SORMAPEEL, the ultralight and recyclable packaging of Sorma Group

Practical, economic and low environmental impact; in the 1 kg version it weighs less than a penny coin. Sormapeel, which can be applied with existing machines, is the Group’s solution for the circular economy.

Sorma, the world’s leading group in the projection and manufacturing of packaging, selection and weighing systems for the fruit and vegetable sector, has launched, on the occasion of Fruit Logistica 2020, a novelty that will revolutionize the fruit and vegetable packaging industry.

This is SORMAPEEL, an unpublished patent proposal developed by the Roma group that, for the benefit of the circular economy and the result of several years of research in search of functional and sustainable solutions, offers concrete advantages to the entire fruit and vegetable sector, as well as to other sectors, from the packer to the final consumer, and even those who deal with the recycling of plastic and paper.

SORMAPEEL is the new packaging chain applicable to the entire line of Sorma machines dedicated to fruit and vegetable packaging. Its adoption does not therefore require any new investment to modify or change the machines that are already available. Its second virtue lies in the benefits it offers: the new solution, in effect, maintains the same characteristics of visibility of the content, breathability, resistance, speed and strength of the entire Sorma packaging line.

The innovative content is given by the introduction of a paper strip that can be removed (hence the name, “Sormapeel”), that is, easily removable by the consumer, who can, therefore, recycle separately and so Fast plastic and paper. In addition, its average composition contains less than half of plastic than traditional packaging and can be completely recycled, in monomaterial, all in PE (high density polyethylene) or all in PP (polypropylene), which simplifies and speeds up more so the recycling of the material.

The paper band also has multiple advantages. First of all, in addition to being a material that confers solidity, it allows for a 70% thinner plastic film than usual: the paper protects the thin layer of plastic that constitutes the film. Secondly, this innovation, compared to other clearly more costly possibilities, allows moderating costs (in line with the company’s own).

Thus, thanks to its lower plastic content and the partial substitution of this for paper, the new line turns out to be ultralight, more than the monomaterial versions and those of heterogeneous non-recyclable polyacoplate. Specifically, the 1 kg formats of Rosapack and Sormabag, of 2.79 g and 2.22 g respectively, are lighter even than plastic meshes with staple, weighing 2.88 g and cannot be recycled. Sormabag of 1 kg, in particular, weighs less than a penny coin.

“With SORMAPEEL – says Andrea Mercadini, CEO of the Group – we can affirm that we have won a difficult battle against time and in favor of the environment. Our Group has been committed for many years in the search for innovative materials and solutions that favor the circular economy, increasingly necessary for the safeguarding of our planet’s resources. Today we take an important step forward because, in a historical moment in which the polymers and their future are being debated profusely, Sorma offers a solution that takes into account aspects of the most diverse in relation to packaging: practicality, economics and recyclability. The fact that it combines all these advantages makes it a real and effective solution that can be applied, not only to a minimum part of all sectors, such as the biological sector, but to all productive branches. Aware that it is a revolutionary innovative solution, we are processing the application to patent it. ”

“In addition, we have used high-consumption materials,” continues Mario Mercadini, Large Scale Manager, “whose recycling system is well established, allows them to be easily handled and disposed of effectively, unlike other materials, such as compostable products, for example. In our internal organization, SORMAPEEL innovation has led to a change in the production process thanks to which we are already able to provide our product with continuity to all customers who are interested in it, wherever they are, in any country in the world. “