The paper-based packaging multinational, Smurfit Kappa Italia, has developed a new sustainable packaging: the Atmos tray for packaging fresh products in a protective atmosphere, reducing the use of plastic materials by 80-90%.
Smurfit Kappa Italia, a multinational present in the area with 26 sites and 2,200 employees engaged in the creation of paper-based packaging through an integrated supply chain, presents a new packaging solution dedicated to foodstuffs, the result of the study of the team of designers specialized in eco-packaging which operates in the Smurfit Kappa Italia Experience Center based in Pastrengo (Verona). Objective: reducing drastically the use of plastic while ensuring maximum protection and food safety. The new solution is part of the Safe&Green® range, the Smurfit Kappa brand which brings together a series of paper-based trays for fresh products, mainly fruit and vegetables, as well as pastry and gastronomy. And from today also meats, cheeses and cured meats.
With Atmos S&G fresh food in a protective atmosphere
The Atmos S&G tray is the “green” answer for packaging fresh products such as meat, cheese and cured meats in a protective atmosphere. In fact, it reduces the use of plastic materials by 80-90%. It consists of two parts: the tray, which represents the base, and the flange which couples to the tray by overlapping its sides and consequently increasing its resistance. Both parts are made of cardboard, covered and sealed together with a very thin polyethylene film. The same material – heat-sealed – closes and seals the tray once the product to be packaged has been inserted: in this way is guaranteed the protective atmosphere which ensures that the food lasts longer.
Atmos is a tray with a “B” degree of recyclability according to the UNI Aticelca standard; therefore, it can also be recycled by paper mills not equipped with special systems and easily disposed of by the consumer in the paper circuit. And it also offers a technical advantage for the customer: it can be closed by heat sealing on the most common lines that handle plastic trays and does not require a specific process. Like the entire Safe&Green® range, the trays can be customized and printed with customer’s graphics, reinforcing the brand identity.
Alongside the “standard” tray, two patent-pending versions will soon be created: “double flange” and “slide to divide”, the latter consisting of a special bottom with divider, ideal for double portions, as in the case of hamburgers. Atmos S&G® will be created by Orsenigo (Como) plant with a new automatic line dedicated exclusively to these trays.
“The new solution represents a further step in our journey towards ever greater recyclability of packaging, a further project of our Better Planet Packaging initiative which aims to accompany our customers and consumers in an ecological transition starting from the packaging of goods”, comments Gianluca Castellini, CEO of Smurfit Kappa Italia, “products like Atmos are the answer to a market that is increasingly sensitive to issues related to sustainability and for our customers they constitute a valuable sales tool that ensures a significant competitive advantage as well as a concrete commitment to promote environmentally friendly behaviour”.
The importance of packaging as a support factor for the ecological transition is confirmed by the survey recently conducted by Smurfit Kappa together with the Financial Times on transparency and sustainability involving 440 American and European senior and executive business leaders from 11 economic sectors. Almost half of the interviewees (48%) indicate packaging innovation as one of the priority interventions to achieve the “net zero” emissions target.
