Ineos invests in blown line tech to boost flexible plastic recycling in Europe

26 Jul 2022 --- Ineos Olefins & Polymers Europe is investing multi-million euros into state-of-the-art technology that will enable it to work with converters, brands and retailers to develop simpler and more recyclable flexible packaging film.

Using new multilayer, blown line technology with Machine Direction Orientation (MDO), Ineos and partners will work together to develop, design and produce PE and PP-based flexible packaging film using fewer polymers, increasing the recyclability of the product.

Furthermore, the investment is said to create the potential to prevent approximately one million metric tons of waste per year from being sent to landfill or incineration.

Ineos is the only raw material supplier to invest in an inline MDO-multilayer line from Hosokawa Alpine, a MDO technology company, which heats and stretches polymer films to improve their physical and barrier properties, enabling them to be used in different product applications.

The new blown tech line will be installed in the chemical company’s R&D labs in Brussels, Belgium, in 2023, where Ineos will develop new, monomaterial flexible film packaging products.

The chemical company will leverage this capability and its expertise in resin design to work alongside partners on new generations of resins specially engineered for flexible packaging.

Facilitating film recycling
Packaging films are a low carbon solution for transporting food and other goods, increasing food shelf life and helping consumers to manage household bills. However, today’s multi-material products combine polymers from different chemical families, making them difficult to recycle.

Reducing the number of polymers used to produce packaging film will make packaging more easily recyclable.The investment could prevent around 1 million metric tons of waste per year from being sent to landfill or incineration.

Rob Ingram, chief executive at Ineos O&P Europe North, says: “This investment is further evidence of our commitment to taking action across the value chain to create a more [environmentally] sustainable future.”

“Flexible packaging films keep our food fresh and safe to eat, but we recognize and share people’s concerns about plastic waste.”

The business says it will bring its polymer expertise to develop, design and produce recyclable flexible packaging films in partnership with converters, brands and retailers.

Project One lawsuit
Today, PackagingInsights also reported on legal NGO ClientEarth taking Belgian authorities to court over last month’s decision to approve Ineos’ Project One – a massive ethane cracker in the Port of Antwerp that will boost plastic production in Europe – something proponents say will make the EU market competitive again with China and the US.

However, opponents fear the project will greatly increase local pollution and damage the region’s human and environmental health. The site is set to be built next to a protected nature area.

Flexible packaging news
In a similar development, Flint Group Packaging is supporting the CEFLEX Quality Recycling Project by co-developing and trialing duplex laminated flexible packaging comprising PP and recyclate. The project aims to recycle a higher percentage of PP in non-food contact film applications.

Meanwhile, UK Research and Innovation has granted funding to Nextek’s COtooClean project, which aims to produce food-grade recyclate from polyolefin film waste. The multi-participant initiative has presented a solution to the lack of effective decontamination technology preventing polyolefin films from being recycled into food-grade films.

PackagingInsights spoke to Nextek’s founder Edward Kosior to understand the reasons behind low polyolefin film recycling rates and how COtooClean can fill the decontamination gap with a commercial process that integrates into mechanical recycling.

By Natalie Schwertheim

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