DS Smith, a sustainable packaging solutions company, has launched a new trial in collaboration with the environmental research start-up Nafici to create packaging from “second harvest” materials, as reported in a press release. .
Nafici Environmental Research (NER) is a UK company that has created a process to transform agricultural waste into pulp for the manufacture of paper with reinforcing properties. It is the latest development in DS Smith’s Now & Next strategy, launched last year, and reflects the continued investment DS Smith is making in R&D.
As part of its R&D plan, to which it has allocated £100 million, DS Smith is testing how alternative fibers can be used as raw materials in paper and packaging products. The program analyzes the potential of fibers (strength, recyclability, properties, scalability and cost) and the ability of a range of materials to replace plastic in order to diversify the range of sources used for packaging. These innovations respond to growing customer and consumer demand for sustainable products and can accelerate the adoption of the circular economy. So far, several fibers have already been analyzed, such as grass, miscanthus, straw, sorghum and, more recently, algae.
DS Smith is using its state-of-the-art research and innovation center in Kent, UK, to explore how cellulose, created by Nafici from unwanted products, can be used to make sustainable packaging products. DS Smith thus responds to the demand of companies seeking to promote a more circular approach in their supply chains. According to DS Smith’s R&D team, second-harvest materials, such as straw and spent grain from brewers, have the potential to save up to 10% of the virgin fibers used in the paper-making process and , therefore, they represent an important and viable means of complementing traditional sources.
2024-01-12 07:18:04
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