Cincinnati, OH, Nov. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Storopack’s new air cushion film, AIRplus® BIO Home Compostable, increases the focus on sustainability, as it fulfills the definitions of bioplastics: it is partly bio-based, using the natural and renewable resource starch, and home compostable. The extremely lightweight air cushions not only reduce shipping weight, but also reduce plastic waste by closing the natural cycle. The film is certified by TÜV Austria for home composting and can be disposed of alongside organic waste on home compost heaps. In accordance with the DIN EN 13432 standard, on which the certification is based, at least 90 percent of the film degrades into natural resources within 365 days, leaving no plastics or toxic material behind. Depending on the temperature and microculture of the compost, microbes and heat fully convert the remaining 10 percent as well into carbon dioxide, water, and biomass. The certification ensures that the resulting biomass is plant and worm-friendly. Air cushions made from the innovative organic film boast outstanding packaging characteristics and are designed to reliably protect light to medium weight shipping goods.
Focus on Sustainability
“Our goal for 2025 is to source at least 50 percent of our raw materials from recycled or renewable resources. Our new AIRplus® Bio Home Compostable film brings us one step closer to this goal,” explains Vicentina Pereira, Product Manager of AIR and LOOSE FILL at Storopack. In 2021, the company was already producing 33 percent of its products manufactured in-house from renewable and recycled materials. Storopack is also clearly distancing itself from misleading labels and plastic products featuring oxo degradable additives, which are not really compostable, but merely disintegrate so as to become invisible, leaving behind microplastics. The protective packaging specialist never uses this kind of oxo-degradable materials in principle.
Disposal in Home Compost
The film can simply be disposed of in home compost in the backyard, where it’s completely broken down by microorganisms, helping to close the natural cycle.
Alternatively, there are also different end-of-life scenarios of the AIRplus® Bio Home Compostable film. It can be disposed of in the bin for organic waste for the purpose of industrial composting in many countries and regions. However, the disposal depends on the regulations and standards in the different areas and municipalities and are in some cases still in development. Recipients of the packaging can use the printed QR code to find out about disposal options in their country.
