From the SEE Impact Report: Circularity at Scale

Originally published in the SEE Impact Report 2022

Circular Food Packaging Tray Initiative in Australia

Certified-circular solutions for food packaging 

Advancing the circularity of essential plastic packaging takes collaboration throughout the value chain. In its second food-grade plastics circularity project with ExxonMobil, SEE will divert approximately 900 tonnes of plastic waste annually from landfill or incineration in Australia. In this collaboration, CRYOVAC® brand preformed food packaging trays are being made with resins leveraging ExxonMobil’s advanced recycling technology and mass balance attribution. The resins and tray manufacturing are certified to the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification PLUS standard, and the trays are curbside recyclable within Australia. As one of the first such initiatives for fresh red meat trays in Australia, the collaboration addresses the critical challenge in driving circularity for food-grade plastics that have strict hygiene and performance requirements for food protection and distribution.

BUBBLE WRAP® Brand Inflatable Packaging 

Inflatable solutions designed for recycling 

BUBBLE WRAP® brand inflatable packaging includes thin, lightweight films designed to maintain a superior level of product protection with minimal environmental impact. These solutions inflate on demand to ship more efficiently than pre-inflated solutions. Once inflated, the materials can also be reused multiple times, greatly reducing the amount of packaging material that enters the waste stream.

The BUBBLE WRAP® brand inflatable packaging portfolio includes:

• BUBBLE WRAP® brand Fill-Air slim air pillows: At a thickness of 10 microns, it's the slimmest air pillow on the market. It reduces material use and saves valuable space by shipping and storing flat, deflating to 0.7% of the original volume.
• BUBBLE WRAP® brand recycled content inflatable air pillows: This solution features 50% recycled content, of which 30% is post-consumer recycled content. It reduces use of virgin materials, lowering the carbon footprint of the package without compromising performance.

BUBBLE WRAP® brand recycled content films: With a minimum of 30% recycled content diverted from recovered waste, these recycled content films have the same performance as BUBBLE WRAP® brand IB film but use less virgin material to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This solution can help customers align with various countries' plastic tax regulations.

The films used in the solutions could be labeled as store drop-off recyclable, recyclable, or designed for recycling. The degree of recyclability of the final package depends on the scope and availability of appropriate local recycling facilities.

Read the full SEE Impact Report 2022