Innovia Films and CCL Labels boost packaging circularity with new floatable shrink film

09 May 2022 --- Speciality films producer Innovia Films and CCL Labels have together announced the opening of a new 6.2 meter multi-layer co-extrusion line at their site in Płock, Poland. The state-of-the-art line will be dedicated to manufacturing low-density polyolefin shrink film branded RayoFloat for shrink sleeve labels and tamper-evident applications. 

The film forms the basis to produce environmentally sustainable floatable shrink sleeves. Innovia Films says the development facilitates easy separation of labels from PET, HDPE and PP bottles and containers in the recycling process to enable bottle-to-bottle circularity. 

The shrink sleeve material is mainly for use within the food, beverage and home and personal care industries.

Lucija Kralj, labels business unit director at Innovia Films, tells PackagingInsights: “Innovia has developed and designed this film together with CCL Labels, who is the largest labels producer to the food & beverage and home & laundry market.”

“The investment in a new line at our Polish plant made complete sense so we could produce and supply our RayoFloat material into the European market more easily.”

More circular choices
The opening of the line concludes the companies’ strategic investment into a high-performance shrink film that enables more circularity for packaging – an important goal for consumer goods companies, explains Simon Huber, managing director at Innovia UK and Poland.

“The new capacities will allow us to supply label and sleeve converters with high-quality floatable shrink sleeve material that has the potential to revolutionize the market and the way packaging is decorated to move toward more [environmentally] sustainable choices,” continues Huber.

RayoFloat is a clear, uncoated shrink film that floats, as its density is <0.93 g/cm³. The film is also glossy, scuff resistant and printable, with a controlled TD shrinkage up to 70%. The film has been endorsed by the European PET Bottle Platform (EPBP), although this film is perfect for use on a variety of HDPE and PP containers too. Birkner formally cuts the ceremonial ribbon to mark the opening of Innovia’s new multi-layer co-extrusion line.

Marketing polyolefin labels
CCL Label says it has been partnering with multinational brands to develop recyclable PET containers for bottle-to-bottle recycling in a closed-loop. Polyolefin sleeves are also a recycling-friendly match for PP- and PE-based packaging as they stem from the same plastics family.

As EcoFloat sleeves are made from low-density polyolefins, they make the difference in the crucial sink/float recycling step at PET recyclers. The companies highlight that the sleeve material floats and this allows for a clean separation from the heavier PET flakes that sink to the bottom of the washing tanks.

This easy separation forms the basis of the yield of high-quality PET flakes that can be used in bottle-to-bottle recycling, closing the loop. Furthermore, EcoFloat has been endorsed by the European PET bottle platform EPBP.

“Our investment is part of our commitment to boost plastic recycling and take steps toward a circular economy as stated when we signed the Global Commitment of the New Plastics Economy led by the Ellen MacArthur foundation,” says Günther Birkner, member of the Management Team at CCL.

“In the future, governments will set targets for recycling rates in municipal waste. Reaching these will not be feasible without investing in new technologies for packaging materials that support ‘Design for Recycling.’ As a floatable, low-density polyolefin sleeve, EcoFloat fulfills the requirements as defined in packaging design guidelines.”

Film developments
In other film developments, ProAmpac has launched a monomaterial film for microwave vegetable steaming. The PE-based solution fulfills the market requirements for a recyclable packaging option that withstands the demands of a microwave heating environment.

Meanwhile, Toppan has bolstered its GL Barrier series of transparent barrier films with a new grade that provides high-barrier performance combined with light-shielding. The “GL-ME-RC” solution expands the series’ scope of applications and is available for markets in Japan and overseas from this month.

By Natalie Schwertheim

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