According to a Pira report, RFID and printed electronics will have a big impact on the printing and publishing industries 
A little longer than 80 days perhaps, but UV-cure inkjet is circumnavigating the globe at its own accelerating pace. Packaging
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| Developments in biodegradable and sustainable packaging |
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| Written by Katherine Vine, 2007 | |
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In a market where sustainability is fast becoming the buzzword, the use of biopackaging seems set to continue its growth. But can it become the dominant force in its most popular market - fresh produce? Katherine Vine considers the challenges. The markets for biopackaging are expanding. The technology and capabilities of the materials are improving, the price is steadily falling and the applications are broadening. The worldwide manufacturing capacity for biodegradable resins has risen sharply over the past five years, and is predicted to reach 600,000 tonnes by 2008.The area in which biopackaging is most popular is still the area in which it was first accepted for use: fresh, short shelf-life produce, such as fruit and vegetables, and particularly organic ranges. But how long will it be before biopackaging completely takes over this market? Biopackaging refers to packaging that is either biodegradable (it will break down or compost), or sustainable (it is made from a renewable resource such as corn). There are three main forms of renewable biopackaging: polylactic acid (PLA), polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) and thermoplastic starch (TPS). A package made from renewable resources will often also biodegrade, owing to the type of materials it is made from (mainly starch), but renewable materials are sometimes mixed with oil-based to improve performance capabilities, rendering the package no longer biodegradable. No industry or market has yet taken on the use of biopackaging to completely replace oil-based materials, but the indication is that if this is going to happen in any market, it will be fresh produce. At the moment biopackaging seems only to be able to occupy niches in the packaging market, and fresh produce is undoubtedly its biggest niche. There are various reasons for this; the performance properties of biopackaging are best suited to fresh produce, and it also creates a marketing opportunity. There is a perception that the type of customer that buys fresh, organic produce will be the type of customer that cares about the environment, and may even be willing to pay a little extra to preserve it. This article will focus on UK retailer Sainsbury's, one of the first to begin using biopackaging. It will look at the challenges involved in using biomaterials, and what obstacles will need to be overcome if biopackaging is ever to completely replace traditional packaging in the fresh produce market. What is it worth?The fresh produce industry is worth a great deal to the biopackaging industry. The properties of biopackaging are best suited to fresh produce, and it is very popular in organic ranges, as this gives retailers the opportunity to target a specific, environmentally-conscious consumer group.Sainsbury's use of biopackaging is mostly restricted to its organic range. According to James McKechnie, Recycling and Resources Manager at Sainsbury's, there is a variety of reasons for this. "Firstly, despite the rising price of oil and oil-based plastics, it still works out to be three to four times more expensive to implement packaging made from biomaterials - but because the organic produce comes at a more premium price anyway, it means we don't end up passing the extra cost onto the consumer," McKechnie says. "The second main reason is that it does seem that customers who buy organic produce are more interested in the environmental benefits of biopackaging, and are more likely to have home-compost bins where it can be properly disposed of. "A couple of years ago we trialled a compostable carrier bag, and the consumer response was nothing like it has been with the organics range - people just weren't interested. For this reason, I think fresh produce as a whole is of great value to the biopackaging industry, but organic fresh produce is particularly vital." It could be argued that, if it hadn't been for the fresh produce industry, biopackaging would never have taken off in the way that it did. The demand for biopackaging created by the retailers using it for fresh produce has given it a route for entry into the packaging market. The involvement of large supermarket chains is crucial to the development of the biopackaging industry. Supermarkets create the demand for a certain material, which in turn dictates the supply - if the demand from supermarkets is not there, there is little incentive for food and packaging manufacturers to develop and use biodegradable packaging. Escalating demand from retailers, who are themselves driven by ever more stringent packaging waste legislation, and the marketing advantages of having a green image, is putting increasing pressure on large food companies such as Geest and Uniq Foods to use biopackaging materials. If a large supermarket chain like Sainsbury's were to make the change to biopackaging across its entire fresh produce range, this would have a significant effect on the biopackaging industry, pushing it further towards the mainstream. This relationship also works the other way around - biopackaging can be worth a great deal to retailers. Not only does it afford them the marketing opportunities already mentioned but it can also save them money in packaging taxes and give them an easy way of disposing of fresh produce that is too old to remain on the shelves. In the UK, retailers have to take responsibility for the amount of waste they produce, and have to pay tax on any over the weight they are legally allowed. According to McKechnie, for a large supermarket chain this can be an expensive business, so any alternatives to landfill are welcomed. Biodegradable packaging for fresh produce allows supermarkets to compost old produce along with its packaging, saving the time and money spent separating the produce from the packaging - another reason why fresh produce is such a popular application for biopackaging. Sainsbury's use of biopackagingBiopackaging can be used in a wide variety of applications, including flexible films, bags, trays, punnets, netting, bottles, cups, labels, tubs and blister packs.Sainsbury's uses biopackaging for various fresh products, including fresh fruit, vegetables and prepared salads. As part of its organic standards, the retailer packs approximately 30 per cent of its organic produce in compostable biopackaging, a figure it intends to build on. In April 2006 Sainsbury's announced that it was trialling a fully compostable wrap made from renewable resources for use with organic apples and potatoes. If trials - which are taking place in 140 stores - are successful, Sainsbury's will roll out this packaging across its entire organic range in all stores. According to McKechnie, when the trials were in their second week, results looked promising: "So far, so good - we haven't had any negative feedback as yet."  Figure 1. Sainsbury's biopackaging timeline. The biodegradable materials used by Sainsbury's are starch-based, and are sourced from various suppliers based in Europe and East Asia. One of Sainsbury's suppliers is Innovia Films, a UK-based packaging manufacturer that produces a biodegradable plastic film called NatureFlex. NatureFlex is a glossy, transparent film manufactured from renewable wood pulp, sourced from managed plantations and is certified to EU and US standards for industrial and home composting. Sainsbury's is not the only UK retailer that is using biopackaging with fresh produce. Co-op uses biodegradable netting to package organic oranges and onions, and biodegradable trays and film to package organic tomatoes. It also uses biodegradable film to package fresh bread. Asda has started to look at the options for using biopackaging, and has engaged in preliminary meetings with the US supplier of PLA NatureWorks. According to Ian Bowles, Corporate Social Responsibility Manager at Asda, the retailer is considering using PLA to replace polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in the packaging of fresh fruit and vegetables. Asda is taking its lead from its US parent company Wal-Mart, which uses PLA to package fresh-cut fruit, herbs, strawberries and sprouts, and is trialling the material with 20 additional product ranges, including fresh cream cakes. Tesco's entire organic fruit range is packaged in biodegradable trays, film and plastic netting. Paul Bidwell, Tesco's organic fruit development manager says: "Biodegradable packaging and organic fruit go hand-in-hand as both are environmentally friendly products." Tackling the challengesThere are still a number of challenges relating to the use of biopackaging materials - as mentioned earlier, one of the main difficulties is cost.However, the price of biopackaging materials has now reached the point where it can be absorbed when used with high-end, premium price products, such as organics. Also, as McKechnie points out, the price of oil is set to continue increasing, which could eventually stand to make bioplastics the more economically viable option. Another remaining challenge, despite technological advances, is the performance capabilities of biopackaging materials. Compared to oil-based packaging, biopackaging tends to have a very low barrier to gas and moisture, a lack of resistance to heat and a short shelf life. However, these problems do not occur when biopackaging is used with fresh produce such as fruit, vegetables and bread, and in fact go some way towards explaining why fresh produce is such a popular application. A major advantage of using biopackaging for fresh produce is that it doesn't require high barrier properties, heat-resistance or a long shelf life. When is comes to fresh produce, many of these cited problems can actually be advantages. For example, biopackaging is ideal for use with fresh bread because its high moisture transfer properties mean that the bread can be placed inside the package while still hot, and the package will not steam up, meaning that the bread does not become soggy. According to Pira International market report The Future of Flexible Packaging, a core problem remains with biodegradable materials: "Not only is plastics processing know-how essential to make full use of the development potential of biodegradable materials, but well-informed consumers with a positive attitude to the products are also needed to ensure a promising future." McKechnie agrees with this: "People have to understand what they are buying, and its environmental benefits, in order for it to be valuable. If people don't understand about biodegradable packaging they will simply place it in the rubbish bin, to be taken to landfill, where it won't break down properly. "The public needs to be able to recognise a compostable logo in the same way that they recognise a soil association logo, and understand what it means." Sainsbury's attempts to address this problem by clearly labelling its products as GM (genetic modification)-free and home-compostable. "We have a strong preference for biopackaging materials that are home-compostable," McKechnie says. "Some biopackaging materials will break down in landfill, but take years rather than months, and also give off greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane." The UK Government's Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) is running a project aimed at increasing the number of UK households with home-composting facilities. According to McKechnie, this should mean that by the end of 2006 houses without compost bins will be in the minority. Philip Ward, Director of WRAP, says: "In order for biopackaging to help the UK waste problem, it really does need the capability to break down in a home composting system." According to the UK composting association, with the way research and technological developments are advancing, it should be possible for all biodegradable packaging to be home-composted before too long Do-it-yourself compostingAs we have seen, the performance properties of biopackaging materials make them ideal for use with fresh produce, so despite the fact that steps are being made - using nanotechnology and polymer blends - towards improving performance capabilities, these are not really relevant to the use of biopackaging with fresh produce.According to McKechnie, the main technological advance that is still needed to make biopackaging ideal for use with fresh produce is to make all biopackaging materials home-compostable. It should be noted that this particular issue cannot be applied globally. In the US where there is still plenty of space for landfill, but dwindling supplies of oil, the emphasis with biopackaging lies much more on it being sourced from renewable raw materials. However, in the UK and most of Europe, where landfill space is running out fast, the emphasis is much more on what happens to biopackaging at the end of its life and whether it will break down properly, alleviating the waste problem. Because there are very few municipal composting systems in the UK, biopackaging is most beneficial if it will break down in a home-composting system, which McKechnie says is not always the case. "Rigid biodegradable packaging such as punnets and trays tend to be too thick to fully break down in a home composting system," he says. These packages are still able to carry the European EN13432 certification for compostability, as certified materials are only required to break down in the conditions found in a municipal composting system. If a biodegradable plastic that cannot be home-composted is placed in a home-compost bin, when it breaks down it will leave some polymer behind, which will contaminate the compost. This can be very damaging, as it makes customers suspicious of anything that claims to be biodegradable. "Although biodegradable trays and punnets cannot be home-composted at the moment, Sainsbury's is involved with some research looking into how this can be achieved, and we certainly don't think it's impossible," McKechnie says. One possible way for this to be achieved may be through nanotechnology. Researchers at the University of North Texas, US, are developing a process whereby nanocompositing is used to aid and speed up the composting process of biodegradable plastics. Research has found that when nanoparticles are added during the foaming process used in the manufacture of biodegradable plastics such as PLA, the resulting materials will break down faster because of increased water permeability. McKechnie says he feels that retailers will be more willing to take on the use of biopackaging that will break down in homecomposting systems, as many do not see the point in investing time and money in these new materials when they are fairly likely just to go to landfill, where it will take years for them to break down, if indeed they break down at all. Biopackaging takeover bidAccording to Pira market report, The Future of Global Markets for Flexible Packaging, many brand owners and retailers view sustainable materials as the future direction for packaging. Around 15 per cent of brand owners expect to start using biopackaging within the next two years.In 2002, the EU consumed 20,000 tonnes of biodegradable materials. By 2004 this had increased to 50,000 tonnes, and the market is expected to continue growing at a similar rate. According to the report survey, this market growth has been influenced by a combination of factors, including technical innovations, specific cultivation of renewable raw materials in agriculture for greater supply, consumer acceptance and EU Sustainable Development policy goals. Fresh produce continues to be the most popular application for bioplastics, but will they ever fully replace oil-based materials in this sector? McKechnie says yes. "I can see a full replacement happening at Sainsbury's within the next two to three years. In the long-term, oil-based plastics are only going to get more expensive, and meanwhile the pace of technological development is amazing really," he explains. McKechnie says that the only thing that could prevent this from happening is if the supply is unable to keep up with demand. Supply is a particular problem for retailers like Sainsbury's, who insist on the materials being GM-free. Most of the larger suppliers of bioplastics such as PLA are US-based, and because GM is not seen as so much of an issue in the US, suppliers like NatureWorks do produce a relatively large amount of GM materials. This is a problem recognised elsewhere. According to The Future of Flexible Packaging, the next five years of the bioplastics market will see wider application to sensitive shelf life products, but elsewhere there will be little change because of restricted input of raw materials.  Figure 2. Worldwide manufacturing capacity. Sainsbury's intends to continue expanding its use of biopackaging in the fresh produce sector, through the efforts of McKechnie, packaging technologist Stuart Lendrum and the packaging design team. The retailer expects to have its entire organic fresh produce range using biopackaging by the end of 2006, and will then turn its attentions to non-organic fresh produce. Takeaways
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