Page 46 - Plastics News June 2023

BUSINESS NEWS

New film packaging material is 100% recyclable
Prices fall further as
and VeOC fre
low demand persists

-PET suffers strongest down-
Rward price pressure
In April, recycled standard ther-
moplastic prices continued to drift
lower, although at a slower rate
than in the previous month. Low
incoming orders remains the major
trio of Japanese companies has VOC emissions from petroleum sol- drag on prices along with competi-
A announced the joint develop- ven in fi packaging pro- tion from the falling cost of virgin
men o mono fi packag- duction and their impact on work en- materials.
ing materials and manufacturing pro- vironments have long raised concerns. R-PET prices saw the steepest
price reduction in April with clear
cess that, say the companies, offering Also, as companies seek to reduce the flak pric down €100/tonn
80% lower CO2 emissions compared carbon footprint of their processes
over March levels; food-grade
to conventional materials and that are and products, ways to develop both an colou flak pric
completely free of volatile organic mo energ efficien production fell €50/tonne. R-LDPE prices fell
compounds. methods and circular products are in- by €10-20/tonne while R-HDPE
creasingly being investigated. prices were either unchanged or
The material, created by Toray Indus- increased by up to €10/tonne.
tries, Mitsui Chemicals, and Kumagai The joint development of the new R-PP prices were also unchanged;
Co., is fully recyclable. Targeted ap- material saw the application of Toray’s R-HIPS prices softened by around
plication inclu refi pouc so- proprietary Imprima offset printing €20/tonne.
lutions for foods, shampoos, and de- plate that uses electron beam-cured Standard recyclate prices contin-
tergents. printing inks requiring less electricity ued to drift downward in May as a
and no thermal drying. Mitsui Chemi- result of ongoing weak demand and
During the manufacturing process of competition from off-spec virgin
cals provided the materials expertise
tradition fi packaging material, pe- material and imports. Price move-
and Kumagai developed the packag-
troleum solvent-based inks are used to ments did however vary quite con-
ing. The result is a lightweight, trans-
print text, images, and other informa- siderably. R-PET clear flake prices
tion on plastic films and in adhesives parent, solvent-free, recyclable and once again saw a triple-digit drop;
to laminate plastic films. Not only do easily processable material suitable other R-PET grades also registered
for a diversity of packaging applica- large price declines. Most other
these processes all consume energy,
tions that the partners are now set to categories saw price reductions of
the solvents release VOCs. Moreover,
commercialise, as demand for solu- between €10-40/tonne. R-LDPE
the multi-material structure of most extrusion black prices were un-
tions of this kind continues to grow.
laminated plastics meant these could changed.
not be recycled, leading to their fre- Low demand continues to charac-
quent incineration as waste. terise the market for recycled plas-
tics with order activity well below
what would normally be expected
for the time of year.

46 PLASTICS NEWS June 2023