Lamb Weston, a frozen potato and fries company, has unveiled a recyclable paper fry bag for its products in the US, Packaging World has reported.

The new bag is said to be the outcome of years of development by the company's packaging engineers, who sought to create a more sustainable end-of-life option than the traditional polyethylene (PE) bags.

However, the transition to paper packaging is said to have presented notable challenges, particularly the need for moisture and grease resistance, alongside durability and machinability.

Lamb Weston's new bag, however, is promoted as biobased, indicating the potential use of a recyclable biopolymer coating to achieve the necessary functionality.

Lamb Weston's packaging innovation team has reportedly conducted extensive testing to ensure the material's safety and quality.

These tests included assessments of material properties, dynamics testing, and real-world trials.

The team's efforts also focused on compatibility with the company's existing equipment, ensuring a seamless integration into its production process.

The introduction of the recyclable paper fry bag represents a significant step for Lamb Weston in addressing the environmental concerns associated with packaging waste.

Lamb Weston packaging engineering senior manager Michael Grandinetti was quoted by Packaging World as saying: “This initiative was driven by our goal to develop packaging to be recycle-ready, reusable, or compostable to reduce our scope 3 GHG emissions as well as use less water in the production of our packaging.

“We have previously offered paper bags for our products, but this redevelopment allows them to now be accepted in the paper recycle stream.”