This development incorporates polylactic acid (PLA), a biobased resin, with a specialised mineral blend, to produce a barrier coating which the company said offers compostability and recyclability for paper cups and other barrier-coated paper packaging.
Smart Planet Technologies insists that by mineralising the resin used in the extrusion-coating process, EarthCoating has ‘been proven’ to produce barrier paper packaging that is compatible with conventional paper recycling systems and qualified for recycling in premium recovered paper categories.
EarthCoating has been used in over 3 billion paper cups to date, with recovered cups used commercially in gift wrap for Hallmark and copy paper for Australian Paper.
Conventional PLA coatings are qualified as industrially compostable but, as a 100% plastic coating, present the same recycling challenges as 100% polyethylene coatings.
Chris Tilton, co-founder and chief technology officer, Smart Planet Technologies, said the use of PLA, derived from renewable resources, enhances the sustainability profile of packaging materials, and the mineralization of resin in a barrier coating reduces the plastic content by ‘35-51%’ compared to conventional 100% plastic coatings.
“Sustainable packaging regulations often face the challenge of deciding whether to prioritize recycling or composting. The commingling of packaging that may be compatible with one process can be incompatible with the other. With the introduction of EarthCoating-Bio, we offer a solution compatible with both processes while reducing plastic content. This is a more sustainable PLA-based solution compared to 100% PLA coatings.”
