Sona Dadhania, Senior Expertise Analyst at market intelligence agency IDTechEx seems to be at the place PFAS has been utilized in meals packaging, latest laws mandating its removing, and various supplies being explored.
Making a round financial system is a necessary sustainability goal for quite a few stakeholders within the provide chain: governments, manufacturers, suppliers, and shoppers. A key component of that is decreasing plastic waste; the OECD estimated that over 350 million metric tonnes of plastic waste was generated globally in 2019. Addressing plastic waste technology requires options from each sector, particularly the plastics packaging sector, which makes use of about one-third of annual plastics manufacturing. Single-use plastic packaging, from cling movies to versatile chip baggage to take-out containers, is generated in big volumes however rapidly leads to municipal waste streams.
The problems that single-use plastic packaging presents are compelling legislative and regulatory our bodies worldwide to cross mandates and pointers geared toward rising the sustainability of single-use packaging. For instance, the European Fee not too long ago handed the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), which mandates that each one packaging be recyclable and include a minimal recycled content material share for plastic packaging, amongst different provisions. Previous to the passage of the PPWR, the European Union handed the Single-Use Plastics Directive (SUPD), which banned some single-use plastic objects for which non-plastic alternate options can be found, reminiscent of cutlery, plates, straws, and expanded polystyrene meals containers. In america, the place 47% of plastic waste comes from single-use merchandise and packaging, completely different states and municipalities are introducing bans on sure single-use plastic objects, like baggage and straws.
Thanks to those rules, many firms are switching to paper-based and fiber-based packaging, reminiscent of molded fiber packaging and recycled paper packaging. Nonetheless, this change presents some points given the historic utilization of PFAS (per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances) in food-contact functions, notably on paper and molded fiber packaging.
The intersection of sustainable packaging and PFAS is totally mentioned in IDTechEx’s new report “Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) 2024: Emerging Applications, Alternatives, Regulations”.
Typical utilization of PFAS in meals packaging
PFAS has been traditionally used because the Fifties in food-contact packaging functions, notably on paper and compostable molded fiber packaging, in coatings that impart oil and grease repellence.
Such coatings may very well be present in:
- Take out packing containers (i.e., pizza packing containers) and clam shells
- Baking paper and muffin cups
- Take out cups
- French fries and microwave popcorn packaging
- Quick-food paper wrappers
The first perform of PFAS is as a barrier or repellent towards grease, stains, and water. This barrier will restrict the migration of grease and water from the meals to the packaging in the course of the meals’s transport, storage, and consumption. Beforehand, long-chain PFAS reminiscent of PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonate) had been utilized in food-contact functions. With rising considerations over long-chain PFAS, many producers of PFAS for food-contact functions switched to short-chain PFAS, reminiscent of 6:2 fluorotelomer alcohol (FTOH).
Rising regulatory actions on PFAS in meals packaging
Till not too long ago, the utilization of PFAS in food-contact functions was allowed in lots of main markets, together with the US and the EU. Nonetheless, rising considerations over human publicity to PFAS led to elevated regulatory actions particularly concentrating on PFAS in food-contact functions; most of those rules have been handed up to now 5-6 years. For instance, in 2020, the US Meals and Drug Administration introduced a voluntary phase-out of 6:2 FTOH in meals packaging functions by 2023. Denmark banned PFAS coatings merchandise for paper and cardboard-based meals packaging the identical 12 months. Most not too long ago, in 2024, the EU’s PPWR banned all food-contact packaging containing PFAS above a sure focus.
Discovering alternate options for PFAS in sustainable meals packaging
The concurrent developments of phasing out each single-use plastic packaging and PFAS coatings for packaging is creating an attention-grabbing problem and alternative. The transfer away from single-use plastic packaging is encouraging elevated utilization of paper-based and fiber-based packaging, which traditionally used PFAS-based coatings that are actually starting to be banned in main markets. This creates a chance for packaging and coating firms alike to develop non-plastic packaging options that don’t include PFAS.
Some historic producers of PFAS for meals packaging functions, reminiscent of Daikin America, have already developed polymeric non-PFAS coatings for paper-based and fiber-based packaging. Nonetheless, a key problem for polymeric coatings in meals packaging functions is their impression on recyclability. One other difficulty with PFAS-based coatings, unrelated to their well being results, was that they negatively impacted the recyclability of packaging utilizing them; polymer-coated paper and laminates are regularly landfilled for that reason.
As such, alternate options are required that each exchange PFAS in coatings whereas additionally sustaining the recyclability of paper and fiber-based packaging. Mentioned in additional element in IDTechEx’s new report, rising alternate options that try to handle these necessities embrace biowax and nanocellulose coatings for barrier property enhancements and components that improve the efficiency of paper for meals packaging functions. As extra areas and international locations cross rules impacting each single-use plastic packaging and PFAS in meals packaging, extra various approaches to addressing PFAS in sustainable meals packaging could emerge as extra firms look to handle this key whitespace.
To seek out out extra about this IDTechEx report, together with downloadable pattern pages, go to www.IDTechEx.com/PFAS.
