Paper-coated packaging and service ware: compostable AND recyclable, including Luminy from Total Corbion PLA

Complete Corbion PLA has demonstrated that paper-coated applications with Luminy PLA can now be certified compostable and recyclable. The latest development adds previously difficult end-of-life choices for applications based on coated paperboard and paper, such as coffee cups and take-out containers, securing that valuable resources can be reused as fresh products.

The Paperboard applications coated with traditional, oil-based plastics had the shortcoming that the plastic required to be separated from the paper before recycling could occur. Oppositely, the polymer can interfere with the recyclability of the paper. For this reason, several applications were not recycled but instead incinerated or landfilled as there was no other end-of-life choice available.

Total Corbion PLA has expressed that paperboard coated with Luminy PLA does not meddle with the pulpability or recyclability of the paper. Reaching a paperboard application with Luminy PLA, hence, not only enables the widely used industrial composting end-of-life option (EN13432) but now also maintains mechanical and material recyclability within living recycling streams. Mechanical recycling is highlighted higher up on the end-of-life waste hierarchy because the essential resources in the product are retained for further use. Western Michigan University approved the recyclability of the PLA-coated paperboard, and Metpack provided the paperboard samples for the trial. 

They are specialized in extruded barrier-coated food-grade paper boards.

The Luminy PLA can be used on conventional paperboard extrusion lines at competitive speeds. PLA-coating permits for an utterly biobased solution with excellent seal strength and printability that does not need pretreatment. While PLA is a polar material like paper, excellent adhesion can be achieved. You are applying a PLA-coating result in good flavor, aroma barrier, and superior grease and mineral oil resistance. Moreover, Total Corbion PLA has demonstrated that Luminy PLA-coated paperboard can also be used for ready-to-eat containers that require reheated in the microwave or oven, thereby expanding the application window even further.

Jenifer Mitja, an Application Expert at Total Corbion PLA, led the project: “At Total Corbion PLA, we are passionate about producing applications commonly with our customers to reach new levels of product performance, product performance, and sustainability milestones. By showing the recyclability of PLA coated paperboard, we have gained an additional and even more valuable end-of-life choice which the entire value chain can benefit from”.

Aykut Güleryüz, Production Manager in Metpack, is happy that they can now allow even more different solutions to their customers: “Explaining the recyclability of PLA in coated paperboard applications is an excellent way to keep valuable resources in use for future product lifecycles, and we are delighted to offer this clarification to our customers.”

Thomas Philipon, CEO at Total Corbion PLA, acknowledges the achievement: “Packaging, in general, is under quite any pressure from both consumers and governments around the world to be more sustainably managed. The capability to recycle PLA-coated paperboard empowers brand owners, retailers, hospitality outlets, and waste management companies to work with a biobased packaging clarification that can be either composted or recycled depending on what is most environmentally efficient for that specific application. We are greatly proud to be contributing even further towards driving the circular economy forward”.

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