Not every change is necessarily a change for the better, however, there is no doubt that we learn something from each one. The same is true when we want to transform the existing packaging or replace the existing material with new one, which is, in our opinion, the better one. Today, the material is becoming increasingly eco-friendly, with businesses making extensive use of organic packaging. The latter was also the fundamental feature of our master's thesis.
Many agree that a bouquet of flowers is a beautiful gift for any occasion. However, with the master's thesis, we ensured that the wrapping paper, after it has been used, is biodegradable. For this purpose, five samples of wrapping paper from random flower shops were tested, two samples of paper from the Vevče paper mill and the same two samples were coated with PLA coating.
In the research study aimed at developing biodegradable wrapping paper for cut flowers, two different papers from the Vevče paper mill were coated with a previously prepared PLA solution. By testing the aforementioned papers and five different commercial papers, on the basis of basic, mechanical, surface, structural and optical properties, it was established that the PLA coated papers are comparable to the other analysed commercial wrapping papers. The results of the research have shown that they have good barrier properties because they do not absorb water due to the coating closing the pores. In addition to surface and structural properties, the coated papers also improve the crack resistance. Comparison of the measurements of the coated specimens showed that, by most of the methods tested, due to better results, the FP (coated flexible packaging paper) specimen is more suitable for wrapping and protecting cut flowers. Last but not least, it was established that the final product - a gift box for a bouquet of flowers wrapped in coated paper (FP specimen) – is a suitable gift at every major and special event.
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