Soon, candy wrappers, cigarette packaging to be biodegradable

Vijay C Roy

Chandigarh, April 25

The growing awareness regarding plastic waste and its adverse impact on the environment is driving manufacturers of various products to switch to more environment-friendly packaging. With the advancement in technology, these plastic packaging materials can be either recycled or even if they escape into nature, they will be fully biodegradable.

Recycling plastic

We are delighted to see the record-speed biodegradation achieved by combining our plastic packaging with Polymateria’s technology. We look forward to working with some of the country’s well-known brands as it gets widely rolled out. Manohar Kumar, CEO, Toppan speciality films

Soon, we will see candy wrappers to cigarette packaging which can be fully biodegradable, leaving no plastic and toxins behind. Recently, London-based plastic innovator Polymateria, in partnership with plastic manufacturer Toppan Specialty Films (TSP), having manufacturing base in Punjab, has released ‘Biotransformed’ packaging that can return to nature harmlessly in just 176 days, leaving no microplastics or toxins behind. The company claims it is the fastest-ever full biodegradation of biaxially oriented (flexible) polypropylene which is used in food and cosmetic packaging.

Manohar Kumar, CEO of Toppan Speciality Films, said, “We are delighted to see the record-speed biodegradation achieved by combining our plastic packaging with Polymateria’s technology. We are already seeing huge interest in our sustainable biodegradable packaging in India and look forward to working with some of the country’s well-known brands as it gets widely rolled out.” The company has a capacity to manufacture 75,000 tonnes of packaging material per annum.

Toppan Specialty Films is a global leader in the development and production of specialty and value-added films with focus on providing sustainable solutions to sectors such as flexible packaging of food, confectionery and fast-moving consumer goods, as well as in industrial packaging.

According to him, products using Polymateria’s technology can be recycled, but if they escape into nature, they will biotransform into a bioavailable wax. The wax then attracts microorganisms like bacteria and fungi, which safely digest it and return it to nature without any harm.

Polymateria has also worked with one of the world’s largest confectionery manufacturers to create rigid plastic packaging armed with biotransformation technology, which was measured to fully biodegrade in 230 days. These twin breakthroughs mean that common packaging — from candy wrappers to cigarette packaging — could be made biodegradable.

Niall Dunne, CEO, Polymateria, said, “In a market of the size of India, multiple solutions will be needed and our technology provides an additional route by making plastic fully biodegradable in the ambient environment.”