Teijin develops water-resistant paper from recycled plastic

For many applications, printed paper is all wet—literally. Outdoor posters, disaster supplies, maps, labels for fresh vegetables or frozen foods and other products and packaging can get damp, limp or degraded. Teijin Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, announced development of a water-resistant, strong-when-wet printing paper made entirely with the company’s ECOPET recycled polyester fiber (derived from used PET plastic bottles). The new paper is as thin as conventional printing papers, so it can be used in regular laser printers and it can be scored, glued and written upon. As a wet-laid nonwoven, it offers a flexibility and texture not available in film-based printing paper. Teijin developed the paper in collaboration with Nisshinbo Postal Chemical Co. Ltd., which will handle sales in Japan.