UltraThinPE Tec is a new innovation from Stora Enso that is said to significantly reduce the share of plastic coating in foodservice board (FSB) and applications such as single-use paper cups.
With the help of UltraThinPE Tec, Stora Enso has developed the thinnest polymer coating for FSB products in the market. This achievement is an important step in helping packaging converters, brand-owners, and retailers to meet their plastics reduction targets since it allows paper cup designs with less than 5% plastic. The technology in the production of UltraThinPE coatings for Stora Enso’s Cupforma product range for paper cups.
Paperboard material used for producing paper cups requires a barrier, most commonly made from plastic which offers both protection against liquid and functionality in converting. UltraThinPE Tec improves sustainability of paper cups by yielding the lowest plastic coating weight available in the market and reduces the overall carbon footprint of the finished product.
UltraThinPE Tec reduces plastic coating weight by up to 40% when compared to Cupforma Natura products with 15 g/m2 PE (polyethylene) or renewable PE Green coatings (bio-based polyethylene), therefore enabling a share of greater than 95% paperboard. Achieving a plastic share of less than 5% will help brand-owners meet the composite threshold for packaging in some European countries. As a result, UltraThinPE Tec coatings can significantly reduce extended producer responsibility (EPR) fees by as much as 75% in countries such as Germany.
FSB products with UltraThinPE Tec coatings can be recycled with paper or board depending on local regulations, collection, and sorting infrastructure. As one-sided, minimal-plastic coatings, they can also ease the recycling of FSB in standard recycling mills when combined with other paper and board packaging.
Tuomas Puonti, VP- head of business line, LPB Fresh & FSB said, “By knowing the intended end-use of the product, like paper cups that can hold liquid for a short time, we can design coatings that use the absolute minimum material necessary. We do this by testing and verifying the exact amount needed for the end-use. UltraThinPE Tec enables brand-owners to further meet their sustainability targets, especially concerning plastics reduction, while maintaining the highest product hygiene and safety standards as in the case of paper cups.”
For converters, Cupforma products with UltraThinPE Tec coatings perform similarly to materials with traditional polymer coatings. It offers excellent barrier performance, heat sealability, and fast implementation time. UltraThinPE Tec coatings are produced at Stora Enso’s Imatra site in Finland and Forshaga site in Sweden.
Cupforma by Stora Enso is a renewable, low-carbon material for paper cups and is optimised for recycling. Applications include foodservice end-uses, like hot cups, ice cream cups and ice cream packaging. Cupforma Natura is recognised as the most material-efficient product range for paper cups available and yields more cups from each tree.