| Albany Goes Biodegradable |
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| Wednesday, 04 June 2008 | |
   Bread is a daily staple for millions of people around South Africa, so it makes sense for a bread company to consider the daily impact its packaging has on the environment. Albany Bread has risen to this challenge by making all of its bread bags biodegradable. The amount of plastic that Albany sends to landfill is enormous, and since the film traditionally used to package bread is so flimsy, it is not viable to recycle it from a collection and logistical point of view. So Albany decided to change its packaging. Khanyi Dhlamini of Tiger Brands says given that Albany Bread is the group's biggest user of packaging with some 500 million bags a year, this decision is a significant move by a leading player in the local fast-moving consumer goods sector to do more to protect the environment. “Converting to biodegradable packaging is, quite simply, the optimal answer,” says Dhlamini. We have the technology After conducting extensive research into many available technologies, Albany decided to link with Symphony Environmental. Their “degrade to water” or d2w additive creates oxo-biodegradable plastic and comes with a proven, globally recognized track record. Albany’s new bags will convert to their fundamental constituents, water, carbon dioxide and biomass. “The company’s responsible decision to convert their bags to oxo-biodegradable paves a path for others to follow, and is set to remove up to 3 000 tons every year of waste and litter from the environment.” Says George Fee, who head up the local arm of UK-base Symphony Environmental, supplier of the d2w technology. “We estimate an overall cradle-to-grave lifespan of two years,” explains Dhlamini. “In ideal weathering conditions, such as exposure to UV light and rain, the bags will last for a year, but we calculate they will degrade in a landfill within a year to 18 months.” It’s important that the packaging biodegrades, but of course, it’s also important that it is strong while it is doing the job of storing bread. An important aspect of d2w is that the degradation process can be controlled via the use of inhibitors. “Many trials showed that the bags will last unblemished in storage with no in-store degradation,” says Dhlamini. “The bags have passed on all parameters with no compatibility or tainting issues, and maintain both their integrity and tensile strength.” Albany is working with three of their long-standing packaging partners, Durban’s Tropic Plastics, Gauteng’s Nampak Flexible and East Rand Plastics. Tropic Plastics has developed two technically advanced films – now extruded with the d2w additive – that are being used for Albany breads. Tropithene is an opaque film with a luxurious texture finish, and Tropistar which has clear glass properties. Artistic inspiration To mark this development and to help promote awareness of the benefits of a cleaner environment to young people, Albany has launched an art competition for primary, high and tertiary schools that aims to teach learners about the importance of a litter-free environment through the use of art. “As part of the launch, Albany is running a competition where learners have to create a work of art using Albany’s bio-degradable bags,” says Dhlamini. “Ideally, the artwork should represent some of the negative things the children would like to see disappear in South Africa, which could include things like guns, rats, cigarettes or knives.” The competition takes place from May to October 2008, with cash prizes of R10 000, R15 000 and R20 000 going to the winning primary, high and tertiary schools respectively. All artworks need to be completed by Friday 27 July 2008. “Albany is an environmentally friendly brand, and through this initiative as well as the schools competition, we want to ensure that not only do we have clean surroundings in the future, but also help instill a lifelong awareness of the importance of environmental protection amongst the youngsters of today,” says Dhlamini. |
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