Question of the day: How do you maintain the much-needed barrier properties of essential paper food and beverage packaging while meeting the growing demand for recyclable solutions? At Stahl, we're working hard to answer this challenge as we add Barriertec's sustainable barrier coating technology to our growing portfolio of packaging coatings. Read on to find out more about this innovative development – and what it means in a rapidly changing industry landscape.
The problem with fossil-based coatings
The environmental footprint of paper and cardboard packaging is a growing concern in many industries, particularly in the food and beverage value chain. It’s estimated that around 500 billion disposable paper cups are produced every year. Of these, less than 2% are recyclable or recoverable. It’s why, around the world, approximately 1 million single-use coffee cups end up in landfills every minute.
Much of the problem lies in the thick, fibre-based barrier used in many of today’s packaging products. Most paper-based cups, for example, are coated with a transparent layer of PE, which means they cannot be recycled with standard paper and cardboard. Other common packaging coating materials include polyethylene and aluminium oxide. These traditional materials make cups and other everyday applications more difficult to recycle, adding to a growing global packaging waste problem. And, being fossil-based, they also increase the carbon footprint of packaging applications over the product's lifecycle.
New demands, new solutions
But the tide is turning. A combination of new legislation and growing consumer awareness is prompting manufacturers and brands to explore new, less environmentally damaging alternatives for food and beverage packaging.
In January 2024, the Netherlands introduced a ban on single-use cups at coffee machines in locations such as offices and sports canteens. This is part of a wider EU-wide drive to reduce the amount of plastic waste produced in the trading bloc. Meanwhile, around the world, leading food and beverage brands have set out their ambitions to move towards more sustainable packaging, prompting packaging manufacturers to invest in the development of new, lower-impact solutions.
Against this backdrop, the market for sustainable barrier coatings is expected to grow by around 10% annually over the next few years, reaching USD 2 billion globally by 2030. Coatings manufacturers like Stahl have the opportunity to be part of this important area of innovation.
Future-proofing our offering
Indeed, we’re expanding our portfolio of packaging coatings to meet this growing market need. In March 2024, we signed a licensing agreement with Barriertec, a provider of high-performance barrier solutions for paper and cardboard packaging. The agreement gives us exclusive rights to sell the company's sustainable barrier coatings under the Stahl brand (co-branded with Barriertech) as part of our packaging coatings portfolio.
Barriertech’s sustainable barrier coating solution enables the application of sustainable barrier coatings to paper, providing packaging with excellent barrier properties against oxygen, water, oil and grease. Importantly, the coating results in packaging that is fully repulpable and recyclable, meaning that treated packaging can be recycled alongside untreated paper and board to make new products.
The solution is FDA-approved, PFAS-free and can be used to treat a wide range of fibre-based food contact packaging, including paper cups for hot and cold drinks, sandwich wrappers, fast food containers, frozen food bags, ice cream tubs and salt sachets. It provides excellent barrier properties for a wide range of substances, from gases such as water vapour, oxygen and carbon dioxide, to liquids such as oil and grease.
Going forward, we plan to leverage Stahl’s extensive R&D capabilities to scale up Barriertec's technology and develop opportunities for new segments and customers within the packaging ecosystem. In this way, we can significantly expand our toolbox of customised packaging coating solutions providing customers with tailor-made, sustainable offerings. And end-users with low-impact products – like paper coffee cups – that touch lives without harming the planet.
For more information about the Barriertec sustainable packaging coating solution
