US packaging manufacturer Pregis (Deerfield, Illinois; www.pregis.com) has introduced a protective polyethylene packaging film made from 50% post-consumer recycled content and 50% renewable sustainable plant waste such as cellulose fibres. Its new Renew Zero recycled content film is 100% CO₂ neutral from cradle to gate, for use with its AirSpeed inflation and sealing air cushioning film systems, the company says.

Renew Zero is partly made from ISCC-certified renewable plant waste in which photosynthesis ensures that CO₂ is taken out of the atmosphere and replaced with oxygen, resulting in a negative CO₂ value. The product is recyclable in the PE waste stream and complies with the European Commission EN13427 standard for packaging.

Independent testing by PIRA Testing Service (Lansing, Michigan) and carbon accounting technology firm Emitwise (London) confirm that the recyclable air pillow protective packaging meets carbon neutral goals without using offset methods such as planting trees. The air pillows and tubes produced with the films function as void fill.