Walki and Lactips collaborate on biodegradable, plastic-free food packaging

Walki has entered into a strategic partnership with Lactips to create a "fully biodegradable, plastic-free" food packaging using natural polymers, which is designed to be fully recyclable in the paper stream.

The companies said that the EU has taken the lead in addressing the growing problem of plastic waste with the Single-Use Plastics Regulation, pushing customers in the food packaging industry to find ways to replace traditional fossil plastics with biodegradable alternatives. The SUP Regulation targets plastic products that are typically used once and then thrown away, such as yogurt cups, salad bowls and snack bags.

Walki has been working on a range of biopolymer materials and has been working with different companies to develop natural polymer-based coatings. It noted that natural polymers come from a variety of sources, such as cellulose, algae and chitin (derived from insects and crustaceans), and can be used as alternatives to fossil plastics.

The company has partnered with French startup Lactips to develop a casein-based paper-based food packaging material with a polymer coating. Apparently, Lactips will provide Walki with the casein-based polymers, while Walki will conduct pilot trials on the extrusion line at its Technical Competence Center in Pietarsaari, Finland. During the two-year collaboration, Walki plans to analyse the produced material for properties such as coating weight, adhesion, barrier and heat sealability.

"When you process milk, you end up with casein as a by-product. Lactips has developed this casein into a bio-based natural polymer that is 100% biodegradable. Due to its water solubility, the material can be recycled in the papermaking stream without leaving any microplastics or polluting wastewater streams. Finding the best material that protects food from spoilage while also being fully biodegradable is challenging. Casein meets all the requirements of the SUP regulation," explains Mats Käldström, Group Development and Innovation Manager at Walki.

Last year, Walki launched an 'easy-open' bag concept and recyclable solution in partnership with Rovema for packaging nuts, chocolate, dried fruit and other snack products. Made from LDPE film and MDO-PE film layers, the mono-material design is said to make it compatible with PE recycling streams.