Description / Scope of the Technical Need.
We are looking for biodegradable packaging solutions—including flexible packaging, extruded or injection stretch blow moulded (ISBM) bottles, form-fill-seal vials, and tubes—for use with our consumer healthcare products.
This challenge supports Opella’s environmental commitments to circularity and plastic reduction, while aligning with consumer expectations and our mission to help preserve the planet.
Background.
Ongoing advances in materials science, biopolymer development, and end-of-life management are helping address the technical and environmental challenges associated with biodegradable packaging.
Biodegradable packaging refers to materials that can be broken down by microorganisms under defined environmental conditions. These materials may be derived from renewable, bio-based feedstocks—such as biomass, agricultural by-products, vegetable oils, seaweed, or mycelium—or from other sources, depending on the technology. Some can be processed using conventional thermoplastic manufacturing techniques, offering potential alternatives to fossil-based plastics.
However, biodegradable materials may present challenges in areas such as moisture and oxygen barrier performance, mechanical properties, product compatibility, shelf life, and processing conditions, which can limit their use for certain consumer healthcare applications.
Their end-of-life pathway also requires careful consideration. Depending on the material and local waste-management infrastructure, biodegradable packaging may require industrial or home composting conditions and may not be compatible with conventional recycling streams.
Despite these challenges, biodegradable and bio-based packaging technologies have the potential to reduce reliance on fossil resources and lower environmental impact, provided that their performance and end-of-life benefits are demonstrated through a robust life-cycle assessment.
Key Success Criteria.
Must-have Requirements.
- Biodegradable, dissolvable, or home-compostable, with degradation under defined conditions without requiring specialized industrial treatment.
- Compatible with existing recycling streams where applicable, without disrupting or contaminating conventional recycling processes.
- Made from bio-based and/or renewable resources, preferably without fossil-based material blends.
- Demonstrated lower environmental impact versus conventional packaging, supported by a comparative life-cycle assessment (LCA).
- Provide the required product protection and barrier performance, including against moisture, oxygen, and light, as relevant to the application.
- Compatible with existing packaging, converting, and filling equipment, ideally without requiring significant additional investment.
- Meet applicable food-contact, safety, quality, and regulatory requirements for the intended consumer healthcare application.
Preferred Requirements.
- Recyclable through existing recycling streams.
- Cost-effective, with a credible pathway to commercial-scale economics.
Approaches not of interest.
- Oxo-degradable or oxo-biodegradable materials, i.e., conventional plastics containing additives that accelerate fragmentation rather than true biodegradation.
- Materials requiring industrial composting conditions only, including controlled temperature, humidity, and microbial environments, with no viable home-composting or alternative end-of-life pathway.
Target Group.
Adults and children, no specific health conditions
Geographies.
Global
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