Dow achieves industry first with PE compounds certified for plastics recycling traceability by AENOR

15 Jul 2022 --- Dow is revealing that its post-consumer recycled (PCR)-rich resins, branded Revoloop, are the first PE compounds to be certified in accordance with the Standard UNE-EN 15343 for plastics recycling traceability and recycled content. The certification was granted by the Spanish Association for Standardization and Certification (AENOR), a global body for management systems and product certification. 

Revoloop grades are part of Dow’s plastics circularity portfolio and incorporate a high percentage of PCR material. The single-pellet solution enables a simpler PCR process integration, meeting the needs of converters, brand owners and sustainable packaging designers, and can be used in a broad range of applications.

Providing access to quality, consistent waste streams and increasing reliability in the waste value chain, the Revoloop family of PCR-rich resins expand Dow’s sustainable offerings portfolio to help advance a closed loop system for plastic waste.

“Revoloop represents a tangible step toward realizing our vision for a circular plastics economy,” says Peter Sandkuehler, European sustainability director for P&SP. “It exemplifies Dow’s efforts around the world to enable mechanical recycling and the incorporation of PCR in a variety of technologically demanding applications. Such progress will bring all the players in the value chain further in their sustainability journey.”

In related news, TÜV Rheinland recently certified Dow’s all-PE recyclable packaging in China as capable of reducing life cycle carbon emissions by 35%. Dow also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with one of China’s leading F&B groups, Want-Want, to drive zero-solvent emissions and develop a circular economy for flexible packaging.The UNE-EN 15343 is the European Standard that specifies the procedures required for recycled plastics traceability.

Certified sustainable production
The UNE-EN 15343 is the European Standard that specifies the procedures needed for the traceability of recycled plastics and covers two schemes: the traceability and characterization in the plastic recycling process and the minimum content of PCR plastic used in the processing of a plastic product.

This certification was awarded following an independent, external audit to ensure that the control of incoming plastics waste, the traceability in the production processes of recycled material and the percentage of PCR material included in the certified products complies with the requirements set out in UNE-EN 15343 standard.

Therefore, AENOR has verified that the manufacture of Dow’s PE compounds contains up to 70% of PCR products, which have either fulfilled their intended purpose or can no longer be used for the purpose for which they were conceived.

In order to grant this certification, AENOR first checks the origin of the PCR material. The process continues with the analysis of the main processes applied by the organization in the manufacture of the products in the scope of the certification, with special emphasis on the control of the equipment that fixes the dosages during the manufacturing process.

Finally, the calculation protocol applied by the organization to determine the percentage of recycled material incorporated into the products is audited, verifying that it provides the necessary confidence by means of periodic controls so that the products marketed over time effectively contain the minimum declared.

“This certification demonstrates Dow’s commitment to offering products that minimize the use of the planet’s resources, offering the plastics transformation chain the possibility of including materials with recycled content endorsed by AENOR certification, and showing its commitment to the environmental values shared by society as a whole,” comments Yolanda Villaseñor, director of product certification at AENOR.

Edited by Joshua Poole

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