Milestone for green technology exporters
Australian company Papyrus recently announced that they are now producing commercial quantities of their patented veneer and fibreboard products, made from the previously unusable recycled trunks of banana trees, for export from their Walkamin factory in Far North Queensland.
Searching for an alternative fibre to timber that could be processed using conventional paper manufacturing methods, Papyrus investigated and selected banana tree as a readily available raw material that was potentially suitable, then began research and development with the help of a $1.2 million Commercial Ready Grant of $1.2 million from AusIndustry in 2005.
The world-first technology takes an otherwise unused waste material to produce high-value paper, cardboard, veneer and fibreboard products. The fibre, named ‘Beleaf’, is both water-resistant and fire-retardant, and a patent for its technology has been lodged in 160 countries around the world, including Australia.
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