We need more recyclates

COSSMA: What is the challenge in the production of LDPE recyclates?

Jakob Settele: LDPE is used in many flexible packaging applications in the food, oral care and in the cosmetic segment. Often it is used in multi-layer concepts such as pouches, tubes, or simple film applications. As plastic recycling needs to happen by single variety to obtain a secondary resource that you can create new products from this feedstock is a challenge.

Özlem Ece Tugal: Conventional mechanical recycling technology can hardly separate the different polymers or potentially also metallised components. More recent recycling technology is tackling this challenge. These advanced technologies comprise several different approaches. We have developed an advanced physical, solvent based recycling technology which does not break the polymer’s chain and therefore has an advantage as regards emissions reduction potential. And of course, there are chemical recycling options, which do break polymer chains and can deeply purify the input waste stream. Both approaches – advanced physical and chemical – generate way higher purity levels than conventional mechanical recycling.

How do the properties of LDPE recyclates differ from those of virgin LPDE?

Özlem Ece Tugal: In a common, mechanically recycled LDPE recyclate it is not feasible to filter out contaminants such as inks, additives, remaining residues (organic waste) or other polymers completely. Consequently, you will not have a transparent, light recyclate as you have with a virgin material. Besides the optics, of course the remaining components pose a major question mark to converters and brand owners as regards product safety. It is paramount that a certain quality level of technical, optical, and of course safety requirements, is guaranteed. The value chain is still missing concrete guidance on such requirements.

The recent initiative project “CosPaTox” is bringing together the cosmetic packaging value and many large brand names. They aim to define toxicological guidelines for the use of recyclates in cosmetic packaging. APK is on board and will provide expertise on advanced physical, solvent-based recycling and the corresponding purification steps. 

How widespread is the use of LDPE recyclates in cosmetic packaging?

Jakob Settele: In general, the use of recyclates – not only LDPE – is quite restricted in the cosmetic packaging segment. As the products come in contact with the human body, stringent requirements need to be met. In the absence of concrete regulation or harmonised industry guidelines,  the cosmetic brands usually follow a worst-case-approach and demand food-grade quality. However, food-grade quality is hardly available and can more easily be achieved by PET recyclates that are usually gained from clear bottles. 

Özlem Ece Tugal: We hope that “CosPaTox”, as well as the EU with a regulatory frame will help to define a set of safe criteria that allow for an increasing use of recyclates in cosmetic packaging very soon.

What do you have to pay attention to when the material is integrated? 

Jakob Settele: If we take a standard plastic barrier laminate (PBL) tube as an example, a APK’s LDPE recyclate was able to fulfil our requirements and so we could substitute 19% of virgin LDPE. Of course, we are aiming to go higher in the future. Özlem Ece Tugal: We have developed our proprietary physical, solvent-based recycling technology, which is called “Newcycling”. Besides the usual mechanical pre-treatment steps, we add a dissolution step in which a target polymer in the mixed plastic waste input is dissolved. In our case, it is the LDPE. Other components remain solid, and we can easily separate liquid from solid fraction. What is more, during the liquid phase the LDPE is purified. Contaminants mentioned earlier such as inks and additives are removed. This allows us to provide a highly pure LDPE-recyclate.

What about the recyclability of these tubes? Are there any practical examples?

Jakob Settele: Indeed, we are quite proud that we do not only substitute a first share of virgin material but that our “blueloop” tube PIR 
has also been certified ‘recyclable’ by the certification scheme RecyClass. RecyClass is currently the leading scheme, when it comes to assessing the recyclability of plastic packaging products in Europe. 

What is the upper limit of how high the proportion of recyclates may be in a packaging so that there are no qualitative restrictions?

Özlem Ece Tugal: This differs between packaging types, the used polymer and of course also the product packed plays a role. 

Jakob Settele: The maximum percentage of recycled content always  needs to be defined as a combination of material properties, optic, haptic and of course the acceptance of the end customer.

What are the advantages that cosmetic brands have if they use recyclates for their packaging?

Jakob Settele: Of course, brands benefit image-wise from supporting circularity of the resources they use. But besides voluntary engagement, we also face concrete regulatory provisions in the future. In some countries like the UK, minimum recycled content quotas have been established. Such or similar provisions can be expected in the next years across the EU. 

The demand for suitable material is likely to increase accordingly. What is the current situation like here?

Jakob Settele: Demand for high-quality recyclates is increasing enormously. And a lot of innovation around collection, sorting and recycling still needs to happen and a corresponding forward-looking infrastructure needs to be established across the EU. There is a lot to do in the coming two to five years.

Özlem Ece Tugal: This of course facilitates the scale up and expansion of innovative technology providers that have just reached commercialisation and feature first industrial scale plants. We need to build more and new recycling plants. And we plan to do so as of the coming year. But indeed, the supply of high quality recyclates will be tight as regulatory provisions will happen parallel to infrastructural scale up.