Oil giant ExxonMobil has worked with Polish polyethylene film producer Constantia Drukpol on easy-to-recycle frozen vegetable packaging.
The duo collaborated with French plant-based food giant Bonduelle Group to create the non-laminated freezer bag.
Laminated films can be challenging to recycle and the new product slashes plastic use by a quarter.
Arnaud Warusfel, packaging development manager at Bonduelle Europe Long Life, said: “For our retail frozen bag category, we wanted to replace our historical multi-material metallised film since it was difficult to recycle.
“We selected a mono-material PE solution without adhesives so it can be easier to recycle compared to multi-material solutions.
“We faced many challenges during the development process but managed to overcome them due to the technical expertise of Constantia Drukpol and ExxonMobil.”
Frozen food is usually packed on a vertical form film and seal (VFFS) line at high speed, with bags dropped into boxes from height.
Bonduelle chose a formulation they were satisfied with after a test on their own production facilities.
