The main components of Sulapac^® are biodegradable biopolymers and sustainable fillers like side stream wood and natural clay minerals. All raw materials are sustainably sourced, food contact compliant and industrially compostable. The wood ingredient comes from wood industry’s processing side streams. The biobased content in all our recipes is maximized; the total biobased percentage ranges from 70% to 100%.

Sulapac^® is developed to replace conventional plastic in variety of products and packaging, including cosmetic packaging, cutlery, straws, reusable tableware, and single-use packaging among countless other application possibilities. Your imagination is the limit! In terms of manufacturing methods, the Sulapac material portfolio incudes materials for injection molding, extrusion, thermoforming, and 3D printing.

Sulapac materials have been designed for existing plastic converting machinery, so no major are investments needed in the machinery. Just select the manufacturing technology you are using and find the best material for your needs. Our sales team and technical experts are also more than happy to help choosing the right materials to trial. You can contact them by submitting this form.

If you are looking for ready made products made of Sulapac, please have a look what our partners have to offer. Whether it’s the cosmetics applications, cutlery, straw or 3D filaments, together we’ve got you covered.

To learn about the typical process of transitioning to Sulapac materials, please check our “how to adopt” page.

a. Sulapac^® is safe for people and the planet: The bio-based and biodegradable Sulapac materials leave no persistent microplastics or toxic load behind at any stage of the life cycle. Their carbon footprint is low. If a Sulapac product accidentally ends up in nature, it biodegrades into CO₂, water, and biomass in a similar timeframe as a tree leave or a piece of natural wood and without releasing hazardous chemicals that could harm the ecosystem in the long term. When incinerated, the CO₂ and CO emissions are smaller compared to that of polypropylene (PP), for example. All raw materials used are sustainably sourced, food contact compliant and industrially compostable.

b. Sulapac^® is circular by design: All Sulapac wood-composites are made with side stream raw materials. Sulapac materials can also be made with recycled biopolymers. All Sulapac materials are suitable for chemical and mechanical recycling. They are also industrially compostable, certified by BPI, Seedling or TÜV Austria.

The manufacturer of the product is responsible for providing adequate guidance on the proper disposal method. In case there are no proper instructions, Sulapac can be safely discarded with mixed waste/energy waste. For some tips on how to reuse your packaging, have a quick peek into our blog.

Our guidance for those manufacturing with Sulapac is the following:
Sulapac products and packaging can be disposed of with plastic waste, without interfering with the recycling process of conventional plastic. In the future, biobased biodegradables will also be separated as a stream of their own and recycled either mechanically or chemically. The PPWR, along with the growing volumes of biobased biodegradable materials and the economic upside embedded in their recycling, are the main drivers ensuring that this development takes place.

The recyclability of Sulapac materials has been validated by several third parties. Third parties have also demonstrated that Sulapac materials can be sorted out from a mixed waste stream by utilizing standardized sorting methods like near infrared technology.

Recycling of biobased biodegradables is the most effective way to keep the carbon in the loop, saving natural resources and minimizing CO2 emissions. However, in some cases industrial composting might be the preferred end-of-life option for Sulapac. The compostability of a final product must be separately verified by the company responsible for its manufacturing. 

Yes. The mechanical and chemical recyclability of Sulapac materials has been demonstrated by independent third parties. Via chemical recycling the carbon within the material can circulate almost endlessly. Moreover, the food contact quality is maintained. The process is based on hydrolyses, meaning it is energy-effiecient and eco-friendly compared to the recycling of conventional plastic.

Field tests have also verified that Sulapac materials can be collected and sorted out of a mixed waste stream. When collected together, Sulapac materials do not interfere with the current mechanical recycling of conventional fossil-based or bio-based non-biodegradable plastics.

According to EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation member countries are soon obliged to arrange recycling for all the materials that meet the design for recyclability criteria, including Sulapac. Hence, the infrastructure is under development and we, together with industry-wide coalitions, are doing our best to speed up the process.

It is not adviceable to put a Sulapac^® product to home compost, as the conditions, such as temperature, microbial consortium and moisture, differ from those of industrial composting. Hence, the biodegradation in home composting environment may take considerably longer than in an industrial composting plant. In the future, some of our materials will be certified for home composting as well.

Please note that Sulapac cannot guarantee the compostability of a final product. The company who manufactures and markets the end-product is responsible for that. We do our best to advise our client companies to provide as clear instructions as possible to their customers.

Sulapac materials are biobased (made of renewable raw materials), whereas conventional plastic is fossil-based, which makes Sulapac a climate friendly alternative to traditional plastic.

Sulapac biodegrades fully without leaving permanent microplastics behind. So, if it accidentally ends up in nature, it causes no longterm harm to the ecosystem. The Sulapac straw, for example, biodegrades in a similar timeframe as certain tree leaves in nature. To compare, for an item made of conventional plastic it takes hundreds, even thousands of years to degrade, and it may release toxic substances.

Due to the many risks related to non-biodegradable oil-based plastic, such as oil spills, microplastic pollution, and eco-toxic chemicals, switching from conventional plastic to Sulapac is a way to protect biodiversity.

The wood-based Sulapac^® materials also have a very distinctive, beautiful look and feel – it’s easy to tell they are something completely different than traditional plastic.

Microplastics are plastic particles that are smaller than 5 millimeters in size in at least one dimension. Normal microplastic cannot be digested by naturally-occurring microorganisms, and therefore remain in nature forever. In addition, they usually contain hazardous substances. These two facts make microplastics a severe risk for all living organisms.

Sulapac^® materials, then again, can be digested by naturally occurring microorganisms. After Sulapac has disintegrated into tiny particles, these particles biodegrade fully into CO₂ (CH₄ if no oxygen is present), water and biomass, meaning that no permanent microplastic or hazardous chemicals are left behind. Thus, Sulapac materials do not contribute to long term accumulation of microplastic in nature.

To verify this, all our materials are tested according to EN 13432 (compostability) and ASTM D6691 (biodegradation in simulated marine conditions). Sulapac Universal has also been tested under ASTM 5511 (accelerated biodegradation in the landfill). Read more here.

The look and feel, intended applications, mechanical properties as well as production-related characteristics are slightly different in each Sulapac material. To find the best materials for you product, you can either scroll through our page based on the manufacturing technology you are using or based on the application area.

One way to classify the Sulapac materials is based on the size of the wood particles they contain: Sulapac Premium materials feature large wood chips, Universal family has medium wood chips while Flow materials include wood dust. Also Sulapac Luxe includes wood flour, but it is not visible in the final product. Sulapac Luxe Flex, Sulapac Barrier, and Sulapac Solid come without any wood.

Many customers are also interested in the biobased percentage of the material they are considering. This, along with the main
mechanical properties have been compiled into a single document called the Sulapac Material Comparison Chart. Feel free to download it here.

Sulapac^® is used by brands worldwide. Examples of products manufactured of or packed in Sulapac can be found on the ‘customers‘ section on our web site.

You can also buy ready-made cosmetics packaging, ready-made cutlery, and ready-made straws directly from our partners through the links provided. We can also assist you in finding a distribution partner or the right manufacturer for your Sulapac products, if needed.

A circular economy is a global economic model that decouples growth and development from the growth of raw material consumption. It aims to design out waste and pollution and keep products, components and materials in loop at their highest utility and value. The Ellen McArthur Foundation describes circular economy as “a new way to design, make, and use things within planetary boundaries”.

Sulapac^® is circular by design. The main components of Sulapac^® are biodegradable plant-based binders and wood. The wood we use originates from non-controversially harvested forests, meaning it’s truly renewable and doesn’t contribute to deforestation. In fact, no tree is being cut down for us, as the wood chips and wood flour that we use are industrial side streams. We also incorporate recycled biopolymers into our materials with ambitious targets to grow the percentage of recycled content used year by year.

Looking at the other end of the life cycle, Sulapac materials can be recycled mechanically or chemically. Chemical recycling of biobased biodegradables is the perfect example of closing the loop: excellent yields, no downcycling.

Promotion of circular economy is one of Sulapac’s key priorities. By only utilizing raw materials that are inherently safe for people and the environment we can promote cycles which are safe on the molecular level. Our ambitious objective has been to develop ‘bio-benign’ materials that would reduce the negative impacts on natural systems when leaked, while also being recyclable and competitive in terms of functionality and costs.

Circularity is rooted deep in Sulapac’s strategy and business model. In terms of our operations, processes and recipes we are committed to continual improvement in order to further minimize the environmental impact of our business and reduce our ecological footprint.

Yes, Sulapac is vegan friendly. It contains no animal products or by-products, and it has not been tested on animals.

All Sulapac’s materials have the biobased content certificate by the USDA BioPreferred® Program, ASTM D6866, and each of them is certified industrially compostable by BPI, Seedling or TÜV. Sulapac as a company is proud to be both ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certified.

Sulapac also holds FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification (FSC-C158142), please check the FSC status of the specific material you are interested in with your Sulapac contact person.