Page 36 - Packaging News May-June 2021

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INNOVATION & DESIGN | COLD CHAIN www.packagingnews.com.au | May-June 2021
Precious cargo for the planet
One of the most progressive examples of packaging innovation in the Australia New Zealand region has been the design of the multiple award- winning Woolpack suite of insulated solutions, an alternative to polystyrene packaging for cold chain distribution. Lindy Hughson takes a closer look at the latest developments from the company behind the innovation, Planet Protector Packaging.
TIMELY DEVELOPMENT
PPP’s latest commercialised develop- ment, the Vaccine Protector Solution, is a finalist in the ANZ 2021 Packaging Innovation & Design Awards in both the Sustainability and Health, Beauty & Wellness categories.
As its name implies, the pack has been designed for the temperature- controlled distribution of frozen vac- cines and medicines. It could not have come at a better time.
According to Bernadette Scarfe, PPP head of pharmaceuticals, “With huge disruptions to the global supply chain, the COVID-19 pandemic has magnified the immense challenges surrounding temperature-sensitive pharmaceutical distribution.”
“With reports emerging of vac- cine wastage across the world, there has been an increased focus on alternate, superior distribution methods,” she adds.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has reset the space for a sustainable global system and a ‘green’ recov- ery. Never has there been a better time for sustainable packaging and
insulation to take the front seat in the pharmaceutical space,” Scarfe tells PKN.
“Wool is one of nature’s very best insulators, a bio- degradable and renew- able fibre that is at the centre of the Woolpack
Vaccine Protector technology. “Scientifically proven for its envi- ronmental and performance creden- tials, wool is a proven performer even under Australia’s harsh conditions, keeping frozen vaccines safe
during transit.”
SAFE & SUSTAINABLE STRUCTURE
PPP’s Vaccine Protector is made up of three critical material compo- nents: the wool knop liner, the metal- lised polyethylene radiant barrier film, and the corrugated carton.
The wool knop liner is comprised of cylindrical pea-sized balls of wool that demonstrate extraordi- nary insulating properties, according to PPP. The wool knops’ large volume to mass ratio affords them a high thermal resistance
THE environmental challenge pre- sented by expanded polystyrene (EPS), a material commonly used in cold chain packaging, has been on the radar of Planet Protector Packaging (PPP) since the company’s inception in 2016. In its short existence, the com-
pany has been the recipient of a series of funding grants and numer- ous national and international awards for its packaging innovation that combats the hazards of EPS. Founder and managing director Joanne Howarth, a passionate pro- tagonist for her cause – eradicating EPS from the chilled dis- tribution supply chain –
has also gained global rec- ognition for her ingenuity and leadership.
EPS is a fossil-fuel based plastic that has been
identified for phase
out of use due to its
difficulty to recycle and
widely documented devastat-
ing impacts on the environment, oceans and marine life.
“It is estimated that EPS takes more than 500 years to breakdown,” Howarth says and goes on to cite the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) 2018/19 FY report, Australian Packaging Consumption and Recycling Data 2018-19, which estimates that of the 16,000 tonnes of EPS packaging put onto the Australian market, 4000 (25 per cent) was recycled. Further, she says, the report finds no evidence that any EPS in Australia, in that year, was made from pre – or post-con- sumer stocks, only virgin sources.
“Overall, eight million metric tonnes of plastic end up in the ocean annually, with a shocking 42 per cent emanating from the packaging sector,” says Howarth, who is
determined to drive the change to an alternative solution.
To this end, the company is expanding its footprint across Australia and into Asia, has embarked on a capital raise to fund its expansion, has inked a distribu- tion partnership for Woolpack with ASX-listed Pro-Pac Packaging (PPG), and is continuing to fuel its Woolpack innovation pipeline for food, beverage and pharmaceutical products.