DS Smith and Aquapak reduce hard-to-recycle plastic with water-based polymer

10 Aug 2020 --- AquaPak and DS Smith have completed a period of pilot trials, advancing a step closer in replacing hard-to-recycle plastics with fiber-based packaging. Now, the collaboration will begin developing practical applications where traditional plastic films can be replaced with Aquapak’s Hydropol. This biodegradable and water-soluble polymer allows for less contamination in the recycling and paper-making process.

“The chemistry on which Hydropol is based on has been well established for many years, but it hasn’t previously been readily accessible to the flexible packaging market because it is so notoriously difficult to process,” Aquapak Polymers’ CEO Mark Lapping tells PackagingInsights.

“Being a new and unknown polymer to much of the paper and packaging industry, the biggest challenges center around learning how to understand and process it.”

How to process it
The water-soluble properties of Aquapak’s Hydropol will result in less contamination in the paper-making process as its grades are designed to dissolve completely in warm or hot water. With this technology, practical applications on the horizon include a range of fiber-based packaging, says DS Smith.

Hydropol can be thermally processed into blown film, extrusion coating, paper and board lamination and injection molding. These can be used in a wide-range of industries, including fashion, pet foods, hospitals, hotels, hospitality and airlines across a wide range of applications such as:

• Bags for infection control.
• Laundry bags.
• Garment bags.
• Form, Fill & Seal Packaging.
• Food waste collection bags.
• Aprons.
• Gloves.
• Pet Food bags.

Hydropol could eventually replace all the hard-to-recycle, non-degradable commodity plastics that overwhelm the environment (All photo credits: Aquapak).

Polyethylene (PE)-coated materials, such as barrier papers, or packaging containing plastic windows, are notoriously difficult to recycle in large scale paper recycling mills, Susana Aucejo, Surface and Barrier Director at DS Smith, also tells PackagingInsights.

These mills typically only operate to a 5 percent tolerance of non-paper fibre in material for recycling.

“Papers with too much PE coating need to be handled and processed in smaller volumes by specialist mills which create capacity to recycle issues – like coffee cups. Often papers with more than 5 percent coatings will end up as waste to energy, or even landfills,” she notes.

Water-soluble packaging
Hydropol is formulated using polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) polymers with a high hydrolysis level, which offers high resistance to solubility in water. The film produced using Hydropol reacts to water at controlled temperatures, typically between 40℃ and 70℃. 

The innovation’s formulated pelletized form also makes it easier to extrude in standard thermo-processes. Therefore, it can be co-extruded or laminated onto traditional plastics, bioplastics or paper, extrusion coated onto film or paper, or even injection molded into a rigid form.

“It is exciting to see opportunities for our innovative polymer coming to fruition through our partnership with DS Smith,” adds Lapping. “Both organizations are committed to eliminating plastic pollution at the source. By working together, we can help speed up the roll-out of recyclable, biodegradable packaging designed for the circular economy as well as being safe for land and sea.” 

Currently, DS Smith is working with other brands and retailers on projects that redesign hard-to-recycle items for all packaging channels and explore combinations with other biopolymers to replace single-use complex polymers.

“The success of this partnership is that together we will continue to innovate the sustainable packaging industry for years to come,” Lapping concludes.

By Anni Schleicher