To accelerate the sustainable development of food packaging, Metpack, a lamination company from Istanbul, now offers EN 13432-certified home compostable laminated paper and cardboard. The biopolymer, BASF ecovio® 70 PS14H6, has been certified for home composting (EN 13432 and AS 5810). Thanks to the lamination made from this polymer, Metpack's paper product Ezycompost, as food packaging paper, has added multiple functions: certified for food contact (FDA); excellent specific barrier properties against liquids, fats, oils and mineral oils; high-temperature stability up to 100°C boiling water, etc. This combination of certified compostability and other excellent properties ensures that paper packaging manufacturers and food brands can be confident that consumers can use food packaging products made from Ezycompost with peace of mind, and there will be no persistent microplastics in home compost after use. Therefore, this new home compostable solution can be organically recycled with food waste and help form a closed loop of the nutrient chain to achieve a circular economy. 

Driven by legislative push, some countries have witnessed a significant social trend of shifting from pure plastic packaging to paper packaging. However, paper itself is not suitable for packaging many foods, especially those containing liquid or fat components. Metpack's new home-compostable laminated paper can be used in many food contact applications, such as cold and hot drink cups, as well as deep-freeze or microwave-safe pots and trays. It can be produced on standard forming lines with a faster laminating speed and a film layer that is 40% thinner than polylactic acid (PLA). The lamination line speed of ecovio® 70 PS14H6 can be comparable to that of polyethylene (PE). This material does not adhere to cooling rollers, has excellent sealing and printing performance, and can be processed by single or co-extrusion without the use of adhesives. 

Suhan Gurer, Vice President of Sales and New Project Development at Metpack, said: "With Ezycompost, we can offer the food industry a product in the laminated paper packaging field that combines multiple outstanding properties. It has the same strength as polyethylene laminated paper, but adds the advantage of being certified compostable, and does not produce persistent microplastics during organic or paper waste disposal. Compared with PLA laminated paper that is only industrially compostable, its faster processing speed and home compostability are dual advantages. These advantages enable food packaging industry customers who choose our products to stand out without compromising performance and quality, and achieve their sustainable development goals." Metpack's paper solutions are certified with a total component weight of up to 334 grams per square meter (gsm). 

According to national laws and regulations, Ezycompost paper food packaging products with a coating of ecovio® 70 PS14H6 can be composted in home gardens after use. Therefore, BASF's ecovio® for home composting has expanded the disposal options for paper packaging after use. Michael Bernhard Schick, Global Marketing Manager of BASF's Biopolymers Team, said: "Our ecovio® 70 PS14H6 can also be used for industrial composting and performs well in paper recycling. Its home compostability has even been certified by the Australian standard AS 5810, which is an internationally recognized strict standard. According to ASTM D 6866, the biobased content of our biopolymers is between 70% and 80%, making them renewable resources. If customers want to further reduce the carbon footprint (PCF) of their products, we can also provide biomass balance (BMB) grades: at the beginning of production, 100% of the fossil raw materials are replaced by renewable resources based on waste, so the PCF is 25% lower than that of the standard ecovio® grades." The BMB grades have the same properties, performance, and machine processability as the standard ecovio® 70 PS14H6 and are equipped with biodegradability certificates. Due to its excellent migration barrier properties, BASF's biopolymers make it possible to use recycled paper in food applications.