The popularity of convenience foods shows no sign of abating. According to Statista.com, the global market is expected to grow annually by 6.51% (CAGR 2024-2028).
The wide variety of packaging solutions available for convenience products has help to support this growth. One example is film overwrap trays which allow products to be effectively presented on-shelf and provide protection to maintain freshness and extend shelf-life. For example, fresh produce that is usually sold loose can be grouped together in a tray, keeping it safe and protected, and preventing handling and touching.
Cling film isolates food, contains smells, and will keep the integrity of flavours. Hygiene and food safety are another benefit, avoiding cross-contamination which is of particular importance with the heightened awareness surrounding food allergies.
The Need for a More Sustainable Alternative
For many years, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) film has been the material of choice for such applications, providing the flexibility, strength, and clarity to pack fresh items.
However, with manufacturers, retailers and consumers all now prioritising sustainability in their selection of packaging, the use of PVC has become something of a challenge, particularly in terms of its recyclability.
Equally significant, legislation is also moving towards requiring recyclability at scale. For example, one of the most recent revisions to the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive is to ensure that all packaging on the EU market will be recyclable in an economically viable way by 2030.
The Challenges of Recycling PVC
To recycle PVC, the material’s complex composition requires a low melting and processing temperature that makes it incompatible with most other widely used polymers in packaging, such as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene, and polyethylene terephthalate. When even minute amounts of PVC are processed with other polymers, PVC degrades into constituents such as hydrochloric acid and chlorine, causing corrosion of processing equipment and rendering recyclates non-useable.
This means that PVC would need a dedicated collection waste stream in order to avoid it downgrading the quality of kerbside and front of store waste streams. However, there is limited collection and sorting infrastructure for PVC films in European markets.
As a result, food companies requiring overwrap films need to find solutions that can offer the same benefits as PVC but demonstrate an improved environmental profile.
The Search for an Alternative
As a recyclable solution, employing a PE film for overwrapped trays would provide a more consistent supply of used film. However, PVC has a number of specific benefits that have made it current preferred material for stretch film applications, in addition to the presentation and protection advantages that plastic film in general offers.
Most notably, PVC provides a uniform stretch that enables it to handle products of all shapes and sizes. Such stretchability is achieved while maintaining excellent clarity, with no marks or blemishes to the film. Packs can also be handled numerous times without leaving finger dents. All these ensure outstanding on-shelf presentation.
Any alternative film must therefore be able to replicate the benefits of PVC. Just as important, they must also be compatible with existing wrapping machinery, so that manufacturers do not have to make additional investments.
The good news is that this is already work in progress. While many countries are in the process of introducing legislation focused on making packaging more sustainable, the industry itself has been working on this issue for years.
Identifying and developing an alternative solution to PVC film has therefore been the focus of much ongoing technical development work. At Berry, for example, we initially began to look at this challenge in 2019.
A PE Solution
This involved harnessing our longstanding knowledge and experience of handling PE films. The fundamental properties of impact resistance and clarity were already inherent in the material, and we used our technical expertise to further enhance other key properties, such as stretching behaviour and elastic recovery.
The result is our Omni Xtra+ low gauge, recyclable PE film, which has been created to combine the best characteristics of PVC and PE. This means it is able to match the strength, stretchability and clarity of PVC, while also maintaining PE’s excellent resistance to puncturing.
The new film also offers improved film memory to reduce the risk of finger marks when a pack is handled.
Recyclable
Equally important, Omni Xtra+ film follows retailer and emerging legislative requirements by being recyclable with European kerbside and front of store PE waste streams. The film also represents a significant reduction in material usage compared to PVC, offering a weight reduction of over 25% in terms of density. In addition, Omni Xtra+ film’s improved mechanical properties enable the production of a thinner overall film than PVC while maintaining its strength and resistance to puncturing.
PVC remains an excellent film for fresh food applications, but the increased focus by manufacturers and consumers on sustainable packaging has put it at a disadvantage and driven the need for a suitable alternative. The introduction of PE films such as Omni Xtra+ provides a recyclable solution that combines the performance characteristics of PVC with PE’s robustness, offering a game-changing innovation for the fresh food industry.