Italy’s Minelli Group converts wood waste to biochar-based packaging

In Italy, wood products manufacturer Minelli Group has developed cosmetic packaging from biochar, a material produced from the pyrolysis of residual organic wood waste. 

Dubbed mBlack, the biochar acts as a carbon sink by containing a very high percentage of carbon of vegetal origin. The company says that, due to its extensive CNC milling operations,  it generates around 150 metric tons of wood scraps every month.

mBlack is engineered specifically for cosmetic packaging industry, where huge amounts of black, rigid, non renewable plastic components are typically used and wasted. The material is already being integrated in the design of refillable jars, lipsticks, and compacts, including packaging where it is combined with other natural materials such as wood and cork. Minelli is currently evaluating whether the material is compostable.