Ireland-based corrugated packaging company Smurfit Kappa has launched an ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH) film for its Bag-in-Box solution.
The 60-micron film, to be marketed as E Compact 60, will reduce the amount of plastic used by the company when manufacturing bags.
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The solution is based on new polyethylene (PE) resin technologies, making the film more resistant and the packaging sustainable without compromising productivity or consumer convenience.
It will allow Smurfit Kappa to reduce a bag’s weight by 16% and its CO2 emissions by 12%, as estimated for the 3l bag format equipped with the Vitop Compact tap.
Smurfit Kappa Bag-in-Box CEO Thierry Minaud said: “Bag-in-Box is an environmentally friendly solution containing less plastic than other liquid product packaging solutions.
“We are constantly working on our materials and technologies to make our packaging most sustainable. Bag-in-Box has already made significant improvements in the area of plastic weight reduction and showed a 15% decrease in film thickness in the last 15 years.
“The launch of the Vitop Compact tap has also contributed positively and enabled 2.7t of plastic to be saved for every million bags. Reducing materials goes hand in hand with other environmental benefits: fewer trucks and lower CO2 emissions, less waste, less storage space.”
Smurfit Kappa introduced the Vitop Compact tap last March. The tap’s lightweight design uses less raw material compared to other Vitop taps, with all its components being made from linear low-density polyethylene (LLEP).
Last month, Smurfit Kappa introduced Safe&Green, a fully renewable, recyclable and biodegradable punnet packaging line, in Europe.
Part of the company’s Better Planet Packaging portfolio, the solution is a sustainable alternative to plastic packaging for fresh produce.
The company also introduced eBottle, a range of sustainable packaging solutions for the online beverage market.
