DS Smith launches trial to produce paper from straw and grain
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DS Smith, the leading provider of sustainable, fibre-based packaging, is working in partnership with environmental research start-up Nafici on a way to produce packaging from 'second harvest' materials. This new initiative from DS Smith reflects the company's ongoing investment in research and development as part of last year's updated sustainability strategy "Now. And future.", which was updated last year.
With this project, DS Smith is responding to demand from companies seeking a more circular approach to their supply chains. According to DS Smith's research team, waste products such as straw and spent grain, a material used in the brewing of beer, have the potential to save up to 10% of the virgin fibre used in the papermaking process. They could therefore represent an important and realisable supplement to the raw materials used conventionally.
The British research institute Nafici Environmental Research (NER) has developed a process to convert agricultural waste into a raw material that can be used for paper production. DS Smith is using its state-of-the-art research and development centre in Kemsley, UK, to investigate how the mass developed by Nafici from previously unused waste products can be used to produce sustainable packaging.
Nick Thompson, Materials Development Director at DS Smith, commented on the ground-breaking work: "DS Smith has built a reputation as a pioneer of innovation in recycling, including through the investment in our Fibre & Paper Development Lab at the Kemsley site and now through the ongoing partnership with Nafici. Companies are interested in how they can make their supply chains more circular. Finding secondary uses for materials that are currently considered waste can be a key factor in this. In our sustainability strategy "Now. And in the future.", we have committed to driving forward the transition to a circular economy. Collaboration with customers and partners throughout the supply chain is an important part of this endeavour."
Florence Miremadi-Nafici, co-founder and CEO of NER, comments on the partnership between NER and DS Smith: "Our collaboration with DS Smith is central to addressing the sustainability challenges associated with increasing packaging demand. With the pilot programme in Kemsley, we want to find a way to use alternative fibres, particularly materials created during crop processing, for more sustainable packaging."
