US – US-based packaging company Novolex has confirmed that several products sold under its Duro brand have secured the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) certification.
Products receiving the BPI certification include the brand’s Dubl Life line of paper bags and sacks.
Made entirely from recycled materials, Dubl Life products are claimed to contain a minimum of 60% post-consumer recycled paper.
Novolex said these products are among the first on the market to receive this certification, increasing the company’s portfolio of certified compostable products.
Novolex says the bags will also feature the Sustainable Packaging Coalition’s (SPC) How2Compost and How2Recycle labels, which inform consumers of how to dispose of the packaging after use.
For products to feature the How2Compost label, BPI must test them to ensure that the packaging can be processed in a commercial composting facility.
Novolex Chief Technology Officer Adrianne Tipton said: “At Novolex, our goal is to minimize the environmental footprint of packaging and maximize our production of sustainable products.
“Earning these important certifications again demonstrates our support of the circular economy and reaffirms our corporate commitment to sustainability.”
Novolex’s Duro brand supplies paper bags and sacks to the grocery, retail, pharmacy and foodservice industries among others in North America.
Dubl Life bags and sacks previously received the Forest Stewardship Council‘s (FSC) Chain of Command certification, which helps consumers understand which products come from responsibly managed sources.
Based in South Carolina, Novolex supplies diverse packaging products for companies in the foodservice, delivery and carryout, food processor and industrial sectors.
The company operates 57 manufacturing facilities in North America and Europe and has more than 10,000 ’employee families’.
Earlier last month, Novolex invested US$10 million to expand its capacity to recycle plastic bags and other PE film at its recycling facility in North Vernon, Indiana.
The company says the investment in mechanical recycling equipment will enable the plant to produce up to 28 million pounds (12,700 tonnes) of recycled content per year to produce new products made with post-consumer or post-industrial recycled content.
The addition of new equipment will also bring along more than a dozen jobs to the facility, noted Novolex.
The firm also launched tamper-evident paper bags designed for takeout orders and home deliveries in August this year.
Manufactured by the company’s Duro brand, the Load & Fold and Load & Seal shopping bags are intended to provide more secure transport and deliveries for restaurants and retailers.
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