The EU has taken the lead in addressing the growing plastic waste problem with the Single-Use Plastics Regulation, pushing customers in the food packaging industry to find ways to replace traditional fossil-based plastics with biodegradable alternatives. The SUP regulation targets plastics products that are typically used once and then discarded such as yoghurt cups, salad bowls and snack pouches.
Walki has been working on developing a wide portfolio of biopolymer materials for several years and is collaborating with different companies that develop natural polymer-based coatings. There are numerous sources of natural polymers such as cellulose, algae and even chitin derived from insects and crustaceans, that can be used as a substitute to fossil-based plastics.
Walki has now entered into a strategic partnership with Lactips, a French startup that develops and produces industrial plastic-free natural polymers, to develop a paper-based food packaging material with a polymer coating based on casein.
“When you process milk, you end up with casein as a side stream. Lactips has developed this casein into a bio-based natural polymer that is 100% biodegradable. Thanks to its water solubility, the material is recyclable in the paper stream without leaving any microplastics behind or polluting the wastewater streams. Finding the optimal material that protects the food from being spoilt while still being fully biodegradable is challenging. Casein ticks all the boxes when it comes the SUP regulation”, explains Mats Käldström, Manager, Development & Innovation at Walki Group.
Lactips will provide Walki with the casein-based polymer, while Walki will do pilot trials on the state-of-the-art extrusion line in its Technical Competence Center in Pietarsaari, Finland. During the partnership spanning two years, Walki will also conduct properties analyses for the produced materials regarding coating weight, adhesion, barrier and heat-sealability properties.
Walki has a long tradition of collaborating with universities, customers and startups to develop future-proof solutions.
“This partnership is a win-win. We appreciate the speed and innovation that Lactips as a startup comes with and are happy to provide our expertise and state-of-the-art production lines for piloting the solutions”, says Annika Sundell, Executive Vice President, Consumer Packaging and Innovation & Sustainability at Walki Group.
The collaboration Lactips has been off to a smooth start.
“We are proud to collaborate with Walki to create innovative, fully recyclable solutions for the food packaging industry that are fit to be recycled in the paper stream. This partnership combines our expertise in formulation and development of natural polymers with Walki’s state-of-the-art production capabilities, marking an important step towards reducing plastic waste and advancing circularity in packaging solutions. We are delighted to work with a partner who shares our values of sustainability and environmental responsibility, strengthening our shared commitment to a cleaner, plastic-free future” says Bertrand Dupeyroux, Vice President Sales & Marketing at Lactips.
“We share the same mission in taking the world toward circularity. This partnership brings us one step closer to that goal”, concludes Sundell.
