This news article was originally written in Spanish. It has been automatically translated for your convenience. Reasonable efforts have been made to provide an accurate translation, however, no automated translation is perfect nor is it intended to replace a human translator. The original article in Spanish can be viewed at Los nuevos envases de plástico para fiambre y pizzas frescas serán reciclables

Project C- Calpe. The challenge: generate useful containers for the consumer and efficient for the industry

The new containers of plastic for fiambre and cool pizzas will be recyclable

Editorial Interempresas27/11/2012

The Technological Institute of the plastic (Aimplas) and ainia technological centre collaborate at present in the development of the project C-CALPE, a work of investigation that has like aim achieve a new generation of recyclable plastic containers for fiambres and ready foods like the pizzas. This supposes a novelty with regard to the containers used usually in the sector, that to attain a greater length of the content elaborate with several layers of materials with different properties and that therefore they hamper the recycled.

The project C- CALPE, funded by the CDTI, has a length of 24 months of which already have happened the 12 first. Besides, it has the participation of five companies of the sector of the plastic, the containers, glaze and engineering as they are Granzplast, Melnik, Termoformas of Raise, Artibal and Engineering Gómez Madrid.

An innovative container 100% recyclable

The containers of the type tray that use for fiambres loncheados or ready foods like the pizzas, are composed by several layers of distinct conventional plastic materials. Thanks to this multilayered structure the container acts like barrier, preventing that gases like the oxygen go in in contact with the food and affect negatively to any of his properties like the flavour, the smell, his appearance or texture.

However, the containers with this more complex structure present problems for his back recycled, since they are composed by materials with different properties, that once triturados mix and give place to recycled of little value that can not go back to enter in the industry.

To resolve this problem, through the project C-CALPE go to develop new soluble biodegradable materials in water, that could realise this function of protection of the food. The container would be therefore composed by an alone type of conventional plastic and by the material hidrosoluble that would act like barrier.

“The barrier to the oxygen is an indispensable property for the packaging of cool products and precooked products, since it contributes to ensure that the product keep fresco by more time and arrive to the consumer in optimum conditions”, indicates Ana Espert, main researcher of the project in Aimplas.

By his part, Luis Gil, technician of the department of Technologies of the Container of ainia technological centre that participates in the project, explains that for this work will llevar a study of useful life that allow to ensure that the new material fulfils the planned expectations, “no only regarding the improvement of the quality and alimentary hygiene but also by his capacity to be recycled, one of the main priorities of the European Commission”.

In this sense, this project will help to fulfil with the aims of recycled marked by the European directives 94/62 and 2004/12 of the European Commission that indicated already in 2004 the need to reach a tax of recycling from among 55% and 80% of waste of container in the next years.

At present the taxles of recycled of containers in Spain situate in 68%, what supposes an annual growth from the year 2007 of 15,6%.