Evonik to reduce carbon footprint and plastic use with new paper bags for MetAMINO

Evonik has introduced a more environmentally friendly 25-kilogram paper bag for MetAMINO® (DL-methionine) by eliminating the plastic film layer. This change not only benefits customers with easier disposal options but also aligns with the EU’s new ‘Packaging & Packaging Waste Regulation’ (PPWR) aimed at enhancing recycling efforts.

The new packaging consists of two layers of paper and can be recycled as a pure paper bag (PAP 22) according to the EU recycling classification. For the Antwerp production site alone, this initiative will save 32 tons of polyethylene (PE) per year and reduces the packaging’s CO₂ footprint by 20 percent. Intensive testing has confirmed that the high quality of MetAMINO® remains unchanged in the new packaging and that its shelf life of 36 months is unaffected.

“Product packaging plays an important role in our company’s efforts to reduce CO₂ emissions and achieve a resource-conserving circular economy,” says Dr. Dirk Hoehler, responsible for the amino acid business at Evonik Animal Nutrition. “Packaging must protect the product effectively, but it should do so in the most environmentally friendly way possible.”

The packaging experts at Evonik Animal Nutrition have been working for several years on practical solutions to reduce the use of plastic in the packaging of MetAMINO® and other feed ingredients. The transition to the new bags has begun in Antwerp, with plans for the Singapore and Mobile (USA) sites to follow.