FachPack 2019: Mondi spotlights ChemCycling potential with sustainable stand-up pouch

26 Sep 2019 --- Mondi has launched a pilot project dubbed ChemCycling in cooperation with chemical producer BASF and COROOS, a company specializing in the preservation of fruits, vegetables and pulses. Currently showcasing at FachPack 2019 in Nuremberg, the first result of the collaboration is a stand-up pouch that is safe for food contact and partly made with raw material derived from chemically recycled plastic.

BASF processed the virgin-grade material into a multilayer laminate for food packaging for COROOS private label products and its own A-brand, Servero. In total, 12 percent of the stand-up pouch’s content is made of ChemCycled material. The recycled material was allocated via a certified mass balance approach. Additionally, in the manufacturing, 100 percent of the fossil feedstock was replaced by pyrolysis oil derived from mixed recycled material for one of the inner layers (oriented polyamide, OPA-12 mm).

Mondi presented its latest sustainable solutions at FachPack 2019.Unlike chemical recycling, potential impurities and plastic flaws that can occur in the layers of mechanically recycled plastic limits the material’s applicability for food contact. “BASF is working on advancing the chemical recycling of plastic waste because this will make it possible to process and reuse plastics that are currently difficult to recycle, such as mixed plastics. This prototype packaging, which is based on pyrolysis oil derived from waste plastic, shows that the life cycle of consumer plastics, including multilayer packaging, could become a closed loop,” explains Christoph Gahn, who is responsible for the polyamide business at BASF.

This step is an essential part of the roadmap to commercializing the chemical recycling process in the future, according to Graeme Smith, Sustainability Manager for Mondi Consumer Packaging. “It is important to show proof of concept when establishing breakthrough developments,” he notes.

The chemical recycling process works by converting plastic waste that is difficult to recycle, such as mixed or contaminated plastics, into a pyrolysis oil through thermochemical processes by partners. This secondary raw material can be used as input in BASF’s production process to manufacture numerous chemical products. This partly replaces fossil resources. Using a certified mass balance approach, the share of recycled raw material can be mathematically allocated to the final certified product. However, to move from the pilot phase to market readiness, various technological, regulatory and economic issues still need to be resolved.

Paper where possible, plastic when useful
Physical samples of the ChemCycling collaboration were produced during a recent line trial by COROOS. The resulting stand-up pouches were presented at the FachPack trade show in Nuremberg, Germany, this week, where Mondi also showcased its consumer-centric approach dubbed EcoSolutions. The Mondi stand showed that optimizing the material used for packaging is part of the supplier’s framework: “Paper where possible, plastic when useful.In total, 12 percent of the Mondi stand-up pouch is made of ChemCycled material.”

“We are in a unique position to produce both paper and plastic packaging, which we believe is essential in determining the routes of sustainability. We collaborate with our customers on their supply chain, the parameters and technical requirements of their products, geography, disposal system and recycling streams. There are many elements to take into consideration to achieve greater sustainability,” Stijn De Wit, Head of Marketing & Communications, Consumer Packaging, tells PackagingInsights from the FachPack show floor.

“Mondi is at FachPack, demonstrating its new approach to sustainable solutions, which has three main pillars: Replace, Reduce, Recycle. Collaborating with our customers, we explore how we can replace product packaging with more sustainable solutions, reduce environmental footprint by material choice or machinery efficiency and recycle products by using recyclable paper and plastic packaging,” De Wit adds.

Other sustainable solutions on display at the Mondi FachPack stand included PerFORMing, a new tray made the supplier's Advantage Formable brown paper with a barrier that replaces plastic; the MailerBag, an e-commerce paper bag made of sack kraft paper that replaces plastic mailers; SizeMeMailer, an e-commerce envelope that can be quickly adjusted in size to reduce the amount of air shipped in transport; and SplashBag, a water-repellent paper sack made of Mondi Advantage Protect sack kraft paper.

By Katherine Durrell

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