High-strength, tearresistant, reusable paper bag edging out plastics
BillerudKorsnäs and AB Group Packag- ing have rolled out a high-strength, tear-resistant reusable paper bag in UK supermarkets and claim it is the world s strongest paper bag made of a raw material called FibreForm.
Veronica Fylkner, sales manager, formable solutions at BillerudKorsnäs said: “FibreForm is one of the strongest kraft papers in the world. It has been on the market for a while and we are still exploring its full potential. We see several new applications we can develop with FibreForm and we are eager to replace less sustainable materials and solutions. It is a journey that we are pleased to be on as we can help decrease the amount of plastics and aluminium in different applications on the market.”
AB Group Packaging developed the ultrastrong bag using the paper from BillerudKorsnäs. Laboratory tests have shown that the reusable paper bag has an impressive life. “We tested one bag until breakdown and it lasted 43 cycles which is equivalent with 860 lifts and this with a high weight of 16 kg. We can really say that FibreForm is suitable for reuse in all types of weather,” said Fylkner.
AB Group Packaging, which manufactures in Ireland, the UK and Spain, is offering the ultra-strong paper bag to several UK major supermarkets. Compared to several other European countries, paper bags have not been an option over plastic in most UK retail stores, until recently. The reason is linked to cost, the misperceptions that paper is weak and has an adverse impact on reducing climate change.
“Reduce, reuse, recycle – this is my vision of how the industry should operate in the future. We are responsible for every product we put on the market, all should be renewable. We want zero negative influence when producing and using our products and we are so pleased to be able to offer this product to the market.” said Dermot Brady, Inc. founder and CEO at AB Group Packaging. “The world is now ready for a shift -from plastics to renewable bio-based products.”
He said his company is pleased to be working with BillerudKorsnäs, which it has done for the past 30 years.”
