Sabic, Lamb Weston, and Opackgroup collaborate to develop sustainable packaging - Food and Drink Technology

Posted: 18 October 2024

Related core topics: Packaging

Related topics: bio-feedstock, coextrusion film, frozen potato, high-density polyethylene, metallocene linear low-density polyethylene, sustainable packaging, used cooking oil

Related organisations: Lamb Weston, Oerlemans Plastics, Opackgroup, Sabic

Related people: Khaled Al-Jalawi, Laura Hanegraaf, Sebastiaan Besems

Sabic has joined forces with major global brand owner and producer of frozen potato products Lamb Weston and flexible packaging producer Opackgroup, in a closed-loop process designed to create low-weight sustainable packaging bags made with a thin coextrusion film structure.

At least 60% of the packaging is made with polymer using bio- feedstock from used cooking oil (UCO).

The process starts with collection of UCO from Lamb Weston’s production which is then converted to bio- feedstock to produce certified bio-renewable Sabic HDPE (high-density polyethylene) and SUPEER mLLDPE (metallocene linear low-density polyethylene) polymers. Final packaging contains at least 60% UCO-based bio-renewable polymer material as part of Sabic’s Trucircle portfolio. Oerlemans Plastics member of Opackgroup, a specialised manufacturer of flexible films and packaging, converts these polymers to a multilayer PE film for Lamb Weston pre-fried frozen potato products.

Khaled Al-Jalawi, global director of circular economy business at Sabic, notes the excitement about the collaboration with Lamb Weston and Opack Group in this closed-loop project.

“Such a project demonstrates the concept of circularity as it better utilise the UCO to produce circular polymers that is designed for recyclability and via a closed loop approach,” he says.

The new Lamb Weston retail packaging has an overall renewable feedstock content of at least 60%, which is certified from the polymers to the film. This is in line with the widely acknowledged International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC) PLUS mass balancing regime for tracking and tracing the renewable content in materials.

Sebastiaan Besems, VP commercial EMEA from Lamb Weston says the business has anticipated the trend of environmental consciousness and a growing preference for more sustainable packaging and developed an industry-leading bio-circular retail packaging solution for our pre-fried frozen potato products that provides a highly responsible value proposition.

“As part of our ambitious sustainability plans and innovations for the frozen potato category, the brand’s new European retail pack is made with 60% bio-circular plastic originating from Lamb Weston’s used cooking oil and is ISCC PLUS certified,” Besems adds. “By using Sabic’s bio-renewable polymer, less and better packaging, this innovation reduces the carbon footprint of our retail bags by 30% aligning with consumer expectations that FMCG brands are as environmentally friendly as possible. The success of this project also meets with our goals to halve our food waste, cut our overall product carbon footprint by 25% and move to more circular production by 2030.”

Laura Hanegraaf, sales manager at Oerlemans Plastics (subsidiary Opackgroup) adds: “The project solidifies the committed efforts we have undertaken with SABIC to promote low carbon and renewable products within our industry and represents a significant advancement. It allows us to offer our customers high-quality flexible film products made with renewable material from used cooking oil.”

The combination of 20% reduced film thickness – the resulting bags have an average unit weight of only 10 g – and the use of bio-renewable Sabic PE enables approximately 30% lower carbon footprint than the previous bags for this application. The Sabic HDPE resin in the film structure delivers high strength and flexibility, while the SUPEER mLLDPE resin lends bag sealing. Both materials comply with the requirements of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the US Federal Drug & Food Administration (FDA) for food-contact.

Following extensive testing and evaluation, the first frozen potato products packed in bags made with Oerlemans’s multi-layer film using certified renewable PE polymers from Sabic have been launched by Lamb Weston in September in the UK and the Netherlands.