Page 38 - Plastics News July 2023

FEATURE

For re-looping to succeed, it’s vital hesives remain on the packaging as
that products are designed so that the found on the FDA approved list. The
materials can be re-used in the same adhesives should be selected to com-
or equivalent products. This should ply with printing industry and FDA
be done using existing recycling tech- guidelines to ensure they are free of
nologies located in the markets where potentially hazardous substances.
the products are sold.
Close look at inks.
We need a greater drive toward clos- Direct printing of inks onto plastics products into new high-quality mate-
ing loop cycles for products as this will should be avoided unless their re- rial and applications will need to be
address the uncontrolled contamina- moval can be assured according to well thought-through and robust.
tion challenge and therefore enhance approved recycling/re-looping proto- Starting with improved product de-
circular destinations. cols. Inks should be removed as par- sign and decoration to ensure re-

Design for re-looping. ticulates and not by washing or disso- looping simplicity, followed by sorting
lution into water. of packaging by a sequence of NIR/
Closed loop cycles for products VIS/AI/markers.
would ensure freedom from contami- Every element of a package must
nation and circular destinations for re- come under scrutiny, which brings me In-mold labels (IMLs) should be re-
looped materials. To ensure products to pigments in packaging, that could movable, thus there must be an ink
are designed for multiple re-looping play a dynamic role in aiding sorting. removal washing stage and a flake-
in every way, both the stabilizing and Natural colors boost recycling. sorting sequence prior to re-looping
processing additives would need to be processes.
optimized to comply with the FDA- Packaging pigment colors are used Also needed is decontamination for
and EFSA-approved list for materials purely for branding purposes, yet volatiles and other molecules that
and additives used in food contact. colors interfere with the mechani- have migration potential.
cal recycling process. Natural, unpig-
Focus on mono-materials. Likewise, high-performance trace-
mented polymers have the highest
Mono-materials or mixed materials recycling value and the widest variety ability of inputs and blending for uni-
of the same type facilitate recyclers’ of end uses. formity and consistency will be key to
work because they don’t downgrade If colors were used for sorting packag- test materials and products and avoid
the properties of the recycled plas- ing categories rather than for brand- crossover of resins and grades. Mod-
tic. And they can be sorted and then ing purposes, recycling as we know it ern machine-vision systems and arti-
processed as if they were a single would be simplified almost overnight. ficial intelligence can help identify the
material. One such example is lidding composition of the incoming materials
films, which need to be completely Imagine a world where all food is before and after sortation, providing
removable. Currently, aluminum foil contained in clear or white plastic essential data on the freedom-from-
lids found for example on yoghurt packaging to ensure safe and efficient contamination and the need for sort-
cups pose a serious problem due to re-looping of food-grade applica- ing and recycling process adjustments.
residual foil on the rims of plastic cup tions. This would leave pastel colors Contrary to popular belief, adopting
rims. This is despite the best efforts for household goods and cleaning the re-looping approach for packaging
to remove the lid prior to recycling. products. All toxic products could design does not mean brand owners
Switching to same-polymer lidding be contained in packaging pigmented and retailers will have to relinquish
such as polypropylene foil is strongly with carbon black or NIR-detectable the cohesive visual language they rely
recommended. black to ensure exclusion from food on to reflect brand values or posi-
applications during recycling and re- tioning or the target market and con-
Stuck on adhesives.
looping sumer. It will mean, however, extend-
The adhesives used for the labels A deep dive into the how of plastic ing the design requirements of their
should be designed for easy removal packaging re-looping. packaging and taking the key facets
during recycling to ensure no ad- mentioned above into account.
The supporting strategies to re-loop

38 PLASTICS NEWS July 2023