Monolayer lidding foil

The Global manageable packaging and lidding films supplier KM Packaging has launched a unique range of mono-polymer material lidding films, produced from polypropylene (PP), created for recyclability. 

The sustainable films seal and peel to PP and PE-lined PP trays and can be used through microwave cooking and proper for ambient, chilled, or frozen applications. 

Part of KM’s K Peel range allows food manufacturers to meet the growing demand, particularly from supermarkets, for mono-material packaging designed for recycling.

Monolayer lidding foil -Features

The lidding films are excellent for the packaging of poultry, meat, and chilled prepared foods. Features include:

• The Mono structure is made of one material type.

• Designed for recyclability.

• Suitable for use during food preparation and microwave cooking.

• Peelable from the tray.

• Ideal for ambient, chilled, or frozen applications.

• Exceptional transparency.

• Excellent anti-fog capability.

• Available with or without barriers.

As well as satisfying the requirements of supermarkets and customers who are attempting further recycle-ready solutions, KM is supporting to future-proof its food packaging.

KM Packaging’s commercial director Graham Holding described: “If you have a piece of flexible packaging that, for example, is a mixture of paper, plastic, and aluminum foil, then that would be a challenging thing to and put into a recycling stream. 

“It is expected that the UK government’s Extended Packaging Producer responsibility regulations, scheduled in 2023, will quite extremely penalize packaging like this that is hard to recycle.”

PP lidding foil

The new PP lidding film is also created for recycling worldwide, with some countries already having well-developed recycling infrastructures for polyolefin (polyethylene and polypropylene) plastics. 

In the UK, front-of-store recycling facilities permit customers to return polyolefin-based flexible packaging. 

A similar approach is taken in different markets. For example, Australia’s REDcycle initiative and, in South Africa, polyolefins are the various prominent plastic commodity recycled by weight. Therefore, putting a tray/film mixture of polypropylene onto the market feeds into an already well-established recycling system.

And the original “Designing for a Circular Economy” guidelines from CEFLEX concentrate on polyolefin-based flexible packaging. This is due to the material proceeding up approximately 70-80% of the flexible packaging waste stream. The capacity to sort and mechanically recycle it is already proven at an industrial scale in Europe. 

the KM Packaging’s primary purpose is to “protect, present, preserve.” That is delivering the most suitable packaging solutions by:

• Preserving products throughout the entire process, from the factory to the table.

• Presenting food in a way that is beautiful, professional, and recognizable.

• Maintaining nutrition and prolonging shelf-life across the food industry.

Graham said: “The main purpose of our packaging is to look after and protect food. We don’t compromise on that. But we’re also working to make sure it’s designed for recyclability and, when appropriate, and it’s thinner and lighter. These are important drivers in our product-development process.”

The original polypropylene lidding film products follow KM’s new launch of all-polyester (PET), weld-seal, mono-material lidding films in its K Seal range. 

Both clarifications are designed for recyclability and will permit customers to avoid putting multi-layer trays and films with various plastics combined into the market.

Read More: 1. PeelGrid® – a breakthrough in lidding foil for the medical packaging

2. Biodegradable plastic – The complete details