A Swedish firm has invented a new type of material that is half chalk, half plastic. The mixture makes lightweight, ecofriendly packaging with an extra twist - when burnt, it neutralises the acid fumes generated by waste incinerators. The company has the backing of Hans Rausing, the Swedish former carton magnate who founded Warmer Bulletin in 1983.

EDIE reports that the Ecolean's chalk packaging, developed from scratch in 1996, weighs on average half as much as the paper/plastic mix used in milk and juice cartons. Better still, the chalk - a natural mineral - can neutralise acidic soil or the fumes from incinerators when burnt as waste.

Because the chalk is quarried, it also reduces the amount of energy needed to create a yoghurt pot or butter tub compared with an all-plastic one, explains Ecolean. But despite the claimed benefits of its chalk blend, the company faces a major problem - under Swedish law, because chalk is heavier than plastic, the company pays higher environmental charges that are based entirely on the weight of packaging.

Ecolean continues to sell to Russia, China and Eastern Europe, where the packaging markets are still expanding. The company is now upgrading its machinery to meet the demands of the more established Western market, and has just received its first order from a small dairy in Finland.