Weekly Roundup: “No-deal” Brexit will hit UK plastics industry hard, BPF survey warns

19 Jul 2019 --- The British Plastics Federation (BPF) warned that the UK plastics industry will be badly hit in the event of a “no-deal” Brexit. Two-thirds of plastic companies are worried about the prospect of a no-deal Brexit, believing it would negatively impact their business, the BPF survey found. Petcore Europe launched a Special Industry Group – “PET Monomer Recycling” – which is designed to bring PET bottles and food containers back to their constituents and enable purification to create endless re-use of PET building blocks. WACKER, the Munich-based chemical company, will showcase a new silicone additive for thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU) at the K 2019 International Trade Fair for Plastics and Rubber.

In brief: Plastics
A BPF survey found that two-thirds of plastic companies are worried about the prospect of a “no-deal” Brexit, believing it would negatively impact their business, and that 29 percent of companies believed the impact would be “very” negative. The survey findings also show that more plastic companies are making contingency plans for a “no-deal” event: up to 62 percent compared to 53 percent in December 2018. Investments have also been affected by Brexit fears, with 38 percent of companies planning less investment as a result of the UK’s looming separation from the EU. Despite industry-wide concern over Brexit, however, the survey showed that companies perceive today’s market conditions as favorable, with 82 percent of companies reporting that sales will remain constant or increase and over half (52%) expecting their sales turnover to go up over the next 12 months. When it comes to export sales, a minority of companies (20%) believe exports will go down for their business over the next year, whilst 41 percent predict they will increase and 39 percent believe they will stay the same.

Aptar's Fan Spray for Bag-On-Valve Cooking Sprays.Petcore Europe launched Special Industry Group “PET Monomer Recycling,” which opens “a completely new perspective on how to deal with the concerns about plastics and plastic waste.” By bringing PET bottles and food containers as well as polyester textiles back to their constituents, monomers or low molecular weight components that allow purification means in principle endless re-use of these PET building blocks. This is different from mechanical recycling where colors, additives and other polymers in multi-layer constructions reduce recyclability. Monomer recycling also avoids downcycling and allows upcycling. “PET monomer recycling has the potential to double recycled content rates. With only mechanically recycled PET, rates of 30 percent are the limit, at higher levels of rPET content the quality of bottles and trays decreases. PET monomer recycling in combination with mechanical recycling can make recycled content of 70-80 percent feasible on a sustainable basis,” explains Wim Hoenderdaal, Chairman of the new Petcore Europe Special Industry Group.

Valio will showcase reusable biocomposite lids this fall in collaboration with Stora Enso.WACKER, the Munich-based chemical company, will showcase a new silicone additive for TPU at the K 2019 International Trade Fair for Plastics and Rubber. Sold under the name GENIOPLAST Pellet 345, the additive lowers the hardness of TPUs, while boosting their elasticity and enhancing their properties. The surfaces of molded parts modified with the additive are pleasantly soft to the touch and more resistant to scratches, abrasion and contamination. The new additive is readily incorporated into TPUs and has fewer undesirable secondary effects than conventional silicone products. K 2019 takes place in Düsseldorf, Germany, from October 16 to 23.

Aptar developed an insert technology called Fan Spray for Bag-On-Valve Cooking Sprays. Fan Spray provides cooking sprays with a soft, controlled, and clean dispense. The staple package type has traditionally been an aerosol package, where a propellant is mixed with the product. Unlike aerosols, bag-on-valve keeps the product separate from the propellant and uses natural gases, such as oxygen or nitrogen, to create the pressure needed to dispense. Separating product from propellant has allowed cooking sprays to position themselves as being free from preservatives and propellants.

In Brief: Miscellaneous
SIG's SIGNGATURE PACK 100, launched in France for the first time by Candia.Smurfit Kappa opened a new recycling plant in the Tuscan region of Italy, strengthening its recovered paper service in the region. Smurfit Kappa Marlia will process approximately 15,000 tons of recovered paper annually and this is expected to increase to 25,000 tons next year. The new plant is strategically located in the district where 60 percent of Italian containerboard and 90 percent of tissue paper is produced. The Marlia depot works closely with the local council, supermarkets and businesses to collect used paper and board which is transported to the Smurfit Kappa Ania Paper Mill in Lucca where it is used as raw material to produce new containerboard.

Stora Enso and Valio announced their intention to introduce reusable biocomposite lids this fall at Valio’s sales demonstrations. This cooperation is intended to trial how this new material works when combined with a traditional food package and to encourage Finns to reduce their food waste. Biocomposite products in food packaging are one step Stora Enso is making towards their goal of replacing fossil materials with renewable solutions. DuraSense by Stora Enso biocomposites, made of wood fiber, can be used to replace over half of fossil-based plastics and, depending on the product, reduce a product’s carbon footprint by up to 60 percent compared to conventional plastic.Pots & Co’s new 65g lighter pudding range with packaging designed by Aegg.

SIG’s SIGNATURE PACK 100 – the world’s only aluminum-free aseptic carton pack with polymers linked to plant-based renewable material – launched in France for the first time by Candia, part of the leading French dairy cooperative SODIAAL. It is the first aluminum-free carton pack on the French ambient liquid dairy market. The pack is made of 75 percent FSCTM-certified renewable paperboard from sustainably-managed forests. The polymers (protective layers and closure) that make up the rest of the pack are linked to forest-based renewable material through a certified mass balance approach. SIG chose to use a by-product from the paper industry known as tall oil for the plant-based feedstock rather than an agricultural crop to avoid using land and resources that could be used to produce food.

Aegg created a new bespoke glass pot for Pots & Co’s new 65g lighter pudding range. The newly launched range is packaged in bespoke fully recyclable clear glass pots with the Pots & Co logo embedded within the base, which accentuates the premium nature of these handmade puddings. Aegg collaborated with Pots & Co to provide a turnkey solution, from conceptual design of the new glass pot to production, warehousing and logistics, and right through to delivery to the factory production line.

By Joshua Poole