Given the relevance and urgency of resolving the marine litter problem, the demand is growing among providers of private label products for sustainable packaging with a high share of recyclates, i.e., recycled plastic.
The figures are nothing short of alarming. By 2050 plastic will outweigh fish in the world’s oceans if every year another nine million tons of plastic trash find their way to the sea via unsecured landfills and rivers. Mondi is cooperating with Werner & Mertz Group to solve this, and will be joining the PLMA trade show booth in Amsterdam with their recyclable stand-up pouch.
Recyclable stand-up pouch and sustainable printing inks
Besides ECC, The Green Dot and ALPLA, the Mondi Group and Siegwerk are joining the Recyclate Initiative booth for the first time this year. Mondi is presenting a completely recyclable stand-up pouch made of a monomaterial (polyethylene) with removable wrap-around label, which it developed within the Recyclate Initiative and according to the Cradle-to-Cradle principle.
‘Intelligently designed packaging can help reduce the amount of waste that enters the environment. We are proud that with this new concept we have taken a giant step forward in the circular economy,’ said Thomas Kahl, project manager EcoSolutions, Mondi Consumer Packaging.
Siegwerk is introducing still another Cradle-to-Cradle project. In cooperation with Recyclate Initiative partners, the ink manufacturer developed a sustainable UV printing ink system for labels, which was given GOLD status of Material Health Certification (MHC). The next project within the scope of the Recyclate Initiative is already underway. In the near future, the previously mentioned recyclable stand-up pouch from Mondi is to be printed with C2C ink developed by Siegwerk.
‘Siegwerk cares a great deal about product safety and is working intently on further improving the ecological footprint of its inks while retaining their strong colour performance. We are proud to support the Recyclate Initiative with the development of printing inks that have earned GOLD status from Material Health Certification (MHC). With this achievement, we close another gap in the overall development of sustainable labels and packaging in the Cradle-to-Cradle principle,’ said Dr. Thomas Boucoiran, global head brand owner collaboration at Siegwerk.
PET and HDPE bottles made of 100 percent used plastic
At the shared booth, the initiative will show the entire cycle of a PET and HDPE bottle made of recyclates, from the collection of plastic waste in the Yellow Bag and the processing of recycled plastic into new packaging to the product on the retail shelf.
‘Systalen PRIMUS by Der Grüne Punkt (The Green Dot) is produced from raw materials from the Yellow Bag and the Yellow Bin. This allows us to bring packaging from the supermarket shelf back to the supermarket shelf and thus close the cycle. The cleaning agent bottles for Ecological Cleaning and Care GmbH from Systalen, PRIMUS HDPE natur, shown at this year’s PLMA are the best proof,’ said Dr. Markus Helftewes, managing director of The Green Dot.
Georg Lässer, head of corporate recycling services, BU ISBM & Recycling at ALPLA, summed up the activities of the packaging manufacturer, ‘At ALPLA we concentrate not just on our core business, which is the development and manufacture of sustainable packaging solutions with a high share of recyclates. For many years we also have been working to improve the recycling process itself and to increase recycling rates. To that end, we continuously expand our activities in the recovery of used packaging. One example is the recently announced investment of some R113 million (7 million euros) in the PET Recycling Team Wolfen. In the future we will process PET waste from the Yellow Bag and, among other things, supply our in-house factory at Werner & Mertz. In doing so, we not only keep the raw material in a closed loop, but we also make a contribution to stemming climate change. The manufacture of recyclates emits up to 90 percent less CO2 than the production of new goods.’
ECC owner Reinhard Schneider said, ‘Since 2012 we have been engaged in the Recyclate Initiative with the goal of making our packaging completely recyclable while also using as much recyclate material as possible. As the world record holder for packaging of 100 percent recyclates, we happily support the trade with conversion and encourage our competitors too to follow our example – for the sake of the environment.’
As one of Werner & Metz Group’s cooperation partners, Mondi is joining the Recyclate Initiative booth at the international trade show PLMA (Private Label Manufacturers Association) in Amsterdam. The Initiative promotes effective recycling. The shared goal is the development of sustainable material cycles in which materials from the Yellow Bag source are used. After all, the solution for clean oceans lies on land. Only when plastic packaging is upcycled after its use and directed into a closed-loop system, there’s no chance that it can end up as waste in the ocean. On 21 and 22 May, five companies will present their latest developments and innovations to about 15,000 visitors from 120 countries at the ‘World of Private Label’ trade show.
