The latest food packaging technology has provided a major leap forward for the sustainability of heat-sealed fresh produce punnets and trays. A series of new punnet and tray designs, launched by Westpak Group Ltd, offer grocery retailers and their suppliers a set of commercially viable paper-based alternative to plastic punnets.
These heat-seal card punnets are the culmination of a key objective for the Westpak brand – to break the grocery industry’s long-standing dependence on plastic punnets for commercial heat-sealing processes. Westpak have undertaken a series of testing and refinement processes to ensure the most seamless possible integration of this exciting new material technology.
The new range is comprised of a 500g microflute punnet and a 250g pressboard produce tray, both of which are fully recyclable and offer the option of bespoke branding. The 500g microflute also benefits from providing side ventilation holes, being able to be heat sealed in as little as half a second and the additional environmental benefit of being manufactured from recycled content. The 250g pressboard tray option features a Polyethylene (PE) lining (adhering to OPRL recycling guidelines of under 10%), as well as being compatible with K37/SPS tooling and being FSC certified.
Seth Hicks, Managing Director at Westpak Group Ltd commented, “The development of our heat seal card punnets really lies at the core of what Westpak is all about – bold innovation that is firmly rooted around driving long-term sustainability enhancements across the food packaging industry. The development of this new technology is something the industry and consumers alike have been eagerly anticipating for quite some time and we’re proud to be at the forefront of this change. The potential for this technology to be utilised across the industry is huge and represents a significant step forward in helping some of the best-known retailers work towards their ambitious corporate sustainability goals”.
