Packaging Innovations Weekly Wrap – Rio Tinto Alcan Launches Compostable Laminates

Alcan Packaging, part of Rio Tinto Alcan, has developed one of Europe's first fully printed compostable laminates for UK-based cereal maker Jordans.

The compostable and biodegradable alternative to polypropylene structures and laminated metallised plastic films was launched following three years of research, says Alcan.

The packaging is made using two different certified compostable films, with the outer layer made using cellulose derived from GM-free wood pulp and the inner layer from GM-free cornstarch.

The pack is biodegradable and suitable for industrial composting with the finished product providing the same look and feel as a heavyweight plastic film alternative, says the company.

AMCOR WINS SILVER AWARD

Australian packaging company Amcor Flexibles has won a Silver Award in Technical Innovation from the Flexible Packaging Association (FPA) for its child-resistant packaging.

The award, for Amcor's SafeStick child-resistant tear-open pack, is used for GlaxoSmithKline's Goody's headache powder.

The packs come with a printed tear indicator, accompanied with full opening instructions.

Amcor says it may extend the packaging technology to pouches or sachets of powders, granules, liquids, oral dissolve strips, creams and gels for pharmaceutical or personal use.

AUTHENTEC UNVEILS TOUCHSTONE COVERING

AuthenTec has unveiled a thin, waterproof and surface-mountable covering for its TruePrint biometric fingerprint sensors.

The thin casing, called TouchStone, triples the protective coating over the sensitive technology, shielding it from accidental scratching by objects and uses small RF signals to detect the layer of skin beneath the surface to provide better image quality, says AuthenTec.

The technology can be applied to existing and new generation mobile phones, mobile internet devices, key fobs and other applications, says the company.

PEPSI LAUNCHES RECYCLING CAMPAIGN

Pepsi has teamed up with the National Recycling Coalition to launch a recycling campaign in the US promoting the benefits of aluminium can recycling.

The soft drinks company is to print recycling facts and messages on 500 Pepsi cans a month, telling the story of how cans gain new life through recycling.

Pepsi says it hopes the messages will help consumers remember to recycle the aluminium cans, which on average, are made from 40 percent recycled material.

By Ozge Ibrahim