Parkside Flexibles is set to to launch its new home compostable barrier laminates at the London Packaging Innovations exhibition in late September.
Parkside Flexibles is the first flexible packaging manufacturer to produce barrier laminates that have successfully completed the 26-week disintegration test for home composting with recognised Belgian laboratory OWS. The laminates will be accredited under Vincotte’s OK Compost Home certification.
The success means that environmentally aware brand owners, packers, retailers and consumers will finally have the choice of barrier packs that can be disposed of in a home composting environment.
The two structures, one a duplex and one a triplex laminate, have both been proven to break down under the specified conditions within the 26 weeks required, according to the Vincotte protocol for home composting.
Once the consumer has used the contents, the pack can be mixed with other organic household waste and composted in a home composting bin, avoiding the need for landfill and any detrimental effect on the environment.
Parkside is currently applying for the OK Compost Home certification from Vincotte for both structures, which will form part of Parkside’s exhibition at the Packaging Innovations exhibition at the London Design Centre on 30 September and 1 October. Personnel from the company will be available to discuss the potential of the new laminates to promote products that would benefit from greener compostable credentials.
The development of the packs has seen Parkside again work closely with specialist base material manufacturer Innovia Films to develop these unique products, which will fill a vital gap in the market. The flexographically printed metallised laminates can be used in a variety of applications in which good oxygen and moisture barriers are required to prolong the shelf life of the contents.
Parkside Speciality Division managing director Steve McCormick said: "We are delighted with our achievement and as a company we see the addition of the first home compostable barrier laminates as a major step forward, as an industry, in supporting the environment. We feel that Parkside are leading the way in developing truly innovative packaging in this area and we plan to continue to build on our successes."
These innovative new structures are the latest in a range of compostable laminate products that Parkside is developing, which will be specifically tailored to meet the environmental demands of the packer, retailer and consumer, and will follow on from Parkside’s success in developing and launching the first industrial accredited laminate. With manufacturing facilities in Europe and Asia, Parkside is able to offer this finished product on a global basis.