Amcor’s AmPrima recycle-ready film is now in the market with regional dairy producer Fonterra Oceania, offering a sustainable packaging solution for shredded cheese.
This packaging is being used across both retail and foodservice sectors.
The development involved Amcor’s teams in the Asia Pacific and North America, resulting in a solution that adheres to soft plastics recycling requirements in Australasia.
Fonterra Oceania sustainability general manager Rosie Cotter said: “By transitioning our shredded cheese range, including well-known brands such as Perfect Italiano, to Amcor’s AmPrima recycle-ready packaging, we’re helping to ensure more of our packaging can be recycled after use, while maintaining the high product quality our customers expect.
“With AmPrima now carrying the Australian Recycling Label’s Check Locally mark on pack, shoppers can make clearer, more informed recycling decisions. Importantly, this may remove an estimated 270 tonnes of non-recyclable material from the Australian market every year, representing a meaningful shift toward our packaging sustainability goals.”
The packaging has approval to carry the “Check Locally” logo as part of the Australasian Recycling Label (ARL) programme, which now appears on Perfect Italiano shredded cheese packs sold in Australia.
AmPrima Recycle-Ready film replaces previous materials, such as PET or PVDC, with a single-material polyethylene film for shredded cheese.
The packaging is designed to maintain food safety standards, sealing properties, and withstand the demands of high-speed packing lines, noted Amcor.
Amcor Flexibles Asia Pacific and ANZ [Australia and New Zealand] R&D director Phil Van Houts commented: “Shredded cheese packaging is a technically demanding flexible packaging format. It needs strong pack integrity, high barrier performance, reliable sealing and fast production speeds. That’s why it’s usually made with multiple materials that can’t be recycled.
“With AmPrima, we’ve created a simple, recycle-ready solution. It’s a step forward that helps our customers make the transition without changing how they operate, while maintaining pack performance, appearance and food-grade standards.”
Earlier this month, Amcor was chosen to provide bottles and flexible tubes for Fragrances of Ireland’s latest haircare range under the Inis the Energy of the Sea brand.
