Invercote from Iggesund Paperboard is now certified for industrial composting. The certification proves that the natural material is biodegradable in accordance with the European standard EN 13432.

The composting certification opens new doors for Iggesund, the company says. Earlier this year, the company announced that it can supply paperboard coated with Mater-Bi bioplastic from Novamont. The fact that the paperboard itself is now certified biodegradable paves the way for new business opportunities, it notes.

Says Jonas Adler, commercial manager of Iggesund’s value-added products, “There are a number of alternatives on the market, but most of them cannot guarantee that they did not use genetically modified plants to produce the starch, which is the raw material for the bioplastic. We chose to take the safest possible route and to refuse all products that cannot guarantee they are free from GMO material.

“In addition, there are cases where one or more ingredients in a total packaging solution do not measure up to the requirements for a sustainable strategy, and people have tried to gloss over the problem by adding a biodegradable plastic coating. We believe firmly that both the base board and the barrier material should live up to the same quality demands in terms of resource, energy, and environmental strategies.”

Invercote Bio is more expensive than a paperboard with a traditional polyethylene coating, but Adler says that “companies that want sustainable packaging solutions are also prepared to pay for a material that rationalizes their waste management.”

He emphasizes that while today’s bioplastics are not suitable for all types of applications, they are developing rapidly because so many different companies and organizations are working in this field. “And paperboard coated with bioplastic has a fantastic future, because it fits into all the future waste scenarios prescribed in the EU’s packaging directive, be they recycling, energy recovery, composting or anaerobic treatment,” he says.