Two of nine Gold award winners in the Flexible Packaging Association’s 2010 Achievement Awards Competition are recognized for Environmental & Sustainability Achievement. Two more see Silver.

PFOA-free, grease-resistant popcorn bags
Microwavable popcorn makers have a new packaging option that is both grease-resistant and free of PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid). A component of selected packaging structures, PFOA has been implicated as a possible link to certain health problems such as thyroid disease in some studies.

Introduced by Exopack, the new bags incorporate grease-resistant, PFOA-free coatings from Solvay Solexis. Exopack also worked closely with Wausau Paper to ensure the paper properties and treatment were adjusted to prevent grease bleed and package staining.

The packaging is a recipient of an FPA Environmental & Sustainability Achievement Gold Award because it averts introduction of PFOA into the environment and the potential for bio-accumulation from microwave popcorn bags, while maintaining the consumer convenience of the packaging. The packaging also eliminates the potential liability concern of microwave popcorn producers and ensures consumers that they are not putting themselves at risk for unknown health effects.

Material-saving hand-wrap stretch film
Stratos™ hand wrap from Pliant/Berry Plastics is the second recipient of an FPA Gold Award for Environmental & Sustainability Achievement. Designed as a material-saving way to facilitate manual wrapping of pallet loads, Stratos hand wrap is a 35-ga stretch film (not prestretched) with folded edges.

The high-elasticity, easy-to-stretch film can be manually pulled tight on a load, yielding an additional 10% to 20% film coverage compared to conventional prestretched films. It is extruded via a cast process, which provides exceptional optics and superior tear resistance, and is susceptible to strain hardening (stiffness)—essential to load containment at thin gauges.

The folded-edge feature offers major performance benefits. It protects the edges of the roll from damage that might render a roll of film unusable and wasted due to tearing as it unwinds. This feature also reduces line downtime and generation of scrap materials. Additionally, the folded edge reinforces tear-resistance, especially at the corners, where the load wrap is most vulnerable. If the film is somehow punctured on the pallet, the folded edge frequently can stop a tear from propagating in the cross direction, thus improving load integrity.

Due to the relatively thin gauge of the Stratos hand wrap, it requires less film usage and reduces associated film transportation costs versus thicker, more conventional hand-wrap stretch films. In turn, the carbon footprint of the wrapping material is significantly reduced.

Stars in silver
The FPA also recognized two packages for Environmental & Sustainability Achievement with Silver Awards. These include:

• Reusable Flexible Water Bottle from Ampac Flexibles, A Division of Ampac Packaging LLC for Vapur, Inc. According to information from FPA, Ampac Flexibles provided Vapur, Inc. with a high-quality, durable Reusable Flexible Water Bottle using an FDA-approved, BPA-free film. The flexible water bottle is designed to fit in a pocket, purse, backpack, or briefcase. This water bottle can be rolled or flattened, and tucked away. The Reusable Flexible Water Bottle eliminates the shipping of water and one-time use packaging.

• Key West Gourmet Chowders bag from Genpak LP for Key West Gourmet Foods. Says FPA, “This package is truly a trail-blazer in the movement to eco-friendly packaging. By using completely sustainable materials which are compostable, Key West Gourmet and Genpak LP are proving that there are eco-friendly solutions to flexible packaging.” Film supplier for this project is Innovia.