It is no secret that plastic packaging has become so deeply ingrained in our lives that it is almost impossible to give it up. And yes, many developments are aimed at replacing primary plastic with paper or bioplastic, many studies are conducted for the cyclical use of plastics, but nevertheless, hundreds of tons of it end up in landfills every month.

And let's be honest, plastic packaging is cheaper and more convenient than many of its new analogues. And the production volumes of analogues are still far from satisfying the demand for plastic. But it turns out that there is another way to make PET safe for the environment - enzyme additives.

Gem-Pack Berries has taken this experiment and announced a partnership with Reborn Material to use their enzyme additives in their PET berry packaging. These are clamshell packaging that has enzymes added to it during production. All the packaging properties, such as strength, transparency, and functionality, are preserved, and the additive is activated only when the packaging is placed in soil or compost.

Humidity and microbial environments help to trigger the process and PET is broken down into smaller fragments. Soil microbes then consume these fragments, converting them into water, carbon dioxide and biomass, leaving no microplastics or harmful residues. In this way, the packaging is integrated into the ecosystem without harming it.

The addition of enzymes to PET was made possible by nanoencapsulation, which ensures their stability during high-temperature production processes. It also promotes effective biodegradation.

Materials used from websites packagingeurope.com, rebornmaterial.com.