Global packaging and paper group Mondi has partnered with Swedish dairy producer Skånemejerier to develop a polypropylene (PP) film made from a mono-material for their cheese products.
The new packaging comprises a mono-material base web and lidding film, all of which is produced and printed by Mondi before being converted for 1 kg and 2k g blocks of cheese by Skånemejerier. It will be sold in leading Swedish supermarket ICA.
Designed for recyclability, Mondi’s mono-material solution also provides high barriers against oxygen and water vapours, keeping the product fresh on the supermarket shelf. It offers high puncture resistance protecting the cheese. Mondi said the packaging also ensures great printability so that the brand and recycling messages can be communicated well on-pack.
The launch comes as Sweden’s Site Zero is scheduled to come online at the end of November. Spanning 60,000 sqm and with a capability of handling 200,000 tonnes of plastic packaging per year, Site Zero will eventually recycle all the plastic packaging waste produced by the households in Sweden, according to Mattias Philipsson, CEO of Swedish Plastic Recycling. By using mono-material film rather than laminated plastics, Mondi’s packaging will be effectively sorted at Site Zero’s facility, thus avoiding incineration.
“Our collaboration with Mondi has been a thorough process: we started our first test and trials in 2019 and are delighted to be bringing this fully recyclable packaging to market before the end of 2023,” said Ingemar Jönsson, packaging manager at Skånemejerier. “The great working relationship we had, meant that we were able to adapt materials and machinery efficiently, resulting in a successful, fit for purpose solution. We have strong, effective, and good-looking packaging that keeps materials in the loop and responds to consumer demands for more sustainable solutions,” he concluded.
The mono-material cheese packaging on ICA’s shelves won this year’s PackNorth Award in the ‘Food’ category and was also recognised at the Empack fair in October in Stockholm, Sweden.