Beautiful…and biodegradable

When Kevin and the creative team first experimented with using plastic wrap in one scene in Hidden, we knew that it had to be part of the show. It expressed exactly what Kevin wanted to convey, creating an ephemeral and poignant image, combined with a sense of being trapped and breaking free. The challenge was then to make this scene as environmentally friendly as possible in line with our Environmental Policy and Action Plan. We discovered Kingfisher Packaging, based in Wellington, UK, who developed Omegatech® Oxo-Biodegradable Stretchfilm around 5 years ago to respond to the needs of their clients and their own sustainability goals. We caught up with Ross Mitchell, Sales and Marketing Director at Kingfisher Packaging to find out more about what the product has to offer.

“It’s amazing to see what Motionhouse will be doing with our Omegatech Oxo-Biodegradable Stretchfilm. We’ve had a few artists and creators using the wrap in creative work before, but what Motionhouse are doing goes beyond anything we’ve seen previously. Their use of the wrap is obviously not what we had in mind when we created the product, but it does show that we achieved our number one goal when we set out to create a biodegradable wrap – that it should be as good as the best and strongest of our normal pallet wrapping films. I think Motionhouse have well and truly put that one to the test in Hidden!”

The intended use for the Omegatech Oxo-Biodegradable Stretchfilm is to secure goods in transit to pallets, protecting them from damage and moisture and allowing them to be transported in large quantities. Pallet wrap has been a common way of packaging products for many years, and although many wraps are recyclable, Kingfisher Packaging wanted to go a step further and create one that could biodegrade.

“Sometimes plastic wrap ends up either in landfill because people don’t realise it can be recycled, or it gets blown away into the natural environment once it’s been removed from the pallet. Omegatech Oxo-Biodegradable Stretchfilm responds to this, and to the growing awareness around the use of plastic across all sectors. We’re very proud that we’ve created a product that helps businesses reduce their environmental impact but at the same time retain the efficiencies they need in their processes. In addition to clients in the UK, we export Omegatech to around 10-15 other countries, including for example, Australia and the Cayman Islands. The great thing about Omegatech is that clients can just replace their traditional wrap with Omegatech, with no compromise to quality and no changes to their operations or processes.”