Properties of polyethylene
Polyethylene (PE) is a recyclable material with unique properties and several advantages. It does not absorb water, is elastic and can withstand contact with many different substances, holds its shape well and is easy to color. PE also has a low weight, which makes it advantageous to use for various packaging solutions as it increases transport efficiency.
With the help of various additives, we can fine-tune the properties of the PE film, adapted to the area of use and wishes. Properties that can be varied are, for example, clarity, strength, surface, printability, shrink ratio and welding properties.
Polyethylene often comes from fossil raw materials, but the development of non-fossil, recycled and bio-based alternatives is positive. Kullaplast will gladly help you to produce packaging that is of high quality and that also has a reduced climate footprint.
This is how you can make your packaging solution more climate-smart
- Replace all or some of your packaging with fossil-free or bio-based materials.
- Increase the use of recycled materials.
- Reduce the use of graphic prints on your packaging.
- Use as light pigments as possible when coloring, then the possibility of circular material flows for your plastic packaging increases.
- Inform your customers how to sort your packaging for recycling.
- Design plastic packaging and packaging for material recycling and you contribute to more circular plastic flows.
Kullaplast’s environmental and sustainability work
Kullaplast continuously invests in modern technology that reduces our climate footprint and makes us more efficient. It contributes to more responsibly produced products and is an important component of our environmental and sustainability work.
In our production development, we aim for a smaller amount of material in our products, for example through the production of thinner plastic film. As an example, we have worked together with our customers for several years to reduce the thickness of shrink film used to package cucumbers, it is now 57% thinner than when we started.
We take care of all our waste material from our production and make sure it is recycled and used in new products.
Kullaplast är anslutna till Näringslivets Producentansvar, vilket innebär att vi som producent täcker kostnaderna för hantering och återvinning av allt förpackningsmaterial vi använder.
Renewable energy – part of our energy mix
Kullaplast works actively to increase its use of renewable energy over time as a complement to energy from nuclear power.
Today we have an installation of 750 solar panels on the roof with a capacity to generate 380MWh annually and we also use geothermal energy as heating, corresponding to 438MWh per year. Together, it makes up about 10% of our total annual energy consumption.
Social sustainability together with Samhall
We believe in a society where everyone is seen as an asset in the labor market. Samhall helps people who are far from the labor market into work, and since 2011 Kullaplast has hired them for cleaning services. We are super satisfied with our colleagues from Samhall and happy to be able to contribute to breaking the exclusion in the labor market and together create a more socially sustainable society.
EcoVadis – sustainability assessment
Kullaplast has been awarded a silver medal by EcoVadis, which is a leading and reliable assessment tool of sustainability for companies.
EcoVadi's sustainability assessment method is an evaluation of how well a company has integrated the principles of sustainability/CSR into its business and management system. The methodology is based on international sustainability standards, including the Global Reporting Initiative, the UN's Global Compact and ISO 26000 and covers four sustainability themes; environment, labor law and human rights, ethics and sustainable procurement.
ISO 14001
Kullaplast is certified according to SS-EN ISO 14001:2015.
ISO 14001 help us minimize the negative impact our work processes have a on the environment (impact on air, water, and land). It is a proven environmental management system that drive us to continuous improvement based on environmentally adapted processes and acts as a guide when it comes to living up to environmental laws and requirements that exist for our business.
ISCC PLUS
Since 2021, we have been certified according to ISCC PLUS (International Sustainability & Carbon Certification), which is a global certification system for bio-based raw materials.
To favor the transition from fossil materials to renewable and recycled materials, we use an ISCC PLUS certified mass balance method. This means that we can ensure traceability for all stages of our production chain.
Mass balance is about mixing fossil, recycled or renewable material into existing production while keeping track of its quantity and allocating it to specific products. Our ISCC material contains fat waste, a residual product from the food and restaurant industry. The actual carbon molecules in the final product may not come from recycled or renewable materials, but a third-party certificate verifies the content.
Simply explained, the mass balance method is used to save an identical volume of fossil raw material by replacing it with sustainable raw material that enables actual savings in CO2 emissions.
Our ISCC PLUS certification is regularly reviewed and third-party verified.
DOCUMENT
2023-05-12
CSR Silver rating by Ecovadis
2024-05-25
ISCC certificate, renewable and recycled raw materials
2024-07-07
ISO-14001.2015 Certificate
Kullaplast AB
Kullaplast AB is one of Sweden’s biggest producers of polyethylene packaging. We manufacture packaging and packaging solutions for the food industry, the construction industry and other packaging solutions.