New: PET with high oxygen barrier

PRODUCTION AND ENVIRONMENT Arcoplastica carries out research and thinks “sustainably”: for protective atmosphere food packaging it has in fact devised an additivised PET that can replace traditional multilayer materials. The advantages? High performance, max transparency and the great pluspoint that monomaterial containers are easy to recover and recycle.

From the study and devising of the raw material to the design and building of the mould, up to the production of finished containers for the food and non food segments: Arcoplastica (Andezeno, TO) is one of the few European concerns that controls the entire plastics extrusion and thermoforming centered production process.
Heading the segment for years now, with its latest proposal the company confirms its vocation to green innovation. We spoke to Marco Torta, sales head of the Piedmontese company.
«1.220 tons of plastics, that is to say, 40 million and 680 thousand mineral water bottles: this the amount of material recovered and newly placed on the market by Arcoplastica under the form of R-PET and this only in 2013. A result this, enabled by an approach that aims at increasing our commitment to environmental themes year in year out».
The company’s objective is to in fact improve the environmental performance of its own packaging systems as much as possible, investing in resources and skills in a massive use of recycled material. But there is more: Arcoplastica continues to invest in the study of new structures and biodegradable packaging, in the design of lighter packs that are innovatory in terms of structure and shape, with the objective of even further reducing the environmental impact of the same without affecting the sturdiness of the pack.

More growth, less material
A key feature of Arcoplastica’s environmental strategy is its aim to reduce the types of materials placed on the market. This is also why the company has chosen to use PET in its production processes as its main raw material and has consequently developed a type of additivised PET for packaging in protective atmosphere, with a strong oxygen barrier, perfectly comparable to that offered by multilayer materials.
«The oxygen barrier offered by our material - Marco Torta explains - depends on the capacity to locate and block the passage of the oxygen molecules and its performance is comparable to that of barriered polylaminate material, such as PET laminated with PE-EVOH-PE. We are beginning to use this new material in cooperation with our customers, active in the food and sliced cold cut meats-, fresh pasta and cheese sector, for the very reason that our single layer barrier PET offers a true and proper added value to the product packaging: with the traditional transparency guaranteed by PET in fact, it combines the features of being made of only one polymer. Practically speaking - Torta concludes - we have created a new generation of completely recyclable containers».

A competitive choice
Choosing a pack totally made out of PET simplifies sorting and recycling during the production phase, thus enabling the total use of production waste with a consequent increase in efficiency and cost effectiveness.
«Having managed to further exploit and revalue a material already perfectly inserted in recycling processes such as PET - Marco Torta continues - is an achievement which we are particularly proud of: hence good ecological results can also be added to the product’s competitive lever».
The use of new monolayer barriered material is only part of our company’s efforts to safeguard the environment. Being able to consider ones production waste not as such but rather as an important resource means that every day Arcoplastica is able to recover and reuse large amounts in full respect of established technological and food safety regulations.
«We have attained ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 as well as BRC/IOP certification» Torta reminds us, winding up by saying «We are lastly also regularly committed to reducing consumption of resources through the use of state-of-the-art, high productivity machines and equipment with high energy efficiency and performance requisites. Arcoplastica also regularly sensitizes its staff and suppliers on environmental matters».