Finnish firm Stora Enso has launched Cupforma Natura Solo, a renewable paperboard designed for paper cups and ensure effective recycling.
Image: The Stora Enso's Cupforma Natura Solo renewable paperboard for cups. Photo: courtesy of Valtteri Kantanen/Stora Enso.
Produced without a traditional plastic coating layer, the new paperboard material is suitable for hot and cold drinking cups, as well as for ice cream packaging. It is designed for full fiber recovery in a recycling process.
The new material has been developed by the firm as part of its commitment to improve the environmental footprint of food service packaging.
Stora Enso Consumer Board division head of liquid packaging and carton board senior vice-president Hannu Kasurinen said: “We see strong demand for eco-friendly solutions in today’s food service packaging. Consumers demand convenience, but in a sustainable way.
“Recycling will reduce the carbon footprint of a paper cup by half, and the entire value chain benefits from innovations in renewable materials.
“Cupforma Natura Solo is yet another step on our journey to help customers reduce the use of plastics, and to drive the change towards more efficient recycling of food service packaging.”
The firm said it also developing innovative solutions to support coffee houses and fast food chains in order to the meet the consumers’ need for sustainable choices.
Stora Enso Consumer Board division new barrier solutions business head Ebba Mannheimer said: “We have been trialling Cupforma Natura Solo with our customers in Europe and have proved that it works similarly to traditional polyethylene-lined cups, so no new converting technology is needed.
“In addition, this innovative material can increase the value of used cups in recycling, as the barrier breaks down in a recycling process, and all fibres can be utilized.”
The Stora Enso Cupforma products, which are renewable and recyclable, are intended to provide a low-carbon alternative to non-renewable materials, the firm noted.
In addition to Cupforma Natura Solo, the firm is offering fully renewable Cupforma Natura PE Green, as well as the industrially compostable Cupforma Natura Bio for the paper cups.
Recently, the firm said it plans to commence recycling of paper cups on a large scale at its Langerbrugge Mill in Belgium, for use in other paper applications such as magazine paper production.