British packaging solutions manufacturer DS Smith is currently working with UK environmental research company Nafici to create packaging from plant waste, such as straw and brewers' grains.
Nafici has successfully developed a process for converting agricultural waste into paper pulp. At its research site and recycled paper mill, Kemsley Paper Mill, located in Sittingbourne in the UK, DS Smith is studying how this pulp, created from these previously devalued products, can be used to manufacture packaging products, in particular corrugated base paper (CBP).
According to DS Smith, using this agricultural waste could save up to 10% of virgin fibers in the paper manufacturing process.
Nafici's patented EcoPulping process has also caught the eye of China.
Last October, the first EcoPulping industrial plant started up in China, thanks to a joint venture between Nafici, a Chinese investment company, and China Paper.
Florence Miremadi-Nafici, co-founder and CEO of Nafici, says of the pilot program with DS Smith: "We hope to prove that alternative fibers, and second-harvest materials in particular, can and will play an important role in the future of sustainable packaging." .
