Issue 02/2017

Thermoforming / Rigid Packaging
Trays from sugar cane waste
Sugar cane by-product becomes raw material for biodegradable
(fruit) trays
Although environmentally friendly packaging for fruit
and vegetable products is growing in popularity, its
share of the total market is still relatively small. The
most important reason for this is the fact that its price/quality
ratio is not yet competitive enough to replace the traditional
packaging that dominates the market. In an effort to
package more fruit and vegetable products in planet-safer
packaging, Bio4Pack has recently brought onto the market
a new range of trays, which are primed to compete with
traditional packaging. The new trays are based on a waste
by-product: the cellulose fibres remaining after sugar cane
processing.
Package instead of burning
The processing of sugar cane produces a relatively large
quantity of waste by-product (approx. 40 % of the whole
plant) which, until recently, was almost exclusively used as
fuel for the sugar cane processing industry. Now, however,
technological developments have given it a new future as the
raw material for paper and cardboard. Bio4Pack (Rheine,
Germany), a pioneer in environmentally friendly packaging
for fruit and vegetable produce, seized this opportunity to
develop a new series of trays, which serve as an alternative
to paper pulp trays and disposable plastic trays.
The new trays offer a number of important benefits
compared to paper pulp trays. They are relatively cheap,
in comparison with other green trays. Furthermore, the
lower CO 2
emissions associated with their production
process make them an ecologically more responsible
option, compared to trays produced from paper pulp. The
material properties of the sugar cane by-product make it
possible to produce an end product that is not aesthetically
inferior to packaging manufactured from traditional raw
materials. The trays are smooth, retain their shape, ideal
for presenting products and are highly resource efficient:
unlike trays made from paper pulp, no trees need to be cut
down to source the materials used for their production.
Last but not least, the trays made from sugar cane byproduct
are completely biodegradable, Home & Industrial
compostable and they comply with the well-known EN
13432 standard for biodegradability. After use, they can be
discarded in the biological waste bin, the paper recycling
bin or on the compost heap. This completes the product’s
life cycle with minimal harm to the environment, because
the trays produce less waste and lower CO 2
emissions, in
addition to providing fertiliser for new sugar cane plants.
Hence, this latest compostable product from Bio4Pack is
truly a circular economy-based green initiative. MT
www.bio4pack.com
14 bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/17] Vol. 12