Ink and coatings manufacturer Siegwerk is partnering with petrochemicals company Borouge in developing 100% recyclable mono-material packaging products that are designed for the circular economy.
The firms said the goal of the collaboration is to build a pipeline of solutions enabling converters worldwide to produce advanced mono-material packaging, addressing the growing demand for sustainable packaging in the market.
‘The majority of flexible packaging still consists of mixed materials and because of this multi-material structure, it is challenging to recycle it in the conventional recycling streams,’ said Dr Stephane Bertaux, head of brand owner collaboration and circular economy for Southeast Asia at Siegwerk Thailand. ‘Here, the switch to mono-material packaging is an essential lever to ease the recycling of packaging and thus enhance its circularity.’
One of the first co-development projects between the two partners will be a barrier stand-up pouch using Borouge’s Borealis Borstar technology-based enhanced HDPE FB5600 and Siegwerk’s oxygen barrier coating CIRKIT OxyBar BC1582 as well as its primer solution CIRKIT Clearprime for a smooth deinking of the laminates.
‘By incorporating our special deinking and delamination primer into this innovative mono-material structure with superior performance and mechanical properties, all used inks and coatings can be removed of the printed film during the recycling process resulting in high-quality recycled polyethylene that is suitable for re-use in new packaging materials,’ said Dr Bertaux.
In addition, the companies are already collaborating with selected converters worldwide to make solutions available to produce high barrier mono-material packaging combining oxygen and moisture vapour barrier coatings.
‘Enabling mono-material structures using Borouge’s performance polyethylene products with the combination of innovative ink and coating technologies can achieve the desired packaging outcomes. Upcycling is becoming possible through mechanical recycling, resulting in high quality recyclates to further boost circularity and lower carbon footprint versus currently used multi-material packaging, which are mostly incinerated,’ said Anton Wolfsberger, VP global marketing for packaging and circular economy at Borouge Pte Ltd.
