The Solution to Single-Use Plastics: J&J Green Paper’s New Technology

In the midst of a news cycle dominated by COVID-related and political stories, J&J Green Paper, a Miami, Florida start-up, may have quietly struck environmental gold this summer with its green paper technology that is poised to solve one of the world’s largest environmental problems: single-use plastics.J&J Green Paper

It is well-known that single-use plastics, such as plastic bottles, straws and food containers, are a blight on the environment, but it is often hard to fully comprehend the threat that these harmful materials pose. According to data published by EarthDay.org, a full 32 percent of the 78 million tons of plastic packaging produced annually is left to flow into our oceans, which is the equivalent of pouring one garbage truck of plastic into the ocean every minute. This number is expected to increase to two garbage trucks per minute by 2030, and four per minute by 2050. By 2050, this could mean there will be more plastic than fish in the world’s oceans.

Considering the global tsunami of trash being generated daily, it’s staggering to consider the fact that more than half of our global annual plastic production (around 335 million metric tons) is destined to become a single-use product, according to the organization Plastic Oceans International. Increasingly, consumers and businesses are choosing to buy, produce and supply products with less packaging or plastic-free packaging.

Major food products companies like Kraft, Kellogg’s, McDonalds and Burger King are leading the charge and beginning to understand the value of adopting pro-environmental solutions, despite their longstanding history of using plastics in their consumer goods. Many of these market leaders have pledged to immediately reduce their use of single use plastics to help impede the tide of trash, but to date, the available alternatives to plastic are limited, expensive or hard to produce.

However, the introduction of J&J’s patent-pending green paper technology, JANUS, proves a potential game-changer is now in the works. Derived from widely available plant material, JANUS coated paper can be custom-shaped and when coated, creates moisture resistance equivalent to petroleum-coated products. Unlike the old school petroleum-coated paper, J&J’s green paper technology is recyclable, compostable and made with zero petroleum additives, making it safe for backyard composting with no chemical footprint.

The company, which has invested eight years developing a cutting-edge solution to the critical issue of packaging waste, began its development trying to find a solution to the problem of pizza boxes and coffee cups. During the past year, the company and its potential partners experimented with products designed to replace all things plastic, from water bottles to milk cartons, grocery bags to salad containers, from paperware and paper straws to the now-ubiquitous K-cup, packaging used for individual sized portions of coffee for brewing machines made famous by companies like Keurig and Nespresso. There seems to be no limit to the possibilities for new products with this green technology.

The paper and plastics industry are taking notice, and you soon may begin see J&J’s formula in your own consumer products. J&J finalized a multi-country deal mid-summer with CST of Malaysia for paper products and packaging in mid-sized Asia markets and Oceania. J&J management, deep in talks with industry leading paper companies, is rushing to close deals by year-end to meet the desire of major consumer and food companies anxious to launch sustainable green packaging by mid-year 2021.

These deals are the first step in J&J’s strategy to make its cost-effective and environmentally responsible technology available worldwide. Discussions are underway with several international companies regarding the use of J&J technology for packaging, and the company expects to announce additional deals throughout 2021.