Sustainable forest management
Paper and cardboard have a base of wood fibers that are compostable and degradable in nature and that are continuously supplemented by the growth of new trees. Paper and cardboard are easy to recycle, but not endlessly reusable. Fresh fibers remain necessary to maintain production and quality. The paper industry uses 11% of the wood harvested worldwide. The measures taken by the paper and wood industry to make forest management sustainable are world famous thanks to the FSC® and PEFC® quality marks. The fact is that, due to the responsible working method of the paper industry, the size of sustainably managed forests is actually growing: in Europe with a size of about 1,500 football fields per day.
Smart barriers
Barriers make it possible to pack food in paper and cardboard. Where no or limited barriers are required, for example with dry products that do not pollute the packaging, it is better to use paper or cardboard instead of plastic. In practice, barriers are often necessary. To prevent penetration/migration and evaporation of the product and/or weakening of the packaging. Traditional plastic-based barriers often hinder the reuse of paper and cardboard. Fortunately, more and more alternatives are appearing on the market, for example, there is an environmentally friendly alternative for laminates of cardboard with plastic in the form of bio-coatings. The cardboard or paper is provided with a water-based coating, which provides the product with barrier properties. This coating makes it suitable for food packaging and is compostable and recyclable.
