Amcor announces Europe’s first recyclable shrink bag for fresh meat and cheese
10 Dec 2020 --- Amcor is launching Europe’s first designed-for-recycling PVDC-free shrink bag for fresh and processed meat, poultry and some cheeses.
Eco-Tite R is designed to maximize shelf life, maintain food safety, reduce food waste and be recycled in existing polyethylene (PE) plastic recycling streams.
European countries with suitable PE recycling streams currently include Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Austria and Spain.
“We needed to ensure safety, toughness, presentation and cost-effectiveness all matched our PVDC shrink bags. With EcoTite R, we’ve created a competitive solution that is also recyclable,” Rosalia Rosalinova, marketing manager for meat and fresh produce at Amcor, tells PackagingInsights.
Amcor is actively developing recycle-ready alternatives for all the meat and cheese packaging in its portfolio by 2025.
The EU Plastics Strategy requires all packaging to be reusable or recyclable by 2030 and in an economically viable way.
Amcor Eco-Tite R is a multi-layer, mono-PE packaging that maintains a high barrier to oxygen and water vapor.
“We know that 83 percent of consumers say they check on-pack instructions to know how to dispose of packaging correctly. By bringing more recyclable meat packaging to market, we can help to improve recycling rates,” explains Rosalinova.
“It is possible to use chemically recycled PCR (post-consumer recycled) as supply becomes available. Our aim is to maximize the use of PCR content in our entire range, shrink bags included.”
Recycle ready mono-PE
Amcor Eco-Tite R is a multi-layer, mono-PE packaging that maintains a high barrier to oxygen and water vapor even when exposed to high-moisture environments, such as cooler cases and refrigerators.
The solution provides European meat and cheese producers an alternative to PVDC packaging, not recyclable in mechanical or chemical recycling systems.
To validate recyclability in real-world conditions, Amcor Eco-Tite R has been certified by the cyclos-HTP institute, an independent testing lab.
Amcor expects the shrink bag’s geographical recyclability to expand as infrastructure develops in additional countries beyond Germany, France and Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Austria and Spain.
The PVDC-free shrink bag also supports Amcor’s broader commitment to developing all its packaging to be recyclable or reusable by 2025.
Amcor is launching Europe’s first designed-for-recycling PVDC-free shrink bag for fresh and processed meat, poultry and some cheeses.
Amcor’s new design rules
This week, Amcor announced measures to significantly reduce plastic waste in partnership with 35 leading companies in the consumer goods industry. Amcor and its coalition partners – which have a collective turnover of €1 trillion (US$1.2 trillion) – will be enforcing two new design rules to deliver packaging that is easier and more cost-effective to recycle.
The first design rule is expected to improve PET bottle recycling’s economic viability by removing coloring pigments and labeling.
The second design rule will remove materials that are problematic for recyclers from all forms of plastic packaging. By implementing these rules, recycling will become easier, cheaper, more efficient and scale faster, the coalition says.
The global packaging giant published its 2020 Sustainability Report in November, highlighting US$7.7 billion of its revenue is now generated from recyclable products.
The consumer packaging giant generated US$12.5 billion in global sales in the fiscal year 2020 (78% flexible packaging and 22% rigid packaging).
In October, Amcor and Nestlé launched the world’s first recyclable flexible retort pouch with the Purina wet cat food brand in the Netherlands. The “recyclable packaging breakthrough” reportedly improves environmental footprint by up to 60 percent.
By Joshua Poole
