Mondi Consumer Goods Packaging introduces EcoFresh

Packaging Solutions

Mondi Consumer Goods Packaging has announced that it will be showing the EcoFresh pouch for the first time at Packaging Innovations (stand C28).

Mondi Deeside sales director Julie Eller said: ‘EcoFresh is an exciting development for our existing and market leading FreshTech pouch range. We recognised that too much plastic goes to landfill, so we have developed a material which means that our new EcoFresh pouches are fully recyclable.’

Mondi Deeside senior technical manager Graeme Smith added, ‘Combined with our post harvest science technology (bespoke micro perforations), pouches offer an excellent lightweight alternative to trays, and provide excellent shelf life properties. Pouches are convenient, versatile and can offer re-closability, meaning that even after the product has been opened, the atmosphere of the pack can remain at its optimum to help to reduce food waste.

‘However, the traditional combination of materials required to provide the visual shelf presence, strength and barrier properties has meant using a mixture of polymer resins. Until now, that made these pouches nearly impossible to recycle.

‘Mondi Consumer Goods Packaging has looked upon this as a challenge and has successfully developed a pouch which is made only from polypropylene resins. This means that when the packaging is to be disposed of, it could be fully recycled. The EcoFresh pouch does not contains outer film materials such as polyester and the specially developed polypropylene laminate used in the construction of this pouch has been designed to have very similar properties to that of traditional laminate.

‘This means that any existing, modified atmosphere pouch in a mixed polymer (size and microperforation specified) can simply be transferred over to our new EcoFresh pouch. Existing shelf life tests/checks will be the same as those already carried out from the initial design – with the added benefit that this product is 100% recyclable.’