The new shrink film will be used for tamper evident seals on ConAgra Foods’ table spreads, Fleischmann’s, Blue Bonnet and Parkay and for printed shrink labels for multi-packs of company’s Reddi-Wip whipped topping and PAM cooking spray.
The new material has many advantages over traditional shrink films:
The new shrink film is produced using corn, a renewable resource. Traditional shrink films are petroleum-based;
It contains over 50% post-industrial recycled content, meaning that over half the material that would traditionally be sent to landfills is now being diverted into a value-added end product;
It produces less GHG than traditional shrink films; this means the company is reducing greenhouse gas production by about 592,000 pounds of carbon dioxide equivalents, the same as taking about 48 cars off the road per year;
It needs less energy at company’s manufacturing facilities, reducing the temperature needed to shrink the material by about 20%.
It offers a higher-quality finished product due to an enhanced shrink performance.
“This conversion to a new shrink material is one of many steps ConAgra Foods is taking in our continued commitment to innovation and sustainable business,” stated Gail Tavill, vice president of Sustainability at ConAgra Foods. “We’re positively impacting the environment, reducing waste and eliminating the need for more than 400,000 pounds of petroleum-based material by replacing it with a material made from a renewable –resource—corn.”
ConAgra Foods’ conversion to the new material will divert over 350,000 pounds of non-renewable Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) and over 50,000 pounds of Polyethylene Terephthalate Glycol (PETG) from company’s raw material stream annually.
