Boxes made of tomato stems in test phase

Packaging made from tomato stems is fast becoming reality. The first few of these boxes, intended for extensive testing, rolled off the conveyor belt just this week. "We are on the verge of a big scoop in the packaging industry," says Arno Koot, packaging manager at The Greenery, the company that commissioned the boxes.

The first results are likely to be shown to the public on the upcoming "Bio based Business: Profit from Plants' on 13 February. Arno Koot is one of the keynote speakers at the event in The Hague. Right now, the innovative creations are tested for pressure resistance and other important assets. The first findings seem to indicate that the solid cardboard boxes made from tomato stems are even better than the conventional ones.

If the final quality checks are completed successfully, special machines handling massive amounts of stem material to make them suitable as raw material for cardboard will be developed. The expectation is that after the upcoming tomato season, the first waste materials will go to the cardboard industry.

Arno Koot: "We're talking about huge volumes. Soon, about 80,000 tons of stem material per year will be available to the packing industry. With the raw materials released, we can manufacture exactly enough packaging material to process the harvested tomatoes. We will come full circle. That, personally, I think is a fantastic result."

Koot is convinced the industry is facing a major breakthrough, and expects that the success is but a prelude to more innovation in the near future. The (re-) use of plant substances is not only environmentally sound, but also economically viable. Because growers no longer have to pay for the removal of the tomato foliage, all parties will benefit from the procedure. "This is a typical win-win situation. I am convinced that this scoop will eventually lead to the reuse of waste material from other crops.”

Source: Kenniscentrum Plantenstoffen