Collaboration played a key role in the development of the new, more sustainable rigid packaging formats launched by Borealis and ITC Packaging, a leading European manufacturer of thin wall packaging for food-contact applications, over the course of 2022.
The new formats were created with the aim of reducing the carbon footprint of the packaging used for well-known products found on European supermarket shelves, primarily in the ice cream and ready-to-eat segments. At the same time, stringent quality requirements needed to be met in order to be suitable for use in food contact applications. Ensuring the safety of food-contact packaging is crucial.
The two partners used the chemically recycled and renewably-based resins from Borealis’ Borcycle C and Bornewables portfolios to achieve these goals.
“Our ultimate aim is to maintain high food safety standards while implementing an added-value circular economy model that meets market demands. This is what strengthens our relationships to both our customers and value chain partners,” said Jose Luis Olmedo, ITC Packaging Managing Director.
Because both the Borcycle C and Bornewables grades are composed of ISCC PLUS-certified (International Sustainability & Carbon Certification) sustainable feedstock produced in accordance with the mass balance method, using them enables manufacturers and brand owners to reduce the CO2 footprint of their packaging formats. As these grades are virgin-grade resins offering the same high purity and performance as polyolefins made using fossil fuel-based feedstocks, they offer the added bonus of not requiring grade revalidation, because they can be used as drop-in solutions.
Working in close collaboration with ITC allowed us to identify and implement the ideal technologies and material solutions for making rigid PP packaging food-contact compliant yet more circular, said Peter Voortmans, Borealis Global Commercial Director Consumer Products. “Building on the success story with Bornewables and Borcycle C, Borealis and ITC are now exploring the use of mechanically recycled compounds from the Borcycle M portfolio to further reduce the carbon footprint of ITC’s non-food packaging.
Borealis is exhibiting at K 2022, in Hall 6, stand A43.