Page 29 - PWM2025_DECEMBER EBOOK

TECHNOLOGY REPORT

ble,” explains Lapping. “This makes it veteran of 30 years in plastic films, he says his motivation was: “I pet food. But for dry shelf-stable goods,
unique among water-soluble materials, wanted to atone for my sins!” it’s ideal.”
and very difficult to replicate.” He says: “Adaptive PVOH was no use to anyone at first. It has Heat sealing of Hydropol is possible,
The very first use of Hydropol was to no strength and it dissolves in water. It can’t be recycled for re-
make polybags. During the Covid epi- use. However, if you coat it onto paper it gives you all you re- and EvoPak has also found a resealable
demic, Hydropol bags were supplied to quire, with a 95% fibre recovery.” medium-tack adhesive compatible with
hospitals. Medical gowns could be Hydropol, which is not feasible with
placed into them and dropped straight He explains the science behind this: “Hydrocarbon poly-mers PE-lined paper.
into the hospital laundry washing have very strong molecular bonds. Hydropol uses glycerine and Recycling regulations and green-
machines, so laundry staff weren’t citric acid instead of carbon bonds. It dissolves into monomers
exposed to the virus. The bags dissolved that are then biodegradable – polymers are not.” washing
in the wash. The UK outdoor clothing McAllister commissioned the development of barrier paper A big challenge to adoption is regula-
brand Finisterre uses Hydropol poly- using Hydropol. The resulting materials are manufactured at tory inconsistency, Barton feels. Many
bags to protect garments for delivery. Evotek in Ukraine, then brought into the UK for slitting and dis- recycling stand-ards still rely on plastic
After use they can be discarded as bio- tribution via converters. Roberts Mart in Leeds holds stock. content thresholds that don’t actually
degradable waste. Evotek was formed in 2020 when TAS Group, a large
When coated onto paper to make Ukrainian conglomerate, acquired the assets of the Ukrplastic favour genuinely biodegrada-ble/recy-
EvoPak’s RCM, it makes a strong, light- plant in Kyiv, originally founded in 1927. Before the 2014 inva- clable materials. For instance, a lami-
weight material that protects the con- nate with 5% or even 15% of plastic
tents, but is fully recyclable in paper sion of Crimea, Russia was its biggest market, but it has now might still count as “recyclable” under
pulping mills. The Hydropol dissolves found new markets in Central and Eastern Europe and interna-
into the pulping water and is washed tionally. some countries’ rules, while Hydropol-
off, leaving cellulose fibres. Even if not Evotek has a 10,000 tonne per year capacity for RCM/MRCM coated paper, which contains less total
actively recy-cled, the Hydropol layer at its main plant and has been exploring manufacturing partner- plastic and dissolves rather than being
will dissolve harmlessly in compost,
UK innovators help crack the landfill or even discarded litter, leaving jumbo 990mm-wide rolls of 5km in length, slit to smaller sizes lar economy” definitions.
ships elsewhere in Europe, North America and India. It supplies
recycled, may not qualify under “circu-
just paper cellulose fibres that will also
in the UK.
“There’s a lot of smoke and mirrors
break down.
EvoPak imports and markets the Hydropol coated papers. It’s
Hydropol’s solubility can be tuned a very small operation cur-rently with just four staff, including out there,” Barton says. “We tested five
plastics problem ing grade is stable for normal shelf life McAllister as operations and Tony Lock as CEO. Lock was the recyclability. Only one of them passed,
for each application. The food packag-
super-market paper packs that claimed
founder of British Crisp Co, who saw the potential of RCM and
but breaks down in pulping mills or
and that was the Pringles can.”
wanted to be a part of the setup.
longer-term in landfills or the envi-ron-
ment. Apart from bags and packaging, Peter Barton is accounts manager, with a background in sup- From a printing standpoint, the
the other main application for plying large format digital print-ers, including the Rigoli materials are press-compatible with
Hydropol is in ba-by, face and indus- MVZ1000 flexible packaging printer. only modest adjust-ments. The paper is
trial wipes, and as components in face He says: “We took RCM to the major brands and thought ink-receptive without pre-coatings, and
masks. they’d snatch our hands off. But it takes time. It’s hard to sell a varnishing is optional rather than nec-
Lapping says his job is to also engage new product for packaging. It means changing the supply line;
directly with brands, aiming to increase not just the conversion and printing, but the filling and con- essary.
awareness at the top of the chain. “You’ll need a new profile, and you
Brands tend to like to burnish their eco- tents. Shelf life testing can take 12 months, as there is not much have to be aware the paper won’t
image. accelerated lifetime testing available in the UK.” stretch like plastic,” Barton notes.
“We don’t have a silver bullet,” says The EvoPak substrates are designed to replace conventional
Lapping. “We can’t solve all plastic plastic laminates in flexible packaging. Their core is a sustaina- Various converters have already run
problems, but it’s a start. We’re not say- bly sourced paper (45–50gsm), which is coated on the inner side successfully on conventional flexo
ing that all other solutions are bad with Hydropol, to give grease and oxygen barrier properties. presses as well as digital web presses,
either. We can be used together with Hydropol also in-creases the strength of the paper it coats, including HP Indigos, Fujifilm’s FP790
bioplastics.” allowing lighter grammages to be used compared to all-paper flexible packaging inkjet press, and
While Aquapak has developed the packs. This improves transport efficiency and lowers environ-
polymer, the main commercial pro- mental impact throughout the supply chain. Screen’s new Pack 520 inkjet, also for
ducer of packaging materials so far is The two types of EvoPak paper are RCM and MRCM, with the flexible packaging. Barton says trials
EvoPak, a small UK startup owned by have been conducted with a number of
Ukraine-based Evotek Flexible Pack- M standing for metallised. RCM is for dry goods, chocolate, European and UK converters, includ-
aging. pasta, rice and the like. MRCM’s metallised layer keeps out ing Baker Labels, Eco Flex-ibles, and
EvoPak’s story began when Daniel water for items such as crisps, peanuts and popcorn, which go
McAllister, who was to become its soft if moisture gets in. However, Hydropol’s solubility means it OptiPack in Sweden. “It’s especially
operations director, encountered is not suitable for wet contents. “We’re transparent about the attractive for short runs, prototyping or
Hydropol and realised its potential. A limitations,” says Barton. “It can’t be used with soups, sauces or test markets,” he says.

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