In a major milestone for sustainable food packaging, Graphic Packaging International (Graphic Packaging) has been honoured at the prestigious WorldStar Global Packaging Awards 2026.

Central to the success of their winning solution, PaperSeal Shape, is a crucial technological material contribution from ITP (Industria Termoplastica Pavese), showcasing the power of collaborative eco-design across the manufacturing supply chain.

The WorldStar Awards, organised by the World Packaging Organisation (WPO), represent one of the most recognised global benchmarks for innovation and design excellence in the packaging industry. This year’s highly competitive scheme spotlighted technical excellence on an international scale, celebrating 234 winning projects from 36 countries.

PaperSeal Shape stands out as a paperboard tray engineered specifically for fresh and chilled foods. By integrating a specialised functional liner into a rigid paperboard structure, the final product slashes plastic content by up to 72% to 82% compared to traditional fully plastic alternatives. The tray maintains a robust barrier against oxygen, moisture, and grease. This ensures a food preservation shelf life identical to traditional packaging while remaining fully compatible with existing high-speed processing lines.

ITP’s core technological contribution to this joint packaging system is PaperG, a pioneering self-adhesive coextruded liner film. Specifically developed for direct thermal lamination onto paper and paperboard substrates, PaperG bonds seamlessly without using any external chemical adhesives or solvents.

Built on a specialised PE/EVOH structure, the film offers customisable gas barrier performance alongside excellent mechanical strength and high thermal stability. This makes the material incredibly versatile, easily supporting modified atmosphere packaging (MAP), vacuum skin packaging, and microwave-ready formats.

Beyond food protection, PaperG was engineered from the ground up with a strict design-for-separation circular economy philosophy. The coextruded film is calculated to stay firmly bonded during transport, handling, and consumer use. However, under specific post-consumer sorting conditions, it easily peels away entirely from the paperboard substrate after disposal. This enables effortless waste sorting by consumers, ensuring that the heavy paper portion remains completely clean and can be successfully recycled into standard paper waste streams.