SABIC, Napco and FONTE partner to launch innovative bread packaging

Food-contact PE grades based on 100 per cent feedstock of pyrolysis oil derived from advanced recycling of post-consumer used plastics

SABIC, a global leader in the chemical industry, has announced the successful roll-out of the first circular packaging project in Saudi Arabia as part of its TRUCIRCLE™ program to accelerate the implementation of a circular plastic economy. FONTE, a major player in the bakery industry in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), has introduced bread bags made with SABIC’s certified circular polyethylene (PE) in their Oat Arabic Bread. The bags are made by Napco National, a vertically integrated Saudi manufacturer of flexible film and packaging products, using two food-contact certified circular polyethylene resin grades (LLDPE) from SABIC’s TRUCIRCLE™ portfolio. Following the kick-off of the joint project in March 2023 and the successful completion of the trial phase at Napco, FONTE has started to introduce flexible bags to stores throughout Saudi Arabia.

The new FONTE bread bags incorporate 100 per cent mass-balanced certified content of recycled feedstock from mixed post-consumer used plastics, which is converted into pyrolysis oil in an advanced recycling process. SABIC then uses the oil in the production of new polymers with the same purity and quality as traditional virgin plastics at the company’s plant in Jubail, KSA.

Sanjay Mishra, who heads the ETP and Performance Polymers business at SABIC, states: “With our TRUCIRCLE program, we are pushing for innovative business models to transform our industry from a linear to a circular one and help prevent the valuable material of end-of-life plastic applications from being wasted. Within a relatively short time, this remarkable joint project has shown what can be achieved to make this vision come true if all players work together to maximize post-consumer plastic recycling and sustainability. Moreover, the project also addresses a major trend towards more sustainable food packaging in Saudi Arabia, and is the first circular packaging application of its kind in the country.”