New innovation from Treetop Biopak overcomes limits to fresh bread packing in compostable materials
Plastic bread bags, once seen as convenient, have contributed significantly to the global plastic pollution crisis. With billions used annually, their lightweight nature, low value, and low recycling rate result in widespread environmental harm. Wildlife ingestion, long degradation times, and visual pollution are some adverse effects.
Hence at Treetop Biopak, there were ongoing product development efforts to find a Home Compostable solution, that would reduce millions of tons of plastic waste from the environment.
Packing fresh bread in compostable materials has always been a challenge as the low barrier levels of compostable materials reduce the shelf life to a couple of days.
Following continuous NPD work, Treetop Biopak engineers managed to increase the barrier of our single layer, Home Compostable film. This allows us to offer, for the first time, Home Compostable bags, suitable for fresh bread.
The bags were tested by leading bakeries and were found to provide 7-10 days shelf life for sliced bloomer and sourdough bread.
Furthermore, the bags were supplied on wickets to the bakeries and showed excellent machinability on automatic packing lines (as demonstrated in the video above).
As concern about plastic pollution increases, a study by McKinsey found that compostable packaging is viewed by consumers as the most sustainable packaging option.
We are happy to work with retailers, brands, and manufacturers to look at this option and see how it can enhance brand and product value.