“With this pilot project, we want to encourage people to take small concrete actions to prevent food waste.”
Paper and packaging company Stora Enso and dairy manufacturer Valio are teaming up to unveil reusable biocomposite lids.
The Finnish partnership is intended to trial how this new material works when combined with a traditional food package and to encourage Finns to reduce their food waste.
The material used to make the lids is called DuraSense. It is made of wood fibre and can be used to replace more than half of fossil-fuel based plastic, according to Valio.
Tanja Virtanen-Leppä, Head of Packaging Development at Valio (@ ValioFi), said: “We were the first in the world to start using fully plant-based one-litre milk cartons in 2015. Last year, we converted all of our 250 million gable-top milk, yoghurt, cream and sour milk packages to fully plant-based ones.
“These packages are part of a larger concept where Valio is aiming towards carbon-neutral milk, i.e. resetting milk’s carbon footprint in 2035. We continue to think about new package innovation possibilities that we could try out and implement.”
In a statement, Stora Enso said it was moving forward with its development of new replacements for plastic from renewable materials.
According to Valio, Finland throws around 6% of the food it buys, which adds up to 150 million kilos of food waste per year. The packaging, and the lid, is meant to protect the food and help to reduce food waste. Valio said that it intended to distribute 10,000 of its reusable lids to Finnish home.
Virtanen-Leppä said: “With this pilot project, we want to encourage people to take small concrete actions to prevent food waste.
“For instance, the leftover crème fraiche sauce for fish, made on a cabin weekend, is now easy to pack away in a cooler with this lid instead of throwing the leftovers away. This new lid can be reused after it’s been washed.”
If you are interested in this story, you may also be interested in the ones below.
Read: Four years after launching, Tetra Pak’s bio-based packaging hits the half a billion unit mark.
Read: Stora Enso to support H&M-IKEA-backed sustainability initiative.
Read: Stora Enso launches a wood-based biocomposite as a replacement for plastic.
