More sustainable industrial tomato supply chain thanks to new packaging materials

AOP CIO, a Producer Organization Association based in Parma, which includes AINPO, Consorzio Casalasco del Pomodoro, and Consorzio Agrario di Cremona, submitted to the Emilia-Romagna Region the TomatER research project, for improving the environmental sustainability of the industrial tomato supply chain through the use of new packaging materials.

TomatER will be 70% funded by the Emilia-Romagna Region under measure 16.2.01 of the Rural Development Program 2014-2020. The beneficiary is the Consorzio Interregionale Ortofrutticoli (CIO), and collaborating on the project activities are VSafe Srl., a spin-off of the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore di Piacenza, Cipack, the Interdepartmental Packaging Center of the University of Parma, Open Fields Srl, AZ Gomma, 2 nurseries, and several Emilia-Romagna agricultural companies.

Currently, the industrial tomato sector represents the most important Italian processed fruit and vegetable supply chain, and with a turnover of 3.7 billion euros in 2021, of which approximately 2 billion derived from exports, it plays a strategic role in the national economy, employing around 10,000 permanent workers and over 25,000 seasonal workers, in addition to the workforce involved in related industries (Anicav data - National Association of Vegetable Food Preserves Manufacturers).

During the production phase of seedlings for field transplanting, which takes place in specialized nurseries, these are sown, grown, and transported in containers called "seedling trays" made of polystyrene. Currently, in Northern Italy, almost 5 million units are used per season. Polystyrene is an amorphous thermoplastic material with many positive characteristics, but at the same time, it presents numerous critical issues in tomato cultivation. Polystyrene seedling trays are not suitable for reuse because they cannot be sterilized. The inability to sterilize them, if reused, carries the risk that the trays themselves could be vectors for pathogens for the seedlings. Recycling polystyrene seedling trays is difficult due to the high volume-to-weight ratio.

These critical issues have prompted CIO of Parma to seek more eco-sustainable solutions compatible with the circular economy through the identification of reusable (not disposable) and recyclable materials.

The TomatER project therefore has the general objective of improving the environmental sustainability of the industrial tomato supply chain through the use of new seedling trays suitable for machine transplanting, made from plastic materials alternative to polystyrene.

Two types of seedling trays will be tested: the first, made of Polypropylene (mono-material trays), will be entirely reusable and completely recyclable; the second (mixed trays), made of two materials, a polystyrene base and a thermoformed rPET lining: the polystyrene base, never coming into direct contact with the roots and leaves of the seedlings, can be reused for multiple cycles, while the thermoformed rPET is sent for recycling at the end of each growing cycle.

The advantage of the new seedling trays in terms of environmental impact primarily stems from their reusability, and specifically: in the case of mono-material trays, each one undergoes two usage cycles in the same growing season and can be used for several years before being recycled to create new seedling trays; in the case of mixed trays, the upper part made of thermoformed rPET is used only once before being recycled (rPET), while the lower polystyrene part, not having been in contact with the peat and roots of the seedlings, can be recovered for reuse in a second cycle within the same year and then for several subsequent years.

The purpose of the experimentation is to evaluate the cost/benefits in economic and environmental terms of using these two types of seedling trays compared to traditional polystyrene ones, and to understand how many years they can be reused.