SK Jonghap Hwakhak - Cleanwrap, Joint Development of Eco-friendly Wrap

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Soyeon] SK Innovation's chemical business subsidiary SK General Chemical and food packaging specialist company 'Clean Wrap' announced on the 26th that they have succeeded in developing eco-friendly wrap for commercial use.

SK General Chemical and Clean Wrap showcased the jointly developed eco-friendly PE (Polyethylene) wrap for commercial use at the SK Seorin Building in Jongno-gu, Seoul, and agreed to further expand joint development of eco-friendly packaging products to strengthen ESG management.

The raw material PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) used in commercial wraps has been continuously utilized due to its moisture barrier performance and convenient stretchability. However, PVC cannot be recycled because mixing it with other synthetic resins reduces product strength and generates harmful chemicals, leading to its classification as 'general waste.'

Due to difficulties in recycling, the use of PVC wrap has been banned since December last year under regulations by the Ministry of Environment, with exceptions only for certain products such as ham and sausages where alternatives are insufficient.

In the packaging industry, developing a material that maintains the characteristics of existing PVC wrap products while being recyclable and not emitting harmful substances during recycling has been an urgent task.

The eco-friendly commercial wrap jointly developed by the two companies replaces the PVC material wrap mainly used for packaging meat in large marts or for packaging delivery food in restaurants with PE material. The key was to maintain performance at a level similar to the existing PVC material.

This product development was achieved when SK General Chemical, which is proactively leading the establishment of a circular economy by addressing issues such as plastic waste, proposed joint development to Clean Wrap, a long-time customer.

The eco-friendly commercial PE wrap was successfully developed by combining SK General Chemical’s proprietary high-performance polyethylene material and ultra-thin wrap design technology with Clean Wrap’s accumulated know-how in developing household PE wraps. This product is harmless to humans, recyclable, and has excellent elasticity to facilitate packaging. It does not emit harmful substances when incinerated and can be recycled without separation from synthetic resin products.

The packaging industry is paying more attention to the success of eco-friendly PE wrap development as a replacement for commercial PVC wrap is essential. Industry insiders expect the transition from the existing commercial PVC wrap market to the eco-friendly PE wrap market to accelerate.

Na Kyungsoo, President of SK General Chemical, said, "This collaboration marks the beginning of building a resource-circulating economy in the packaging industry," and emphasized, "SK General Chemical will take the lead in establishing an eco-friendly packaging ecosystem through cooperation with various companies in food, distribution, and packaging materials from an ESG management perspective."