Consumer goods company Henkel has announced a joint partnership with packaging manufacturer Mondi, plastics manufacturer Borealis and the recycling technology company APK in a collaboration that aims to ‘significantly improve the sustainability of plastic multi-layer flexible packaging.’
Intended for commercialisation and market launch in early 2019, the collaboration works with APK’s new solvent-based process called Newcycling, which ‘enables the recovery of high-quality clean-grade materials from complex multi-layer packaging,’ according to Klaus Wohnig, Managing Director of APK AG.
Meanwhile, Mondi has tested the suitability of recycled LDPE for multi-layer films from APK, tested on site at the research and development centre in Gronau, Germany.
Having carried out successful preliminary tests, the LDPE virgin material previously used in flexible detergent packaging was largely replaced by APK LDPE recycle. By using the LDPE virgin material, Mondi was able to maintain the appearance of the detergent bag.
Timo Müller, Key Account Manager for Henkel at Mondi, said, “The joint project meets the European Commission’s strategy, adopted in January 2018, which calls for all plastic packaging in Europe to be recyclable by 2030. It also underscores the feasibility of reusing flexible packaging waste in multiple cycles of a truly circular economy that preserves valuable resources and avoids waste without restricting product performance.”
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