Frequently Asked Questions
What is EarthCoating®?
EarthCoating® is a suite of mineralized resin forumulations, providing performance and sustainability advantages over conventional 100% polymer formulations, as well as the recent use of dispersion coatings. Mineralization of resins substitutes mineral content for polymer to produce a mineralized resin blend, which improves the performance of the coating, while lowering the plastic content.
EarthCoating® uses 40-51% less polymer than Polyethylene.
Paper cups and foodservice packaging made with EarthCoating® can be easily pulped into recycled paper using conventional paper recycling equipment.
EarthCoating® runs on conventional extrusion and converting equipment at high commercial line speeds.
The addition of low-cost minerals lowers the content of expensive polymers, which lowers the overall cost of packaging with EarthCoating.
What applications can EarthCoating® be used for?
EarthCoating® is a drop-in replacement for 100% polymer coating, in extrusion coating systems, and may be used in a variety of paper-based barrier packaging applications including:
Hot cups
Cold cups
Food trays
Folding cartons
Ice Cream tubs
Labels / Liners
Corrugated packaging
Flexible packaging (bags, sacks, pouches, etc.)
EarthCoating has advantages over conventional 100% polymer coatings in most applications. Visit our Applications page to learn more.
Is EarthCoating® compliant for direct food contact?
Yes, EarthCoating® is compliant for direct food contact. To learn more, visit our Compliance page.
Are paper products made with EarthCoating® recyclable?
Yes, paper products (cups, trays, cartons, etc.), made using EarthCoating® are “Recycle Ready”, engineered to be easily pulped and recycled into recycled paper using conventional paper recycling equipment, without specialized recycling infrastructure.
Unlike 100% plastic coatings, EarthCoating is classified as an inert component that does not interfere with paper recycling, along with clay coatings, paper clips, and staples. Paper recycling systems are designed to manage these types of component, and therefore paper packaging with EarthCoating is qualified for paper recovery in the “uncoated paper” category, Path 11.
In contrast, 100% plastic coatings are considered problematic contaminants that interfere with paper recycling systems. 100% plastic coatings including polyethylene, PLA, and BioPBS, become large sturdy flakes in the pulping process that later clog the screening process, and therefore packaging with these coatings are undesirable and typically directed for disposal in landfills. When these materials are recycled, it is typically by diluting the amount of plastic-coated materials to be less than 3% of an overall total of bale of recovered paper, so that it doesn’t cause a shutdown of the process, or damage equipment. For these reasons, it’s easier for recyclers to sort and remove plastic-coated packaging from the paper recycling stream.
To learn more, download our pulping report.
Are paper products made with EarthCoating® compostable?
EarthCoating is a suite of mineralized resin formulations. When the base resin is compostable, EarthCoating maintains the compostability while reducing the overall plastic coating and adding recyclability
EarthCoating Bio40 is a mineralized blend of PLA and BioPBS which is formulated to maintain the advantages of each resin while reducing the total resin content, and adding recyclability
Are paper products made with EarthCoating® ok for microwave use?
Smart Planet Technologies offers a mineralized-Polypropylene EarthCoating® blend designed for the higher temperature tolerance requirements needed for microwave use.
Does EarthCoating® heat seal?
Yes, EarthCoating® provides improved heat seal and fiber tear over 100% polymer coatings. The mineral content grabs and dispels heat faster than 100% polymer coatings, thereby activating the polymer content faster (heat seal activation), and deeper into the surface of the coating, resulting in better heat seal performance, and opportunities to increase production speeds in packaging manufacturing.
What type of barrier performance does EarthCoating® provide
EarthCoating® EC-40 (our most commonly used blend), offers waterproof and grease proof barrier performance.
All lab testing results are available including MVTR, Cobb, Canola Oil, 3m Kit Test, etc..
How much does EarthCoating® cost?
The cost of EarthCoating® is determined by which resin blend is used. For example, EarthCoating® EC-40 ( 40% Calcium Carbonate and 60% Low Density Polyethylene) costs 15-25% less than a bio-resin alternative and falls in line with conventional neat polyolefin pricing +/- 5% based on volume. Contact us to learn more.
Why hasn’t my packaging company or paper mill told me about EarthCoating®?
While some vendors may simply not be aware of EarthCoating®, we’ve successfully commercialized millions of paper cups and folding cartons around the world and are happy to bring your incumbent suppliers up to speed on all of the benefits associated with using it to meet your sustainable packaging initiatives. Visit our News page to read about our most recent developments.
Also, despite all of the environmental, economic and performance benefits, innovative technology such as EarthCoating® is often referred to as disruptive and may be seen as an opportunity or threat depending on who you are talking to.
For example, if your incumbent supplier is currently selling you packaging made of Poly-coated paperboard, they may want to keep things as they are for fear that if they introduce something new, they may be increasing their risk of losing your business. At the same time, new vendors trying to earn your business may see EarthCoating® as an opportunity to generate your interest. Either way, EarthCoating® is worthy of serious consideration in support of your sustainable packaging initiatives.
Will my packaging actually get recycled if we use EarthCoating®?
Many of the limitations in paper recycling today are because of packaging materials that are not compatible with paper recycling systems.
The first step to getting paper-based barrier packaging recycled is to make them valuable and easy for recyclers to process through their conventional paper recycling equipment.
The second challenge is sorting packaging in the waste stream to keep the packaging that is recyclable while removing the packaging that is not. For example, when a waste stream includes paper cups that are recyclable and paper cups that are not recyclable, it is difficult to ensure that a clean stream of only recyclable paper cups are recovered. There is work being done by a project called “Holy Grail 2.0”, that is developing methods to assist optical sorters of recovering the right materials, through ultraviolet inks and markings, that will ensure that recyclable packaging gets recycled, while removing packaging that contaminates paper recycling.
The presence of non-recyclable packaging is interfering with the recycling of recyclable packaging. It is important for regulating bodies to support the use recyclable materials, and discourage non-recyclable materials. Smart Planet supports legislation to discourage the use of packaging that is not recyclable or compostable, when there are better solutions that can be recycled or composted.
The greater the switch to recyclable and compostable options, the easier and more profitable recycling becomes, and more packaging will be recycled. It all starts with using packaging that is designed to be recycled.
In an effort to get started, we’ve put together multiple closed-loop collection programs which are now recycling post-consumer paper cups and other packaging made with EarthCoating.