2024-11-26 19:43:00
Melhoramentos and W-Cycle team up to produce compostable food packaging
Clean technology company will share knowledge with Melhoramentos to produce next-generation high-performance cellulose fiber compostable packaging
Melhoramentos, a publicly traded company that controls companies in the publishing sector, renewable forestry-based businesses and real estate (Altea), and W-Cycle, Ltd., an innovative company in the development of additives, announced yet another strategic partnership. Together, they aim to produce compostable packaging made from renewable materials that decompose naturally in up to 75 days.
The agreement, valued at at least US$3.45 million and with an initial term of three years, provides for the exclusive supply by W-Cycle to Melhoramentos na América Latina of its proprietary food packaging formula and consulting services. These resources will help Melhoramentos in the production of its new advanced and sustainable packaging. Melhoramentos will also integrate high-yield cellulose fibers from its reforestation operations, which cover more than 80 million square meters.
In response to the food industry’s growing demand for sustainable alternatives, Melhoramentos is investing in packaging that is resistant to fat, moisture and withstands high temperatures, providing an ecological and efficient solution to replace single-use plastics.
Compostable packaging for a greener future
“There has long been a global demand for more sustainable packaging solutions,” says Rafael Gibini, CEO of Melhoramentos. “Our collaboration with W-Cycle opens up new possibilities for using our natural cellulose-based resources. Together, we are ushering in a new phase that could eventually eliminate single-use plastic packaging and pave the way for a more sustainable future.”
“Partnerships with such renowned leaders are fundamental moments in our trajectory”, says Isaac Rome, CEO of W-Cycle. “This will open up a vast array of opportunities for both companies to offer high-impact and affordable packaging solutions, combining expertise and innovation.”
W-Cycle, a clean technology startup, has advanced the sustainable packaging sector with its patented food material, SupraPulp™. This line of formulas uses sugar cane waste (known as bagasse) and other fibers, such as eucalyptus and banana leaves, combined with additives to create packaging molded from highly functional fibers.
This material is transformed into a new generation of food packaging, which resists both frozen and heated foods. Molded fiber packaging is impervious to oils and liquids, without the need for plastic barrier lamination. SupraPulp packaging is designed to withstand extreme temperatures, from -40°C to 220°C, and is compostable.
Nature’s answer
“Our ecological formulations help manufacturers abandon the use of plastic materials such as PET, allowing the creation of robust packaging that can go from the freezer to the oven or microwave,” highlights Rome. “The big difference with SupraPulp trays is that they can be discarded without guilt: the material decomposes, returning to the soil from where it came.”
Plastic can take hundreds of years to decompose. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, around 400 million tons of plastic waste are generated per year. Only a small fraction is recycled, while the majority (95%) ends up in landfills or the oceans, causing harm to marine life and human health by entering the food chain and the air we breathe.
W-Cycle’s SupraPulp packaging is already helping catering companies, ready meal producers, airline food services, institutions, restaurants and multinational food companies break away from the use of plastic containers. As part of the partnership, in addition to customizing pulp formulations for Melhoramentos, W-Cycle will provide R&D support for the production of molded fibers, including testing different formulations and their compatibility with various types of fibers, such as those produced by Improvements in your forestry operations.
“As pioneers in eco-friendly compostable food packaging, W-Cycle brings extensive experience in molded fiber properties, complementary materials and their performance under different conditions, as well as a deep understanding of manufacturing processes and equipment needs,” adds Gibini. “This will be essential to support the development of high-performance packaging options that are economically viable and in harmony with the environment.”
Sobre a W-Cycle
W-Cycle Holdings Intl Ltd. is a clean technology company offering environmentally friendly solutions to replace plastic food packaging with its patented SupraPulp™ cellulose material. The company develops private label biodegradable formulas for molded fiber manufacturers. Committed to eliminating plastic from the food industry, W-Cycle guides companies along the food and packaging value chain, assisting in the choice, development and implementation of sustainable materials, driving the adoption of environmentally friendly and food-friendly packaging solutions .
About Improvements
Companhia Melhoramentos de São Paulo is a publicly-held multi-business company that operates, directly or through its subsidiaries, in the Publishing, Cultivation and Forest Management segments, production of high-yield cellulose fibers, sustainable packaging based on cellulose and Real Estate Development (Altea).
With the purpose of “Growing to Improve Tomorrow”, Melhoramentos is a certified B Corporation and positions itself as an agent of transformation in the world, carrying out, undertaking and being the protagonist of the future in its business. It remains committed to the sustainable development of the country, adding value to its products, services and enterprises.
Founded more than 130 years ago, Melhoramentos has its headquarters in São Paulo and units in the cities of Camanducaia (MG), Bragança Paulista (SP) and Caieiras (SP).
For more information, visit: www.melhoramentos.com.br
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