Over the past year, many packaging companies have started to look at ways that they can make their packaging products more sustainable. This has become more important in recent years as the packaging per capita consumption in India has increased 200% in the past decade. Hence, sustainable packaging is the need of the hour.

Taking a step in this direction is Bengaluru-headquartered Manjushree Technopack (MTL). Recently, the rigid plastic packaging solutions provider signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, to create innovative and sustainable plastic packaging solutions. “We are delighted to collaborate with a prestigious institute like IISc to support our vision of sustainable plastic packaging solutions. This is a significant development which will enable us to explore opportunities in existing technologies developed by IISc in the polymer segment, said Thimmaiah Napanda, MD and CEO, Manjushree Technopack.

As part of the MoU, IISc will establish a Centre of Excellence for upcycling and recycling thermoplastics used in a wide spectrum of rigid plastic packaging present in everyday life, ranging from soft drink bottles to cleaning products such as washing tablets. This will see IISc and MTL developing solutions to turn waste into plastic packaging to allow repeated recycling of products.

The organisations will also collaborate to develop a recyclable elastomeric material for all plastic pumps/triggers and also work to strengthen the caps of PET bottles, which are made from 100% recyclable plastic.

A key aim of the MoU is to replace a number of non-recyclable packaging materials with recyclable monolayer materials. This will help in making transport of materials cheaper and reduce breakage and damage. They will also be looking into how cardboard-based packaging, like those used for packing pizzas, can be replaced with foamed polyolefins which offers improved thermal insulation and weight reduction.

The MoU will enable MTL’s aim to build a green and clean environment through more recycling and reduced use of natural resources. Napanda also said that setting up the Centre of Excellence will be crucial to bringing the innovative products to market more quickly and effectively. “As we look to the future, we intend to benchmark carbon footprints in process and recycling aspects for various materials in rigid packaging with IISc,” he shared.

“We aim to leverage each other’s strengths by working together on innovative, green-focused projects which we hope will become an industry example in the years to come and make an impact in terms of upcycling and recycling plastic packaging that is present in our everyday lives,” said Suryasarathi Bose, associate professor, IISc.

IISc, established in 1909, has become India's premier institute for advanced scientific and technological research and education and is an Institution of Eminence. MTL is South Asia’s largest PET bottle and preform manufacturing company. With 40 years of packaging expertise in India, the company caters to the packaging requirements of the FMCG, pharmaceutical and liquor industries.