Reducing emissions with Biobased packaging
Marc Martens
CurTec manufactures drums and jars made of bio plastic*. Biobased plastics are made of renewable biological resources and are a sustainable alternative to fossil-based plastics. Biobased packaging is a great alternative for companies whose core values include environmental sustainability and who wish to appeal to eco-conscious customers.
Like so many companies, CurTec has incorporated sustainability and CSR into its business model. One of our sustainability goals is to reduce emissions in our value chain to net zero. Creating Biobased drums and jars is a first step towards replacing virgin material inflow with more sustainable alternatives such as biobased material.
Packaging from a renewable resource
CurTec uses biobased HDPE made of sugarcane ethanol which represents a less impactful use of natural resources and helps to reduce CO2 emissions.
The great thing about biobased plastic is that it can be used on conventional plastic converting machines, offers the same performance levels and can be recycled just like regular polyethylene. Drums and jars from a renewable resource are also on par with the quality of versions made from fossil raw materials and perfectly interchangeable.
Carbon reduction
The big advantage of plant-based plastics is that they do not introduce additional carbon to our atmosphere. Sugarcane absorbs CO2 as it grows and, in case of incineration at end-of-life, only releases carbon that was already in the system**.
That doesn’t mean Biobased drums and jars are an invitation to litter as they still need to be processed properly when they reach their end-of-life. Ideally they would be recycled so that the material in the products is being used again and again. However, stretching their life cycle by reusing them is still the most responsible and sustainable choice.
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*The amount of bio-HDPE in a drum or jar is verified according to the ASTM D6866 standard and ranges between 76-89%.
** There are different ways to model biogenic carbon. Interested in knowing CurTec’s approach to biogenic CO₂? Contact us!
