BASF unveils new certificate for home-composting packaging materials
BASF has expanded its ecovio® portfolio for extrusion coating of paper and board by adding a grade for home and industrial composting for hot and cold food packaging. The new extrusion grade ecovio® 70 PS14H6 is approved for food contact and shows excellent barrier properties against liquids, greases and mineral oils, as well as temperature stability at the boiling point of water (up to 100° C). It is also characterized by its extraordinary adhesion to numerous types of paper and cardboard. It is therefore well suited for paper-based applications such as cups and canisters for dairy products (also frozen), wrappers for snacks and cereal bars, bowls and trays for sweets and snacks, hot/cold beverage containers and soups on the go. After use, the food containers made with ecovio® 70 PS14H6 coated paper are suitable for home composting for use in gardens or in industrial composting plants in accordance with the legislation of each country. Therefore, this new biopolymer for home composting is suitable for organic recycling and helps to close the nutrient cycle to achieve a circular economy.
This new grade for home composting shows a better performance than the biopolymers currently available on the market. It allows the coating of paper and cardboard containers for food, improving the barrier properties with respect to extrusion or multilayer extrusion without adhesives. Paper coating can be performed at line speeds comparable to polyethylene (PE). The material shows no adhesion to heat transfer rollers and stands out for its outstanding sealing and printing properties. It also makes it possible to obtain a coating weight equivalent to PE depending on the application and the equipment, so it can also be used to make very thin coatings.
“Thanks to its home and industrial compostability, our new ecovio® grade expands the end-of-life options for paper packaging,” said Michael Bernhard Schick, BASF’s Global Marketing Department for Biopolymers. “There is a marked tendency in society, in some countries with a legislative impulse, to replace pure plastic containers with paper containers, which by itself is not suitable for many foods, especially if they contain liquid ingredients or fats. We offer a packaging solution that is robust and at the same time sustainable and suitable for hot, frozen or cold food, and can withstand temperatures from -40 to +100°C. ecovio® 70 PS14H6 therefore combines excellent technical performance and the decisive added advantage of its home composting for paper packaging, as well as allowing organic recycling of food waste.”
The new biopolymer has a biobased-based content of 70-80 percent renewable resources according to ASTM D 6866. This grade complements the ecovio® paper coating portfolio of industrial composting grades whose properties are tailored to different Business necessities.
BASF ecovio® biopolymer is certified for composting according to standards such as DIN EN 13432. It is based on a mixture of BASF ecoflex® PBAT and renewable raw materials. The main applications of ecovio® are organic waste bags, transparent film rolls, fruit and vegetable bags, agricultural films and food packaging. Studies show the advantages of ecovio® for the production, packaging and storage of food, as well as for the collection of food waste. These advantages are based on the certified biodegradability of the material in industrial and domestic composting, as well as in agricultural soils: food waste is reduced, nutrients are returned to the soil through larger volumes of compost and the accumulation of persistent microplastics is avoided. on agricultural soils. This contributes to the circular economy by closing the nutrient loop through organic recycling.
