Bio-based plastic for carbon packaging
In what is believed to be a first for the carton packaging industry, Tetra Pak has announced that it plans to sign an agreement with Braskem, a thermoplastic resins producer, for the supply of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) made from sugar cane to its packaging material factories in Brazil.
The initiative, which will be limited in scope to Brazil only for the duration of the trial, is scheduled to start during the first quarter of 2014. According to the plan, Tetra Pak will use bio-based LDPE as a component of its packages produced in Brazil. The planned move to bio-based LDPE means that 100% of Tetra Pak packages produced in Brazil, about 13 billion, will have up to 82% packaging material from renewable sources.
“The new agreement to be signed with Braskem demonstrates our commitment to bring environmental innovations to our customers and is a further step in our journey to develop fully renewable packages,” said Tetra Pak president and CEO, Dennis Jönsson.
Braskem will use ethanol derived from sugar cane to produce ethylene, which will then be converted into LDPE. The LDPE made from renewable sugar cane has the same technical properties as LDPE made from fossil sources, and the environmental benefits of being from a renewable source. Braskem biopolymers are known under the trademark I´m greenTM.
“The new bio-based I´m green TM LDPE is as inert, resistant and recyclable as the polyethylene made from fossil sources but, contributes to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere during the sugar cane growth process,” said Braskem President Carlos Fadigas. “The expansion of the green products line reinforces our commitment to adding value through sustainable development for the value chain.”
The Brazilian paperboard chain of custody has been certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) since 2008, down to the fact that all the paper used in the production of Tetra Pak packages comes from forests managed in accordance with responsible forestry management principles.
Tetra Pak was the first liquid food packaging supplier to use bio-based plastic in its packaging, launching Tetra Brik Aseptic packages with StreamCap 1000 produced with bio-based high density polyethylene (HDPE) supplied by Braskem in 2011. Earlier this month, the company announced global availability of a bio-based version of LightCap 30, which uses HDPE made from sugar cane.
