NeoPalea: Compostable Composite Material for Packaging Applications

The problem of packaging waste is deeply felt at international level, because each year hundreds of millions of tons of packaging are produced. While significant improvements have been made in the recycling of metal, wood, paper and cardboard packaging, plastic packaging still represent an open issue. The EU implemented regulatory actions to manage packaging and packaging waste by defining short to medium-term targets in terms of recycling rate. In such a context, the paper deals with an innovative composite material dedicated to the production of tertiary packaging, named NeoPalea. The proposed material is based on a combination of natural fibers and biodegradable biopolymers. It was prototyped to verify the performance as a potential substitute of the polymers currently used for packaging. The preliminary results obtained are encouraging.