UK materials producer Aquapak (Birmingham; www.aquapakpolymers.com) and flexible packaging specialist Evopak (Telford, UK; www.evopak.co.uk) have developed a packet for crisps (or chips, for our North American readers) from paper that keeps its contents in prime condition and can also be recycled in the same way as ordinary paper or card waste.

The new packs, used by the British Crisp Company (London; www.britishcrisp.co), use a polymer called Hydropol, developed by Aquapak, instead of conventional plastics. Aquapak said a thin layer of vacuum deposited aluminium keeps the crisps fresh but doesn’t impact the recyclability of the packets. 

The British Crisp Co’s website currently says that its packets are recyclable at large shops with other plastic bags, and that it is “currently working on making [its] packaging recyclable at home”.

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A spokesperson for Aquapak said the base plastic for Hydropol is polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH), which is used for products such as dishwasher tablets, ingestible pill casings, and soluble stitches. Due to its structural similarity to biological materials such as cellulose, Hydropol has the potential for complete biodegradation.  

The company, which has the capacity to produce between 10,000 t/y and 30,000 t/y of Hydropol, said the packets had been certified as recyclable in standard paper recycling mills by On-Pack Recycling Label (OPRL, Peterborough, UK; www.oprl.org.uk). This means they can be disposed of in consumer kerbside collections along with other paper material, unlike other crisps packets.

Aquapak said Hydropol can be “recycled, re-pulped, composted, and is compatible with anaerobic digestion”. The company also claimed it is non-toxic and marine-safe, and if unintentionally released into the natural environment will dissolve and subsequently biodegrade.

Britons consume around 8 bn packets of crisps annually, most of which, once emptied, end up in general domestic waste, and then landfill.