Innovations in the packaging sector 

Looking back in 2016, the packaging industry is advanced in terms of sustainable and innovative containers. Plastic packaging is increasingly competing. We would like to present some of these innovative packaging concepts. 

Mushrooms instead of Styrofoam 

Styrofoam is one of the most used packaging materials. However, this substance is anything less compatible with the environment. The expanded polystyrene is not biodegradable. In addition, it takes about 1.5 liters of petrol to make a single expanded polystyrene cube. 

The natural alternative of the US company Ecovivecan replaces the expanded polystyrene in the future. An innovative process is used to produce innovative containers in any form of biological residues and mushrooms. 

Biodegradable waste is the first Tittered and mixed with special fungal cultures (Miceli). So, the mycelium occurs a few days to grow. Growth is possible thanks to organic waste. They eat mushrooms. Thus, the mixture is crushed again and takes in its final form. It takes about five days so that the mixture “becomes” the mold. The compact mass is then submitted to a heatwave to stop the growth and make the sterile material.  

Collection of packing trends 

100% degradable replacement for polystyrene foam is ideal as a packaging material for shipping but also offers attractive options for the automotive and construction industries. 

Fungal cultures such as containers sugar cane as an alternative to polyethene oil has recently been a respectful alternative of the environment to the labels. Avery Dennison Present made a bi-fuel movie (polyethylene) made of sugar cane ethanol. The physical and mechanical properties of the innovative material are similar to those of the conventional polyethylene made of oil. 

The film is processed and recycled as a conventional PE film. As a result, the costs of converting packaging processes and labelling are minimal. There is a white and transparent version available, for example, for labelling in the food, beverages, houses or cosmetics sectors. 

The Tetra package also is based on the sugar cane in the production of organic containers. Tetra Rex® cartons for refrigerated dairy products are made exclusively from plastic and cardboard based on sugar cane. 

Sugarcane in Tetra Pak Packaging 

The company has also recently presented a new version of Tetra Brik Asettic Packaging with a biological closure. The coating and the cover of the package are made of plastic whose polymers are obtained from sugar cane. As the first aseptic cardboard packaging in the world, the package received maximum per in cotter certification. 

Innovative packaging in the matter of milk proteins is replacing plastic.

Milk is another raw material that is moreover used for innovative packaging. Peggy Tomsula, whose projects are financed by the US Department of Agriculture. UU has managed to produce a packaging film of edible milk, biodegradable and much more effective than a film based on oil. 

The new packaging is based on the casein in the protein in milk. The milk proteins are powerful oxygen blockers that prevent food from ruining. Researchers are now able to produce thin films that block oxygen 500 times better than conventional oil films. The corn flakes, for example, are often sprayed with sugar so that it remains crispy despite the possible humidity. Alternatively, you can use a base fumigation movie. 

The edible property of the film opens up other request possibilities. If, for example, a soup is packaged, packaging with the soup can be dissolved in hot water. Spices or vitamins embedded in the milk package, which are released when the package is dissolved in hot water, are also conceivable. The film must be fully ready for the market over the next three years. 

The algae make the package disappear. 

The invention of the OhoCouls British Insets revolutionizes the packaging industry of liquid food in different areas. The packaging consists of algae, 100% biodegradable and edible. The special feature of the invention is located in the unusual type of containers, which is based on the natural “packaging” of the fruits. 

It is easy to do and costs only one penny. Through the I hope to process, a kind of waterproof skin is formed around the liquid, comparable to the skin of a grape. Liquid food could be sold in small portions as fresh fruit and make the production of billions of water bottles superfluously in the future. 

The first compostable bottle made of installations 

The Austrian company “Nakul made of natural plastic” brings the first bioplastic bottle (PLA) in the market. The material consists of lactic acid, which is obtained from sugar of raw materials and vegetable starch. 

Contact with food is harmless since lactic acid is also present in its natural form in the human body. No plasticizers are used as phthalates, bisphenol A or antimony and hormonally active substances. 

The bioplastic bottle has several advantages to offer: it is safe to use, 20 times lighter than glass, about 10 times cheaper than plastic and is also biodegradable. This makes it the perfect packaging for fruit juices, smoothies, dairy products or solid foods, like sweets.  

Furthermore, 50% of CO2 emissions are reduced because less heat and energy are needed than domestic animals. Therefore, the Nakul bottle has a very low ecological footprint and leaves no traces in the body or in nature. 

Conclusion: The tendency to continuous sustainability 

Sustainability will continue to be one of the strongest future trends in the packaging sector. A closed-loop along the value chain of the packaging industry is the goal of being fought that some innovative containers have already reached.

Read our blog on Top 5 Companies working in Sustainable Packaging