Chemical recycling collaboration finds favor with German sausage brand

16 Jun 2020 --- Organic poultry sausage brand Gutfried of the Zur Mühlen Gruppe has adopted packaging made from chemically recycled plastic. The result of a collaboration between Gutfried, BASF, SABIC and SÜDPACK, approximately two-thirds of the raw materials used for the packaging originate from plastic waste. The recycled content is allocated to the chemical end packaging via a mass balance method, affording the products the same high-quality and performance as new products.

During the chemical recycling process of mixed plastic waste, the used plastic is converted into pyrolysis oil in a high-temperature process. Like fossil-based raw materials, this oil is then used at the beginning of the chemical production chain, saving on conventional crude oil.

Produced by the film producer SÜDPACK, the bottom film and top film of the packaging each consist of several layers of different polymers. Meanwhile, BASF supplies the necessary polyamide and SABIC supplies the polyethylene. Both components are based on raw materials that have been chemically recycled from mixed plastic waste, which was not possible before, SÜDPACK points out.

Thermochemical processes such as pyrolysis present challenges because they have not yet been used on a large scale to produce new chemical feedstock. “On the one hand, the general availability of pyrolysis oil must be increased. On the other hand, the technologies must be further developed in such a way that pyrolysis oil is reliably available in a high-quality and has the product specification required for use in petrochemical plants,” a SÜDPACK spokesperson tells PackagingInsights.

“The innovative packaging based on recycled raw materials is a perfect match for our new Gutfried organic chicken meat sausage,” notes Maximilian Tönnies, Managing Director of the Zur Mühlen Gruppe. “Our customers increasingly value sustainability. This of course applies to the production of our products, but also aspects such as packaging.”

“More than a year ago, SABIC took a big step forward with the chemically recycled products from the TRUCIRCLE portfolio to close the waste cycle of plastics,” explains Mark Vester, Global Circular Economy Lead at SABIC.

“Plastic products made of chemically recycled material can be recycled again after use without impacting the quality,” adds Christoph Gahn, responsible for BASF's polyamide business in Europe.

High material quality and food-conformity are crucial when used in food, continues Carolin Grimbacher, Managing Partner and Head of Research and Development at SÜDPACK. “If the material and thus the oxygen barrier fails, the packaged product would no longer be optimally protected and in the worst case could spoil early,” she says. Product safety is the top priority for SÜDPACK, especially with sensitive foods such as meat.

Chemical recycling gears up
Investment in chemical recycling is on the rise. In May, UK waste management specialist Viridor and chemical recycling pioneers PLASTIC ENERGY signed a Memorandum of Understanding on a feasibility project to convert hard-to-recycle plastics such as films into recycled oils (TACOIL). The recycled oils would be used as a feedstock to create virgin-quality food-grade plastic material while the process would enable PLASTIC ENERGY to generate low-carbon electricity as a fuel source.

At the end of last year, recycling and recovery organization Citeo joined forces with global brands Nestlé and Mars, international energy company Total and plastic recycling technology provider Recycling Technologies to develop an industrial chemical recycling industry in France. The first-of-a-kind consortium of world-leading players from across the plastic packaging value chain will examine the technical and economic feasibility of recycling complex plastic waste, such as small, flexible and multilayered food-grade packaging.

In another notable investment, British multinational oil and gas company BP developed an enhanced recycling technology called BP Infinia that enables currently unrecyclable PET plastic to be diverted from landfill or incineration and instead transformed back into virgin-quality feedstocks. BP plans to construct a US$25 million pilot plant in the US in 2020 to “prove the technology,” before progressing to full-scale commercialization.

However, some industry commentators are cautious about the long-term environmental impacts of chemical recycling, especially because it is more energy-intensive than mechanical recycling. Libby Peake, Senior Policy Advisor at Green Alliance recently told PackagingInsights that “we would only want it [chemical recycling] to be used where the energy requirements are lower, we do not want to increase fossil fuels just for the sake of recycling.”

On the flip side, the SÜDPACK spokesperson reaffirms that, due to the multi-layer structure of flexible packaging, there are currently no streams to mechanically recycle it. “Chemical recycling can and will recover plastic waste, such as mixed, multi-layered or other complex or contaminated plastics, that could not be recycled before,” they highlight.

By Joshua Poole