Waterproofing invention ticks all the boxes for sustainability

Researchers from Australia’s Queensland University of Technology have developed a waterproof coating for boxes that is both recyclable and renewable. Albert Tietz and Adjunct Associate Professor Les Edye’s lignin-based coating is currently being trialled on fruit boxes in North Queensland’s banana belt.
If successful, they anticipate the product will be on the market in mid-2015.
Professor Edye said lignin is a naturally occurring by-product from pulped wood and grasses. "We discovered the potential of lignin as a waterproof coating while researching ways to add value to bagasse in the sugar industry,” Professor Edye said.
"After some investigation and research, we’re now using lignin extracted from a commercially-grown and processed grass. What’s most exciting is that our lignin barrier coating is sustainable – traditional wax coatings are made from petrochemicals and, once it’s on the paper or cardboard, that paper or cardboard can no longer be recycled. We’ve proven that our lignin coating is cost-comparable, is 100% recyclable, provides a high level of waterproofing and strengthens the boxes to a higher degree than wax.”
Around 400,000t/yr of wax-coated cardboard is added to landfill in Australia because it cannot be recycled.
QUT/s innovation arm, qutbluebox, has been working closely with the researchers for two years, providing more than AU$250,000 in proof-of-concept funding to develop and scale the coating for industry.