis Gore-Langton