Packaging supplier Aripack has announced a partnership with NEO Plastics, a new plastics start-up offering a new option for a zero-pollution sustainability strategy, to tackle the problem of plastic accumulation in landfills over the years. NEO Plastics' plastic packaging additives are designed to convert waste from landfills into useful biogas, which ultimately produces usable, clean energy.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, "Landfill gas (LFG) is a natural byproduct of the decomposition of organic matter in landfills. "LFG is composed of approximately 50 percent methane, 50 percent carbon dioxide, and a small amount of non-methane organic compounds."

As LFG has a growing impact on the energy industry, such as the Landfill Methane Use Promotion Program (LMOP), NEO Plastics supports the program by developing the residual value of discarded plastics. By accelerating the natural anaerobic process in landfills, the organic additives will release the energy stored in the plastic to provide usable biogas for waste treatment facilities, which will be collected and converted into clean and sustainable energy. As part of its Energy from Waste (WTE) strategy, NEO Plastics offers a new option to protect the environment in the search for sustainable packaging solutions.

NEO Plastics launched an organic additive at the end of 2017, which was tested to American Society for Experimental Materials standards.

Aripack has been supplying customized flexible and rigid packaging materials to a variety of companies and industries in North America, including food and beverage companies such as Wise, Godiva, Lesser Evil, Ricola, Fruit Bliss, Mayorga Organics Coffee, and others.

Aripack founder Isak Bengiyat said, "Consumers are becoming more aware of the environmental impact of packaging and are asking us to respond. At Aripack, we are the face of innovation and we offer our customers a variety of options, especially when it comes to environmental protection. The key now is to come up with practical solutions that add value without compromising applications, and we believe NEO is the solution."

Bengiyat said: "The NEO additive is currently available in a variety of flexible and rigid containers, and because it is a new technology, we are rolling it out and trying to get as many people and brands involved as possible."

The NEO organic additive can come in liquid or powder and be added to plastic masterbatches. Bengiyat also said that the material can also be added to all layers of multi-layered structures.

So what could be in it for Aripack? Bengiyat responds: "We offer our customers a new end-to-end solution for innovative packaging and sustainability that allows them to simply throw their packaging in the trash without having to distinguish whether it's recyclable or not."

Aripack exhibited NEO organic additives at Snaxpo and Specialty Coffee Shows and will continue to participate in related seminars. As with other initiatives related to plastics and sustainability, Bengiyat sees it as a key challenge and opportunity.

Bengiyat said: "We have released the relevant news and will continue to work with NEO to incorporate it into the new branding of the packaging. We have a small social media and a brand guide to address the issue of the NEO logo on the packaging. It's all about making people aware of NEO as a new option to turn waste into energy, so that people can believe in this innovative solution."

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