Con-Agra Adopts 50% Recycled PLA Film

March 23, 2009

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ConAgra Foods has adopted a 50 percent post-industrial recycled Polylactic Acid (PLA) shrink film.

The new film will be used for tamper-evident seals on Fleischmann’s, Blue Bonnet and Parkay table spreads, and for printed shrink labels on multi-packs of Reddi-Wip whipped topping and PAM cooking spray, according to a press release.

Con-Agra says the new film will reduce landfill waste, greenhouse gases and energy consumption.

According to Con-Agra, the new material offers these advantages over traditional shrink films:

It is manufactured using corn, a renewable resource. Traditional shrink films are petroleum-based.
It contains more than 50 percent post-industrial recycled content, meaning that more than half the material that would traditionally be sent to landfills is now being diverted into a value-added end product.
It produces less greenhouse gases than traditional shrink films. The initiatives should reduce ConAgra Foods’ GHG production by 592,000 pounds of carbon dioxide equivalents.
It requires less energy at ConAgra Foods’ manufacturing facilities, reducing the temperature necessary to shrink the material by approximately 20 percent.
It provides a higher-quality finished product due to an improved shrink performance.

Con-Agra developed the new material with Plastic Suppliers, Bluepack and NatureWorks LLC.

Converting to the new material should divert more than 350,000 pounds of non-renewable Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) and more than 50,000 pounds of Polyethylene Terephthalate Glycol (PETG) from the company’s raw material stream annually, the release said.

Here is Con-Agra Foods’ corporate sustainability page.

The company has applied other sustainability standards to products like Hunts Ketchup, among others.

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