SABIC, Lamb Weston and Opack Group join forces to create sustainable packaging made from bio-renewable polyethylene

SABIC, a global leader in the chemicals industry, has joined forces with Lamb Weston, a major global brand owner and producer of frozen potato products, to create low-weight sustainable bags with thin co-extruded film structures using a closed-loop process. At least 60% of the packaging is made from bio-based polymers from waste cooking oil (UCO).

“We are delighted to be working with Lamb Weston and Opack Group on this closed-loop project. This project fully embodies the circular concept as it makes better use of UCO to produce closed-loop polymers that can be recycled,” said Khaled Al-Jalawi, Global Director of Circular Economy at SABIC.

The new Lamb Weston retail packaging has a total renewable raw material content of at least 60%, certified from polymer to film.

Sebastiaan Besems, Vice President Commercial EMEA at Lamb Weston, commented: "Distributors, retailers and consumers are becoming more aware of their impact on the environment and are increasingly leaning towards more sustainable packaging. We have anticipated this trend and developed an industry-leading bio-circular retail packaging solution for our pre-fried frozen potato products that offers a highly responsible value proposition. As part of our ambitious sustainability plans and innovations for the frozen potato category, the brand’s new European retail packaging is made with 60% bio-circular plastic sourced from Lamb Weston’s waste cooking oils and is ISCC PLUS certified."

"By using SABIC’s bio-renewable polymers and less, better packaging, this innovation reduces the carbon footprint of our retail bags by 30%, in line with consumers’ expectations for FMCG brands to be as environmentally friendly as possible. The success of this project is also in line with our goals to halve food waste, reduce our overall product carbon footprint by 25% and move to a more circular production by 2030."

Laura Hanegraaf, Sales Manager, Oerlemans Plastics (Opack Group) added: "This project reinforces our commitment with SABIC to promote low-carbon and renewable products within the industry and represents a significant step forward. It enables us to offer our customers high-quality flexible film products made from renewable materials derived from waste cooking oil."