UPM Specialty Papers and Eastman have co-created a novel biopolymer coated paper packaging solution, designed for food applications requiring grease and oxygen barriers. The solution integrates Eastman’s biobased and compostable Solus™ performance additives with BioPBS polymer to form a thin coating onto UPM’s compostable and recyclable barrier base papers. Thanks to the thinness of the coating layer, the solution is designed for recycling within existing fibre recycling streams, empowering brands to adopt sustainable packaging.

“We are excited to introduce the result of our development work with Eastman. Together with our partners, we are constantly pushing the performance of fibre-based packaging. This new biopolymer coated solution, for example, provides a new option for difficult-to-pack foods ranging from confectionary end-uses to meat pies found in chilled-food aisles,” says Esa Saukkonen, manager, Packaging Portfolio Development at UPM R&D.

This unique solution amplifies the barrier-boosting effect of UPM SolideTM Lucent and UPM Prego, barrier base papers, achieving performance unattainable by the individual components alone. It offers exceptional heat sealability while maintaining barrier protection when folded, making it suitable for flexible packaging. Furthermore, this technology is compatible with conventional LDPE (low density polyethylene) extrusion coating equipment, requiring no additional capital investment.

Traditionally, the challenge of combining extrusion coating with paper lies in the adhesion of the coating to the paper, especially with biobased or biodegradable extrusion coatings. The solution developed by UPM Specialty Papers and Eastman helps resolve this issue.

“Through our collaboration with UPM, we've developed versatile fibre-based packaging solutions that are compostable and smoothly integrate with extrusion coating equipment. Eastman Solus™ additive reduces coating thickness, which lowers plastic usage and enables recyclability of food packaging. These additives have been pivotal in advancing scalable, sustainable paper packaging for brands,” said Bhuma Rajagopalan, marketing manager, CASE Innovation at Eastman.

The packaging solution has been validated for recyclability according to PTS method (PTS-RH 021/97 cat II) and individual components of the solution have been validated for both home and industrial compostability.