Stora Enso and Swedish take-away salad bar company Picadeli have introduced renewable formed fibre lids to replace single-use plastics in take-away packaging, which they claim will help Picadeli reduce approximately 120 tonnes of plastic waste annually.
According to Stora Enso, packaging accounts for 40 per cent of the world’s plastics, most of which are made from fossil fuel. The company says its PureFiber lids are plastic-free, recyclable, and biodegradable, and produce a carbon footprint up to 75 per cent lower than alternative materials such as plastic or bagasse.
“Our strategic aim is to grow with sustainable, scalable, and innovative packaging solutions. We do this by supporting strong forerunner brands such as Picadeli in meeting the growing consumer demand for plastic-free and circular solutions. A salad bowl lid is a good example of an everyday single-use plastic item that can make an important difference on climate footprint when replaced by a sustainable alternative,” said Sohrab Kazemahvazi, SVP Formed Fiber at Stora Enso.
PureFiber products are produced from wood-based formed fibre using green energy and contain no plastic, no per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), “or any other forever chemicals” . Stora Enso says the lids will be available for consumers at Picadeli salad bars from this month, and that "they provide a good user experience and tightly seal the food inside” .
“Food and sustainability have been much discussed in recent years but knowing how to make choices that are both healthy and come with a low carbon footprint is not always easy,” said David von Laskowski, Group CEO at Picadeli.
“We work continuously to make tasty, sustainable, and healthy fast food more accessible. Launching the formed fibre lid will further reduce our carbon footprint, supporting our business strategy for sustainability.”
Stora Enso says PureFiber can be used in a wide range of applications including single-use food packaging items such as plastic-free cups, bowls, clamshells, plates, and lids; and can also be used to replace plastic packaging for other industries, such as agriculture, electronics, and cosmetics.
Formed fibre is a growth business for Stora Enso, and the Group recently announced expansion of its formed fibre production capacity in Europe. The fibre raw material comes from sustainably managed forests.
