ITALY – Garofalo, a major Italian pasta manufacturer, has introduced a novel packaging made by GT Polifilm and Polivouga using SABIC’s certified circular polypropylene (PP).
The sustainable material is derived from advanced recycling and converted into a Biaxially Oriented PolyPropylene (BOPP) film for this application, which is the first pasta mono-PP packaging material in the market containing 30 percent of post-consumer recycled (PCR) content.
Garofalo introduced the first pasta bags made from the new packaging to Italian stores in March 2023.
The PCR content in the bags is based on post-consumer used plastics, which are turned into pyrolysis oil in an advanced recycling process.
At SABIC, the pyoil is used in the production of new polymers with the same specifications as virgin plastics from the conventional feedstock.
Polivouga, a vertically integrated Portuguese manufacturer of flexible films for packaging products uses a SABIC® PP 525PC grade from SABIC’s TRUCIRCLE portfolio of certified circular polymers to produce the basic BOPP film for the new pasta packaging solution.
SABIC general manager Abdullah Al-Otaibi says: “For such solutions to work in the long-term, the partners in the material value chain must closely collaborate.
“With our Trucircle program, we are pushing for innovative business models to transform our industry from a linear to a circular one and help prevent the valuable material of end-of-life plastic applications from being wasted.
“Within a year, this remarkable joint project has shown what can be achieved to make this vision come true if all players work together to maximize post-consumer plastic recycling and sustainability.”
SABIC’s circular materials are produced using a mass balance accounting scheme according to the International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC) PLUS program, which follows a set of predefined and transparent rules for tracking the material flow across complex supply chains from the feedstock to the final application.
Dr. Sergio De Gennaro, Quality Assurance Manager, Pastificio Lucio Garofalo S.p.A. added: “At Garofalo, we are fully committed to the quality and environmental compatibility of our products.
“This innovative new recycled pasta packaging is just one example of our sustainable initiatives but marks an important step forward.
“It shows how food manufacturers and packaging suppliers are working together to bring about much needed change. As a packaging product that is both made with recycled content and fully recyclable, it also meets with a better consumer appeal.”
While flexible plastic packaging is often the more sustainable alternative, a lot of food is packaged in paper/plastic combinations or laminates which are difficult to recycle and may have a bigger carbon footprint due to higher resource consumption.
As a more responsible solution, flexible mono-material with PCR content is potentially the preferred packaging route for a growing number of brand owners and retailers, while it is also supported by EU authorities and NGOs.
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