Smurfit collaborates with Mitsubishi to create recyclable board packaging

Lars Henriksson, VP of product development of the Smurfit Kappa Paper Division, said, "It has been a very interesting and collaborative process for us working with Mitsubishi HiTec Paper on this project. The fibres that our industry-leading paper is made from are an excellent solution for a huge range of products due to various attributes, not least their inherent sustainability.”

The product enacts as a functional board-based package that is fully recyclable due to the optimised use of renewable raw materials in the barrier. It comes as a part of Smurfit’s Better Planet Packaging initiative.

Hobako, a Swiss producer of chocolate products, together with Schelling, its packaging provider, were the first to use the new board-based packaging solution, which was shortlisted as a finalist in both the sustainability and technology categories of the Swiss Packaging Awards earlier this year.

Dieter Becker, director of new business development and CSR at Mitsubishi HiTec Paper, said, “As experts in specialty paper coatings, we brought our know-how in barrier and protective coatings to this process. Our solutions are completely free from foil, laminates, aluminium and fluorocarbons. Instead, we rely on the highest possible percentage of biodegradable resources, which is why Smurfit Kappa’s MB12 solution was the right one.”

The outer board-based packaging was made from Smurfit’s MB12 packaging. It has a built-in adsorbing technology, which protects aroma and the possible migration of substances. The inner packaging contains Mitsubishi’s Barricote barrier paper, which offers protection against moisture and grease and has heat-sealing properties.