Coveris unveils recyclable CPP film with superior protection and heat-seal resistance

13 Jan 2020 --- European flexible packaging supplier Coveris is set to launch a high-performance, recyclable version of its cast polypropylene film (CPP) for a wide range of food, pet food and non-food products. With an improved structure, the new CPP offers enhanced stiffness that protects products from external damage. The key factor behind the CPP’s superior performance is its ability to withstand re-shrinking at high temperatures (0% at 150°C). Also, the mono-material is retortable and provides strong heat-seal resistance up to 180°C.

Thanks to its 100 percent PP-based structure, the recyclable film minimizes material waste and underlines Coveris’ commitment to the circular economy. “The product has full recyclability because it is a pure PP film,” confirms Jan Torsten Vollmer, Head of R&D and QM for Coveris Flexibles Austria.

“Combining this CPP print layer film with a CPP seal film creates a pure mono-material laminate based on PP. The good recyclability of PP as a polyolefin is ideal for the requirements of the new German Packaging Law,” he tells PackagingInsights.

The new German Packaging Act took effect on 1 January 2019, replacing the Packaging Ordinance. All actors, including online retailers, who bring packaged products onto the German market and which end up as waste are subject to the VerpackG. The principle of extended product responsibility applies here. Those parties are responsible for ensuring the collection and recycling of all related packaging materials.

Stretching the technical limits
The biggest challenge in developing the new film was stretching the technical limits to make it stiffer than typical CPPs without losing the no-reshrink and transparency values, Vollmer explains.

“Our latest film solution outperforms the standard CPP film’s characteristics and compensates some of the disadvantages the manufacturer experienced in the past. By combining the benefits of normal CPP and BOPP film, it offers ideal properties for flexible packaging of food, pet food and non-food products on the market.”

The new Coveris Print Layer is also suitable for polypropylene laminates. It offers high transparency and gloss, which help brands boost their presence on the supermarket shelves. The new CPP film is available for both flexo and rotogravure printing, which ensures that the graphics catch the customer’s attention.

The new CPP film is available globally. “We have placed this film in the converter market. Our current customers are using it to create full PP laminates in various end-use applications, both food and non-food,” Vollmer notes.

“Current development work includes trying to add further value like barrier or other features on this base film - the new PP CPL,” he concludes.

In November, Coveris launched a 100 percent recycled and recyclable shrink film range in alignment with its mission to deliver recyclable flexible packaging solutions to the market. The shrink film, coined Duralite R, delivers a fully circular, reduced CO2 solution for multi-pack bottle packs.

By Joshua Poole