New Approach to Paint Packaging Could Transform Environmental Performance of Coatings Sector

Aquapak Polymers, a UK based company, has developed a high performance ‘super polymer’ plastic film that can be manufactured into an extremely lightweight and robust plastic pouch suitable for holding various volumes of paints and coatings.

The Aquapak flexible pouch is exceptionally durable; it is both tear and puncture resistant and provides an excellent barrier, being impervious to most solvents, oil and gas.  The pouch can be manufactured according to manufacturers’ individual specification and can be printed directly on without the need for any additional treatment.

However, it is the pouch’s environmental credentials that provide the incentive for paint manufacturers to make the switch from traditional metal tins or plastic pails. It is 100% recyclable within existing waste streams at the end of use, as well as being 100% compostable and compatible with anaerobic digestion plants.

“We’re incredibly excited to introduce this packaging innovation to the paint and coatings sector,” explains Mike Everard, Managing Director of Aquapak Polymers.

“Much of the progress in greening the sector has been in reducing the environmental impact of paint at the point of production, and on establishing infrastructure or initiatives to optimise the recovery and reuse of leftover or waste paint.

“And yet the scale of the problem for paint packaging waste is huge.  The British Coatings Federation estimates that 78 million plastic containers and 50 million metal tins are used for decorative paint each year, and although both can be recycled, in reality very few are. ”

In the UK, just over a third of Household Waste Recycling Centres accept waste paint and therefore paint packaging.  This has a knock on effect on consumer behaviour with householders storing on average 17 partly used paint tins and containers in garages and sheds across the country.

Mike continues: “With 27 million households in the UK that equates to a staggering 459 million tins of paint being stockpiled up and down the country.  In all likelihood, the majority of these will end up in a landfill site or will be incinerated.

”The Aquapak flexible paint pouch is extremely lightweight compared to plastic or metal paint packaging and therefore significantly reduces carbon emissions associated with the production and transportation of paint.

“Additionally, the manufacturing process of the pouch uses considerably less water and produces significantly less waste compared with the production of traditional paint pails.  Potentially this could well result in a knock-on price reduction for the consumer.”

However, what makes the Aquapak paint pouch such a pioneering development in terms of sustainability performance for paint manufacturers is that it can be 100% recycled or used as a renewable energy source at the end of its life.

Once the consumer has used all of the paint within the pouch, it can be recycled along with other household plastic items, collected and sorted at a materials recovery facility with valuable components recovered and reused in other products.   Additionally, the material used is derived from FDA approved raw ingredients that are compatible for both composting and anaerobic digestion plants.

Aquapak has been operational since 2011 and has been developing the technology over the last five years with a global team comprising film manufacturers, chemists, packaging experts and Biffa, one of the UK’s leading waste management companies.  

Having successfully developed the technology and undertaken a rigorous testing programme on performance and on treatment/usage at the end of life, the company aims to change the way plastics are used in a number of global sectors, with the paint sector being one of the first to benefit. 

The company is an approved member of the Social Stock Exchange, the first regulated exchange dedicated to businesses and investors seeking to achieve a positive social and environmental impact through their activities.

Mike concludes: “Paint manufacturers have, to date, been limited in ways to reduce the environmental impact of packaging.  Through our unique and patented paint pouch we can provide a practical and effective alternative to standard metal tins and plastic pails that offers exceptional functionality combined with strong environmental credentials and cost efficiency.”