Netherlands-based Yparex BV announced that it is the first company in the packaging industry to develop and commercialize an adhesive tie layer for multilayer packaging films that is bio-based.

According to the company, this tie-layer resin is derived from 95% annually renewable resources and is fully recyclable while achieving the same performance specifications of petroleum-based polymer in the same product family.

"There's a lot of disagreement about how best to make the packaging industry more sustainable," notes Wouter van den Berg, General Manager, Yparex BV. "Some argue for glass, since it's insert and recyclable. Others say paper is better, as it's made of materials that grow back. Still others say lightweight plastics are greenest because they save significant transportation costs and energy, while increasing safety (since they're unbreakable), and extending shelf life (reducing waste). Given the incredible size of the packaging industry, and the breadth of products involved - from food and beverages to car parts to industrial maintenance supplies and consumer electronics - I don't believe there will be one easy answer that solves the sustainability question or a single approach that addresses the needs of all the segments that are involved."

"As an industry, we need to develop many parallel initiatives to help move packaging to the next level of sustainability. And as a producer of adhesive tie resins, Yparex management decided that the best way we could contribute was by formulating the greenest tie resin we could make." He added.

Yparex brand adhesive tie-layer resin is special polymers used in multilayer films that bond together dissimilar resin that otherwise would not adhere to each other. Such films are then used in rigid or flexible barrier-packaging structures that prevent passage of oxygen into the package and keep flavor and odors from leaving the package, extending the shelf life for meat, cheese, and other perishable foods.

The new bio-based extrusion grade is suitable for blown or cast multilayer film structures that use common barrier resins like polyamide (PA) and ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH).

Netherlands-based Yparex BV announced that it is the first company in the packaging industry to develop and commercialize an adhesive tie layer for multilayer packaging films that is bio-based.

According to the company, this tie-layer resin is derived from 95% annually renewable resources and is fully recyclable while achieving the same performance specifications of petroleum-based polymer in the same product family.

"There's a lot of disagreement about how best to make the packaging industry more sustainable," notes Wouter van den Berg, General Manager, Yparex BV. "Some argue for glass, since it's insert and recyclable. Others say paper is better, as it's made of materials that grow back. Still others say lightweight plastics are greenest because they save significant transportation costs and energy, while increasing safety (since they're unbreakable), and extending shelf life (reducing waste). Given the incredible size of the packaging industry, and the breadth of products involved - from food and beverages to car parts to industrial maintenance supplies and consumer electronics - I don't believe there will be one easy answer that solves the sustainability question or a single approach that addresses the needs of all the segments that are involved."

"As an industry, we need to develop many parallel initiatives to help move packaging to the next level of sustainability. And as a producer of adhesive tie resins, Yparex management decided that the best way we could contribute was by formulating the greenest tie resin we could make." He added.

Yparex brand adhesive tie-layer resin is special polymers used in multilayer films that bond together dissimilar resin that otherwise would not adhere to each other. Such films are then used in rigid or flexible barrier-packaging structures that prevent passage of oxygen into the package and keep flavor and odors from leaving the package, extending the shelf life for meat, cheese, and other perishable foods.

The new bio-based extrusion grade is suitable for blown or cast multilayer film structures that use common barrier resins like polyamide (PA) and ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH).