A Swedish collaboration is focusing on the high-speed production of recyclable bottles made from sustainably sourced wood fibre residue.
Stockholm-based company Stora Enso — which uses wood and biomass to develop solutions for a range of industries — has teamed up with packaging technology company Pulpex to industrialise production of the world’s first 100 per cent PET-free paper bottles and containers.
The renewable products naturally degrade, providing an eco-friendly alternative to plastics and glass, as well as offering a significant new income stream for the forestry industry.
The approach to production resulting from this partnership will use a moulding machine to press various wood-based pulps into three-dimensional shapes, and is expected to become operational during 2022.
The paper bottles and containers will be made available to global brands across a wide array of sectors including personal care products, and food and beverage.
Several leading consumer packaged goods companies including Diageo, PepsiCo, Unilever, GSK Consumer Healthcare and Castrol, have already joined a global consortium committed to utilising this technology to produce a collective 750 million paper bottles and containers annually.
“This cooperation marks an important step in bringing to market a truly sustainable alternative to plastic bottles and containers, while offering end-user qualities that match those of traditional packaging,” said Sohrab Kazemahvazi, Senior Vice President, Formed Fiber at Stora Enso.
The paper bottles and containers have already been demonstrated to meet all food safety standards, and are compatible with existing bottle and container-filling systems. They are also highly customisable thanks to labelling and colouring capabilities that can accommodate all branding requirements.
Source: Storaenso.com
