SLEEVER®, a French family-owned group International SME and innovative leader in shrinksleeve label technology, and CARBIOS, a pioneer in the development and industrialization of biological technologies to reinvent the life cycle of plastic and textiles, have unveiled the first innovation to emerge from their partnership: SEELCAP® ONEGO, the world’s first Home Compost biodegradable tamper evident seal. 

onego

The revolutionary nature of this dual innovation lies in the integration of the encapsulated enzyme CARBIOS Active, CARBIOS’ biodegradation solution for PLA, into the biopolymer blend, and in its eco-designed concept developed with Fabrice Peltier. SEELCAP® ONEGO is an original, proprietary tamper-evident concept, consisting of two distinct but inseparable aims: the first to ensure tamper-evidence, and the second to enable easy opening in a single gesture with a gripping flap.

Thanks to the inclusion of CARBIOS Active in the material, SEELCAP® ONEGO disintegrates completely in composting conditions, even at room temperature, in less than 6 months (TÜV Austria “OK Compost HOME” certification for SEELCAP® ONEGO is pending). SEELCAP® ONEGO thereby reduces the carbon footprint by up to 70% compared with conventional shrink capsules, and significantly improves the circularity of this type of packaging.  This complete solution brings about a radical change in terms of sustainability, while addressing brands’ concerns for safety, traceability and mass production.

Existing lines

SEELCAP® ONEGO easily integrates existing filling lines and is compatible with the SLEEVER® Group’s Combishrink® and Combiskinner® shrink-fitting equipment, with outputs ranging from 60 to 24,000 bottles per hour.

The SEELCAP® ONEGO innovation will be presented on the SLEEVER (RF14, Hall Ravel) and CARBIOS (VA17, Hall Verrière) stands at LuxePack Monaco, to be held at the Grimaldi Forum from 30 September to 2 October 2024.

The tamper-evident function is necessary to ensure packaging security, particularly for glass products associated with wooden caps often used for wines, spirits and alcohols. Due to its small size (< 60 mm), conventional tamper-evident systems do not fit into traditional packaging sorting and recycling flows, hence the need for a new alternative offered by this Home Compost biodegradable solution.

Compostable biopolymers

Integrated directly into the plastic transformation process without modifying production lines, the encapsulated enzyme CARBIOS Active enables the creation of a new generation of products made from biopolymers that can be composted at ambient temperature, whatever the soil conditions, while guaranteeing quality compost, free from toxicity and microplastics.

CARBIOS Active opens up new possibilities for PLA biodegradation at ambient temperature, including under domestic composting conditions. A production line is already up and running at CARBIOS headquarters in Clermont-Ferrand, France, capable of producing 2,500 tons/year of CARBIOS Active (required for the equivalent of 50,000 tons/year of enzymated PLA).

Emmanuel Ladent, CEO, CARBIOS : “I’m delighted to present SEELCAP® ONEGO to the market, the first innovation resulting from our partnership with SLEEVER. Thanks to the integration of CARBIOS Active, we have jointly developed the first tamper evident seal that can be composted at ambient temperature, offering a valuable alternative when recycling is not an option. This is a concrete application of CARBIOS’ mission to find innovative and sustainable solutions to rethink the life cycle of all types of plastic.”

Eco-designed

Eric Fresnel, President, SLEEVER® Group: “SEELCAP® ONEGO is a new eco-designed offer for tamper-evident packaging, the fruit of collaboration between the SLEEVER® and CARBIOS teams, with the participation of designer Fabrice Peltier. This breakthrough innovation in packaging security meets the needs of the wine, spirits and alcoholic beverages markets, particularly in countries where recycling channels for glass packaging have not yet been developed.”

CARBIOS is a biotech company developing and industrializing biological solutions to reinvent the life cycle of plastic and textiles.  Inspired by nature, CARBIOS develops enzyme-based processes to break down plastic with a mission to avoid plastic and textile pollution, and accelerate the transition to a circular economy. Its two disruptive technologies for the biorecycling of PET and the biodegradation of PLA are reaching industrial and commercial scale. 

Its biorecycling demonstration plant has been operational since 2021 and a first industrial plant, in partnership with Indorama Ventures, is currently under construction.  CARBIOS, founded in 2011 by Truffle Capital, has received scientific recognition, notably with the cover of Nature, and is supported by prestigious brands in the cosmetics, Food & Beverage and apparel industries to enhance their products’ recyclability and circularity. Nestlé Waters, PepsiCo and Suntory Beverage & Food Europe are members of a packaging consortium founded by CARBIOS and L’Oréal. On, Patagonia, PUMA, PVH Corp. and Salomon collaborate with CARBIOS in a textile consortium.

Visit www.carbios.com/en to find out more about biotechnology powering plastic and textile circularity.

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