Italian pasta manufacturer Garofalo introduced a novel new package with a film made by GT Polifilm and Polivouga that uses certified circular polypropylene (PP) from SABIC, part of its TRUCIRCLE program to accelerate a circular plastic economy. The sustainable material is derived from advanced recycling and converted into a biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) film for this application, which is the first mono-PP pasta packaging material in the market containing 30% of post-consumer recycled (PCR) content. Garofalo introduced the first pasta bags made from the new packaging to Italian stores in March 2023.
“At Garofalo, we are fully committed to the quality and environmental compatibility of our products. Of course, this innovative new recycled pasta packaging is just one example of our sustainable initiatives, but marks an important step forward. It shows how food manufacturers and packaging suppliers are working together to bring about much needed change. As a packaging product that is both made with recycled content and fully recyclable, it also meets with a better consumer appeal,” says Dr. Sergio De Gennaro, quality assurance manager, Pastificio Lucio Garofalo S.p.A.
The PCR content in the bags is based on post-consumer used plastics, which is turned into pyrolysis oil in an advanced recycling process. At SABIC, the pyoil is used in the production of new polymers with the same specifications as virgin plastics from conventional feedstock. Polivouga, a vertically integrated Portuguese manufacturer of flexible films for packaging products uses a SABIC PP 525PC grade from SABIC’s TRUCIRCLE portfolio of certified circular polymers to produce the basic BOPP film for the new pasta packaging solution. GT Polifilm, a specialist in the production of flexible polypropylene products for automated packaging in the food industry, adds a cast PP film to the BOPP film to create a mono-material structure, which is then converted to tailor-made pasta bags. Once used, the mono-PP bags can easily be recycled again in existing PP waste streams.
“For such solutions to work in the long-term, the partners in the material value chain must closely collaborate,” Abdullah Al-Otaibi, general manager, ETP & Market Solutions, SABIC says. “With our TRUCIRCLE program, we are pushing for innovative business models to transform our industry from a linear to a circular one and help prevent the valuable material of end-of-life plastic applications from being wasted. Within a year, this remarkable joint project has shown what can be achieved to make this vision come true if all players work together to maximize post-consumer plastic recycling and sustainability.”
