Circularity charge: A conversation with Coveris’ CEO on the ReCover initiative

27 Nov 2023 --- In an exclusive interview with Packaging Insights, Coveris’ CEO Christian Kolarik details the company’s commitment to environmental sustainability through its No Waste strategy, aiming to eradicate waste across operations. He also outlines the ReCover business segment, emphasizing a strategic focus on plastics circularity. 

The ReCover segment was introduced to maximize packaging benefits while minimizing waste, addressing challenges in securing high-quality recycled feedstock for innovative products. This initiative emphasizes waste sourcing, processing and recycling within the industry.

The interview explores ReCover’s goals, including establishing high-capacity recycling hubs. Kolarik highlights the significance of UK-based ReCover facilities in Blaenavon and Louth, reducing reliance on virgin raw materials and promoting plastic circularity.

What motivated Coveris to create the ReCover business segment?
Kolarik: Sustainability is quite a challenge for our industry, but it is also the main driver for change. At Coveris, it has been an integral part of our business for a long time. Our advantage is that we have the capabilities and expertise to maximize the benefit of our packaging range while avoiding waste in all its forms, as defined in our No Waste strategy.

Introducing ReCover was a logical expansion step within this strategy. Our film extrusion facilities have an established recycling network, allowing us to recycle operational waste for use as recycled content in our packaging for many years.

But we did not want to stop there. We wanted to find a way to continue our ambitious journey of supporting our customers with more advanced and sustainable packaging. We faced challenges around the availability of high-quality recycled feedstock needed to support our product innovations. 

This pushed Coveris to find alternative ways to secure high-quality raw materials in consistent quantities from post-consumer and post-industrial sources. And this is when ReCover, Coveris’ recycling business, was born, closing the loop by tackling waste sourcing, processing and recycling within our industry.With the de-inking process, ReCover can redirect waste into high-quality ReGen pellets, upcycling it into better-quality products.

How does the ReCover initiative align with Coveris’ broader “No Waste” sustainability vision?
Kolarik: In a holistic approach, it [the vision] concentrates on three main pillars: no product, packaging or operational waste. We continuously work on projects in all three areas to achieve our vision: Developing a 100% sustainable packaging range produced in a sustainable environment and minimizing product waste using our packaging know-how.

ReCover is, therefore, a significant part of our No Waste strategy. With the introduction and ongoing development of ReCover, we have added 20,000 tons of recycling capacity to our business, and we want to grow this further. We have introduced new recycling technology enabling waste previously downcycled to be upcycled in our high-performance films. 

We have also established two new ReCover Labs that scientifically test recycled feedstock from post-consumer and post-industrial sources for optimized use. At its heart, ReCover is all about No Waste, aiming to keep plastic circular.

What are the goals of ReCover in terms of waste sourcing, processing and recycling?
Kolarik: Our overall aim of ReCover is to establish high-capacity recycling hubs for Coveris’ Films and Flexibles operations. 

The ReCover Blaenavon site was acquired in December 2022 and marked the start of our quest to bring us closer to our vision of No Waste. ReCover Blaenavon primarily processes post-consumer PE and is equipped with the latest state-of-the-art mechanical recycling technology, with an annual capacity of 15,000 tons. 

The second site, ReCover Louth, which opened recently in May 2023, has a capacity of 5,000 tons annually. It uses ground-breaking de-inking technology to recycle printed PE films from post-industrial waste sources to create high-quality recycled ReGen resin upcycled into Coveris’ high-performance non-food packaging, including collation shrink films and tissue paper overwrap.

Both sites are equipped with ReCover Labs to validate, quality check and support innovation, paving the way for a new generation of sustainable packaging.Kolarik at the ReCover Louth opening ceremony.

What are the implications of Coveris’ plastic recycling for the wider packaging industry?
Kolarik: We believe we are pioneers with what we have achieved so far. I’m proud that where our team saw challenges, they recognized an opportunity to innovate and instigate change that benefits our goals, customers and the packaging industry.

We believe that with ReCover, the whole packaging market achieves significant environmental benefits by reducing reliance on virgin raw material, eliminating waste and keeping plastic circular.

However, we also need to see further change in the industry, which requires a holistic approach to packaging manufacturing, processing and recycling, involving investment in recycling infrastructure where it is limited and a deeper collaboration between producers, suppliers, governmental bodies and consumers.

How does Coveris plan to effectively align its ReCover initiative with existing recycling infrastructure and legislative frameworks?
Kolarik: ReCover is closely integrated within the Coveris network as its output is used within our PE films via extrusion capabilities.

Incorporating and increasing the quantity and quality of recyclate in our films significantly drives our innovation. This is also aligned with EU and UK packaging directives and legislation, including, for example, helping our UK customers mitigate the UK Plastic Packaging Tax by including a minimum of 30% recycled content in films where allowed.

What role can the UK ReCover recycling facilities play in meeting targets set by recycling regulations?
Kolarik: One of the limiting factors within the UK is the lack of recycling infrastructure for soft plastics. By opening the two ReCover sites, we focus on areas where we can make a difference, building capacity and creating recycling infrastructure that benefits and contributes to Coveris’ manufacturing operations. Where the quality and availability of recycled feedstock provided challenges, we have invested and created solutions to continue to close the loop and innovate sustainable, high-performance films.Coveris management teams outside the ReCover Louth facility.

What should policymakers do to shape future recycling legislation or industry standards for circular plastic recycling?
Kolarik: We are focused on manufacturing recyclable packaging solutions that play a valuable role in our supply chains, both as a packaging manufacturer and as consumers. A game-changer for us would be developing sorting and recycling infrastructures where plastic packaging is treated as a beneficial, recyclable resource rather than waste. Incentivizing sorting at source is a critical lever because the quality of sorting determines the purity and value of recycled materials and allows us to meet better governmental and policymaker-driven targets linked to the use of recycled materials in our packaging. 

Can you provide more details on the de-inking recycling process used at ReCover Louth?
Kolarik: Previously, waste from printed films was downcycled into materials such as building films. With the introduction of our de-inking process, we can redirect waste into high-quality ReGen pellets, upcycling it into better-quality products.

In the future, a significant milestone for ReCover Louth is achieving the certification to produce recycled resin for Coveris’ complete portfolio of films. Via mechanical recycling, we are limited with what can be used for direct food contact packaging, which is a large proportion of Coveris’ product portfolio, particularly within the UK.

We will continue investing in R&D and are confident that we can build on ReCover’s environmental benefits by reducing our reliance on virgin raw materials and continuously eliminating waste. 

By Radhika Sikaria