Mosaic Fertilizers and Zaraplast innovate in big bag design

Mosaic Fertilizers, one of the largest producers of combined phosphates and potassium, will be the first company in Brazil to use big bags produced from polypropylene with post-consumer recycled content. In partnership with Zaraplast, a leader in flexible packaging solutions, the company will initially use 30% post-consumer recycled resin (PCR) in its big bags packaging, produced by Braskem, the largest producer of thermoplastic resins in the Americas.

In addition to reinserting properly discarded plastic waste into the production chain, the use of PCR in around 10 big bag units prevents more than three tons of CO2 from being emitted per year. “This decision is aligned with our management and business strategy, fully guided by ESG concepts. And we are directing significant resources to reducing our impacts and improving our use of shared resources. This premise is a priority for the company”, says Nancy Case, vice president of the Operations Excellence Center at Mosaic Fertilizers.

For the development of the project, Zaraplast, supplier of big bags, will invest around 11,1 million euros throughout the project, which includes contributions to reception centers (cooperatives) for reverse logistics in order to obtain the packaging agricultural products already used and send them for recycling.

“We are very proud of this strategic alliance with two of the main players in this very important agro market. Developing projects integrated into the links of production chains has been Zaraplast's premise for 55 years. With the launch of our line of ZaraTeva packaging solutions, we add all our technological know-how to sustainable commitments and metrics, not only for the company, but also for our customers”, says Ramon Dayan, managing partner of Zaraplast.

“Zara Recover big bags, produced with percentages of recycled resins, are one of the many aspects that we are developing to increasingly contribute to our environment through shared and circular innovation processes.”

With the partnership, Mosaic Fertilizers will be a pioneer in the use of Braskem's post-consumer recycled resin in raffia and will acquire 500 big bags per year from Zaraplast – a volume corresponding to 275 tons of PCR –, resulting in a reduction in emissions of more than 167 thousand kilograms of CO2, the same as 12.700 trips around planet Earth in a passenger vehicle. In a second phase of the project, the volume may increase due to the increase in the reverse logistics chain, reaching one thousand tons of post-consumer recycled raw material.

In November 2018, Braskem made a commitment to the circular economy. It evolved in 2020 to a carbon-neutral circular economy and places the company as part of the solution, working with all interested agents to transform the linear economy into a circular one, where everyone's needs are met by more innovative and sustainable materials, processes and systems. .

Recently, the company launched Wenew, its circularity ecosystem. From now on, Braskem's thermoplastic resins and chemical products, which have recycled content in their composition, as well as education initiatives on conscious consumption and proper disposal and technologies that support the company on its journey towards the circular economy, will be identified by the Wenew brand, which also reinforces the company's constant search for quality PCR.

"This partnership highlights the importance of acting collectively to achieve the circular economy. Furthermore, it provides opportunities for new applications of our post-consumer recycled resins, meeting the demands of our customers and at the same time aligned with our goals of reducing plastic waste", comments Renato Yoshino, director of the Agro, Infrastructure and Industry business at Braskem.

Cross-cutting sustainability

ESG goals are one of the guides of Mosaic Fertilizers' business strategies, which includes the offer of high-technology products, providing attributes ranging from operational performance to increased productivity. The company has expanded its offer of soil nutrition solutions that help increase crop profitability, with stronger plants, with better rooting, with greater potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to climate change. Furthermore, Mosaic Fertilizers is committed to training producers, providing technical support to customers in adopting the best soil and animal nutrition practices, based on the 4Cs. In 2021, these initiatives reached thousands of people, raising awareness about the correct use of fertilizers.