PACKAGING FEATURE
GREEN IT’S NOT EASY BEING
On the back of
“Our biogenic packaging solutions
combine the highest standards
of freshness with respect for the
environment and are particularly
suited to the food industry. These
solutions go by the name of
Packnature,” says VPZ.
The company says that by using
compostable and recyclable
packaging not only limits the drain
on fossil fuels, such as crude oil,
but also allows biodegradable
substances to enter the supply
chain. VPZ has managed to
develop compostable tube netting
for fruit and vegetables. The basis
for the fresh ‘net’-work: Lenzing
Modal cellulose fibres.
“Over the past few decades, the
packaging industry has been
focused on plastic – even for
organic produce. However, a
growing number of consumers
now want to buy their organic
vegetables in organic packaging,
too. VPZ’s compostable
Packnatur tube netting made from
beechwood cellulose has been in
use since 2013.
Austria’s leading supermarket
chains and organic fruit and
vegetable producers use Lenzing
Modal nationwide for the organic
fruit and vegetables. This has
meant that potatoes, onions, citrus
fruits, beetroot and black radishes
are all members of today’s fresh
‘net’-work. There are many factors
that need to be considered when
manufacturing environmentally
friendly products, including their
production and decomposition.
In an ideal world, manufacturing
uses locally sourced recycled
materials as raw materials,
which are put to a worthwhile
intermediary use before their
energy is recovered. The raw
material used in Packnatur
cellulose tube netting is
beechwood, which is recovered
from forest thinning in central
Europe (1/3 from Austria, 2/3 from
central Europe, from certified
forestry). This is transformed
into modal fibres by Lenzing
AG – the global market leader
in the environmentally friendly
manufacturing of cellulose
fibre – using carbon-neutral
environmental issues
and also greater
awareness globally,
massive research and
development is being poured in by
companies looking for alternative
means to traditional products in
packaging while inventing some new
concepts, too.
Today, there is an array of new
green packaging materials. With a
growing investment into sustainable
packaging materials, companies
like Agrana, creating thermoplastic
starch from plant sugars, are forging
the way; the material is used to
make compostable packaging for
fruits and vegetables.
Markus Kainer, ceo of the Austrian
firm VPZ, presented how it is taking
cellulose from wood to make
PackNatur, which is used in net
packaging. Futamura is also making
cellulose-based biopolymers to
make compostable packaging. Its
NatureFlex material is now used
in a range of food and beverage
products.
And Bosch Packaging is making
exciting leaps forward and has
shown how collaboration can
achieve new concepts in paperbased
packaging solutions.
The world is changing, and so is the
way we package it.
The recent
Sustainable
Foods Summit
in Switzerland
has highlighted
a changing
world with a
real need to
change.
VPZ: WHEN NATURE PACKS A PUNCH
10 AUGUST 2019