Grass paper: is grass paper the sustainable packaging alternative?

Grass paper
Is grass paper the sustainable packaging alternative?

The sustainable packaging material grass paper is becoming increasingly popular. After it became known to the broader public through the biodegradable plant pots “Pottburri” in the VOX founder show “Die Höhle der Löwen”, more and more suppliers are turning to the ecological alternative to paper and cardboard.

Now even the fast food giant McDonalds has announced in this country that it is now serving the Deutschlandburger and its McWraps in grass paper. This change saves almost 70 percent of the material for the premium burger alone. The company wants to offer all packaging made from renewable, recycled or certified materials by 2025. The Hakle company has also been developing a solution in the area of ​​toilet paper together with the Hennef manufacturer Creapaper for some time, as reported by the Cologne Express. What should you know about the trendy eco paper?

The idea and the advantages

The idea of ​​using hay instead of wood in the manufacture of paper and cardboard originated as reported by “Deutsche Welle”, among others by Creapaper owner Uwe D’Agnone personally. After reading about the problem of deforestation in Indonesia, he developed an alternative material together with agricultural scientists from the University of Bonn. The advantage of green cuttings, in addition to short transport routes and great availability: grass contains almost no lignin. In conventional paper production, the natural adhesive must first be removed from the wood, for which energy, water and chemicals are used.

In contrast, no chemicals are used in the manufacture of the Creapaper product. In addition, in direct comparison with wood paper production, only a tenth of the energy is consumed. And grass paper also scores in terms of water and CO2 emissions: instead of 6,000 liters for a ton of wood in its raw state, only two liters of water are used to process the grass. The CO2 consumption is only 75 percent of the emissions from pure wood processing.

The manufacturing process and uses

But how exactly is grass paper actually made? After drying and cleaning, the grasses are cut, then pressed into pellets and mixed with water. In combination with wood or waste paper pulp, the factories produce paper that has a grass content of up to 60 percent.

Grass paper can be used in a variety of ways. Since it does not contain any allergens, it can come into direct contact with food. Many supermarket chains such as Rewe and Edeka have therefore already discovered the material for themselves. When planning the seasonal products for fruit and vegetables, the former explicitly checks whether grass paper can be used as packaging. And giants from other areas such as the beverage manufacturer Coca-Cola and the mail order company Otto are already using the material. 2019 reported Creapaper owner D’Agnone “Welt” also to work on drinking straws and cups.

The disadvantages

However, there are not all advantages. In addition to the fact that the appearance does not meet with a positive response from some customers, as well as the sometimes still long transport routes, the grass weakens the paper if the proportion is too high. Therefore, wood always has to be added, like Kay Hedrich from Metabooks publishing house in Dresden “Deutschlandfunk Nova” declared.

The alternatives

In the wake of the ongoing sustainability boom, there are now some alternatives to grass paper on the market, including variants made from bamboo, stone or hemp. Like the grass product, all of them have noteworthy advantages and disadvantages. Bamboo, for example, is extremely light and grows quickly, but it has to be imported from Asia. According to the expert Valkama, paper production from stone requires up to 20 percent chemical plastic components, but its oil and water resistance is still an advantage. Its resilience speaks in favor of hemp. However, the growth of the plant genus depends on the season and is strictly regulated.

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