VFFS machine with Eco-friendly paper packaging material. Actions in the packaging machinery for plastic reduction.

This article introduces our VFFS (Vertical Form Fill Seal) Machine that is compatible with paper wrapping material and shares the background the packaging material has been shifting from plastic to paper. Plastics are used for many things around us and have advantages such as the excellent durability and manufacturing easiness. However, as the amount of plastic waste that is not properly disposed and leaks into the natural environment has increased year by year, it has become an international issue.

Facing the issues of plastic wastes, the world is starting to act for the environment-friendly schemes along with the SDGs or the reduction of ocean plastic wastes. The plastic packaging is widely used for food packaging with its reliability of protection and transport usefulness. However, in this circumstance, the food industry has started working on the reduction of plastic waste by changing the packaging material from the conventional plastic to paper material. In response to the movement, the development of the machine that corresponds to the paper material has been accelerated in the packaging industry as well.

The environmental issues in recent years

Due to the superiority of its lightweight, durability, workability and economic efficiency, plastics are not only used for packaging material but also for the items around us such as plastic bags, plastic bottles or straws, etc.
However these plastic items are not naturally decomposed, it could be a cause of ocean pollution if the plastics are not disposed properly. The serious concern is the micro-plastics that are very small plastic waste flowing out to the environment and effect on the ecosystem through the food chain.

According to the data by Ministry of the Environment, the plastics production volume in the world after 1950s has exceeded 8.3 billion tons and 6.3 billion tons have been disposed as waste. There are calculations that 8million tons of plastic wastes have been discharged into ocean every year and the weights of plastic wastes will exceed the fishes in the ocean by 2050.

Reference: Ministry of Environment
https://www.env.go.jp/policy/hakusyo/r01/html/hj19010301.html

From these backgrounds, new schemes and laws to reduce the plastic waste are established in many countries. In Japan, for the purpose of reducing the plastic wastes discharging and enhancing recycling, a new law about plastic resources circulating has announced and many industries has started working on the ‘3R+ Renewable’ : Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Renewable for the law enforcement in April 2022.

Reference: Ministry of Environment 　　　　
https://www.env.go.jp/recycle/plastic/circulation.html 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
https://www.env.go.jp/recycle/plastic/pdf/gaiyou.pdf

Actions by Packaging Machinery Industry for reducing plastics

The movements for promoting environmentally-friendly or saving natural resources on the global scale, the packaging material is shifting mainly in Europe from plastics to paper.
In Japan, major confectionery or food manufacturers have started working on the 3R + Renewable. Along with the demand, the technical development of wrapping materials by paper manufacturing companies has been improved in the aspects of ‘Reducing’.

The plastic packaging material has superiority for the strength, fine printing color, and suitable for transportation, so the replacing paper material is required the adequate quality. For preventing deterioration of the food, it is necessary to have barrier function, moisture prevention and light shielding function for not allowing moisture or air to pass through.

It is difficult to have those functions in single layer material, so there is a paper material to laminate plastic inside. In Japan, the packaging material with the weight ratio of paper over 50 % is classified as paper container package, then the material can display the ‘Paper mark’.

Reference: Ministry of Economy, trade and industry.
https://www.meti.go.jp/policy/recycle/main/admin_info/law/02/faq/answer_08.html

Tam’s approach for environmental issue.
Packaging with Paper wrapping material by VFFS Machine

Tam has started our approach to handle paper wrapping material with our VFFS machine (model: TWFX) from 2019. By using paper wrapping material, the CO2 emission can be calculated to reduce 20% when the packaging materials (ex. bags for snacks) are disposed.
Our VFFS machine achieved to use the paper material that the weight ratio over 50% by developing our own technology and repeating the tests and effect confirmations to secure the seal strength and barrier function. It was a challenge that our many years of know-how for plastic material could not give an advantage for the paper material.

On the VFFS machine model TWFX, we have been testing the new packaging materials for examining the packaging quality and compatibility with the machine; the one is based on paper as the row material so it is recyclable, and the other is using biomass material.
Generally, paper material is harder than plastic film material so it is likely to generate wrinkles and air leaking. There are many issues we have to find solutions such as the damage on the surface of paper that is occurred on the forming parts, meandering, heater block to strengthen the seal performance and fluffing paper dust. But we made achievement by repeating testing and changing the shape of the parts to handle the above mentioned materials.

We plan to accommodate our VFFS machine for making not only pillow bag but also gusset bag, square-bottom bag and other various bag styles and will accomplish our VFFS to handle paper materials and also mono-plastic or laminated materials.

Vertical Form Fill Seal Machine (VFFS) model: TWFX

Specification

Bag Size Range: Bag Width 50 - 200mm, Bag Length 50 - 300mm
Packaging Speed: Max. 120bags/min
Machine Dimensions: W 979x D 1751 x H 1420 mm
Machine Weight: Approx. 800 kg

　　　　　　　　　　

Feel free to contact us for considering packaging machine with using paper packaging material.

Plastics are the material that is often used for packaging films by its superior strength and easiness of process. However, due to the fact that plastics aren’t decomposed naturally, it is said that it will leads to the ocean pollution if they are disposed improperly. If the ocean pollution is advanced, then it will cause negative effects on the ocean living, then eventually it could lead to us through food chain.

There are various measurements to control the plastic consumption in the world for protecting environment and Japanese government has promulgated the act of plastic resources circulating for advancing the 3R+Renewable of plastic wastes. The circumstances promote companies to change their packaging material to paper packaging material for reducing plastic wastes.

Shifting to the paper packaging material bears the cost for introduction. However, the actions considering environment improve the band image too. Please feel free to contact us if you consider paper packaging material.

Tam Contact to: tam-overseas@tam-tokyo.co.jp