StePac launches sustainability strategy for greener packaging

Johnson Matthey’s subsidiary StePac has launched its four-pillared sustainability strategy for greener packaging.

The company’s new strategy for fresh produce packaging will reduce the need for climate-positive plastic packaging and addresses the issue of food waste.

StePac noted that its four-tiered strategy addresses key areas of manufacturing, use and recycling. It has been designed to cut excessive plastic use while encouraging more responsible packaging.

StePac business development manager Gary Ward said: “Plastic packaging plays a critical role in the fresh produce and food industry, not least because of its ability to dramatically curtail food waste.

“Our technology is based on four pillars of sustainability designed to significantly lighten the environmental footprint of plastic packaging.”

The four pillars encourage to use plastic packaging only if it has a positive climate effect and to ensure climate-positive packaging is as lean as possible, mechanically recyclable packaging supports a circular economy and chemical recycling complements mechanical recycling.

Ward said that replacing the sophisticated plastic structures without increasing waste is quite difficult.

Ward further added: “We have multilayered plastic structures that conform to chemical recycling, a process which is complementary to mechanical recycling systems in facilitating a true circular economy.”

The company’s global brands include Xtend, Xgo, Xflow and Xbloom modified-atmosphere / modified-humidity packaging solutions.

StePac’s brand of Xtend modified-atmosphere packaging is climate-positive and is capable of extending shelf-life and reducing waste in the fresh produce supply chain.

The Xflow packaging system has been developed to facilitate a shift to automation for packaging bulk produce.