In Berlin, candy bar packaging based on waste potato starch has won the “Oskar” at the Global Bioplastics Awards.
The wrappers, which were used by Mars-brand candy such as Mars and Snickers bars, were the culmination of a project launched in 2012 by a consortium that spanned the value chain. Rodenburg Biopolymers produced the raw material from starch derived from potato-processing wastewater. Taghleef Industries extruded Rodenburg’s material into a biaxially oriented, white voided film dubbed Nativia Ness. Mondi Consumer Goods Packaging then printed the final packaging.
Mars says the material was used in place of polypropylene, and the speed of its packaging line was not impacted by the substitution.
“This is a great example of a long-term collaboration within the whole value chain of packing material and processing,” says Valerio Garzitto, Taghleef Europe CEO. “It took us almost four years of hard work to develop and industrialize the final film, but this project shows that cooperation and expertise are key to success.”