Papers and cardboards
Papers and cardboards are made from virgin plant fibers, cellulose extracted from wood, and/or recycled cellulosic fibers obtained from "recovered" materials.
These fibers are processed into pulp and then into paper sheets, cardboard plates that may consist of several layers, each made of paper and/or cardboard.
Papers-cardboards may also be combined with plastic materials and/or metals, mainly aluminum.
In this case, they form a complex multi-layer material, used in the manufacturing of liquid food cartons, pouches, pots, lids, and cases for all types of products.
Papers and cardboards are commonly used in the manufacturing of primary, secondary, and tertiary packaging. They are mainly found in the following packaging elements:
- Papers: bags, sacks, sheets, labels, ...
- Flat cardboards: blister packs, boxes, cases,
- Compact cardboards: boxes, crates, caskets, cases, ...
- Corrugated cardboards, white and brown: sheets, crates, pallets, trays, padding, boxes,
- Bulk cardboards: tubes, mandrels, pots, ...
- Honeycomb cardboards: sheets, crates, pallets,
- Molded celluloses: padding, boxes, trays.
Papers and cardboards are coming back strong
Materials of the future because they are renewable, recyclable, and biodegradable, papers and cardboards are today at the heart of the eco-design challenges of household packaging.
Paper and cardboard packaging is perceived as a future alternative, especially given the difficulty of recycling certain synthetic polymers and the pollution of oceans by plastics. However, to prevail, they must perform better by notably acquiring barrier properties, thus "plasticizing" to a degree, while maintaining their environmental virtues and remaining recyclable.