Novolex reinvigorates US store collection recycling with plastics water treatment investment
Sustainability director Erik Gonring discusses the How2Recycle program, virgin-like recycled polyethylene and rising market demand
21 Oct 2020 --- Novolex is increasing its recycling capacity for “store drop-off” items, including retail bags, newspapers and dry cleaner bags, by more than 227,000 kg per year. The packaging and foodservice products supplier is investing in a new water treatment system at its North Vernon, Indiana, US recycling plant to facilitate the increased capacity.
The North Vernon recycling center mechanically recycles plastics collected through a North American network of “store drop-off” collection points, commonly found at grocery stores and other retailers.
Consumers can bring back plastic retail bags, and other bags and films, including produce bags, bread bags, newspaper bags, cereal bags, mailers, dry cleaning and other polyethylene (PE) films commonly used to package retail goods.
“One of the biggest opportunities we have with recycled film bales, which are comprised of ‘store drop-off’ and ‘back of house’ films used by retailers, is that the bales vary in terms of their makeup and quality,” Erik Gonring, Novolex’s sustainability director, tells PackagingInsights.
“The Novolex Bag2Bag program has been an example of such ‘store drop-off’ programs. Contaminants can make their way into the material stream in various ways, and how bales are stored can also play a role. For example, if bales are not stored in a clean, dry environment, they will pick up elements from the environment they are stored in.”
Novolex is increasing its recycling capacity for “store drop-off” items including retail bags by more than 227,000 kg annually.
“Our new water treatment system helps ensure we can continuously wash incoming materials and run our recycling line with less downtime. The closed-loop wash water system also helps ensure we use less water to clean a greater number of films.”
Water used to process the incoming plastics needs to be filtered and clean to produce a better yield. The new water treatment system keeps the water clean and increases the quality and volume of recycled pellets, which are then used to manufacture new plastic retail bags.
Novolex specializes in recycling a blend of Linear Low Density (LLD), Low Density (LD) and High Density (HD) PE film types. Historically, it has focused on HDPE but evolved its processes to facilitate the shifting mix of LLDPE, LDPE and HDPE materials in the marketplace.
Retailer demand for plastic bags made with higher percentages of post-consumer recycled (PCR) content continues to increase, Gonring highlights.
How2Recycle drives consumer awareness
Novolex is supporting the How2Recycle program and partnering with retailers to mark PE film and bags with the “Store Drop-off” logo. How2Recycle is increasing consumer awareness of the types of materials that can be placed in these recycling programs, with stores seeing an increased variety and volume of films coming into drop-off programs in recent years. 
US stores are witnessing increased consumer recycling thanks to the How2Recycle program.
“One of the great things about the How2Recycle program is it’s driving greater education and awareness of how to identify and recycle different kinds of materials properly. As more brands use the How2Recycle ‘store drop-off’ label on their packaging, awareness of ‘store drop-off’ programs is increasing,” Gonring reiterates.
“As more consumers bring back films for recycling, there will ideally be an awareness that we need greater investment in processing to ensure these films get recycled. This is one reason we greatly value our customers who continue to demand more PCR content in their retail bags and other products.”
Targeting recycled resins with virgin characteristics
Novolex is pushing the boundaries on quality and durability for recycled content. Thin-gauge film applications can be challenging to produce with higher percentages of PCR, which the water treatment system investment will help address.
“The quality of bags made with recycled content has a direct relationship to the quality of the feedstock coming into the system. With higher quality recycled film bales, and a better wash process, we can get closer to virgin resin characteristics,” Gonring explains.
“Since we accept a wide range of film types, the color of the recycled resin pellets is typically darker. More and more of our customers are willing to accept darker color bags to increase the amount of PCR used in manufacturing.”
“We greatly value these kinds of partnerships because customer demand for PCR helps support these types of investments, ultimately driving increased processing capacity for films.”
Gonring is calling on consumers, businesses and government leaders to work together to advance the nation’s ability to collect, reclaim and reuse plastics.
Novolex’s North Vernon recycling center mechanically recycles plastics collected through a North American network of “store drop-off” collection points, commonly found at grocery stores and other retailers.
Novolex in the news
In other Novolex news, Eco-Products, a Novolex brand, introduced compostable trays to its foodservice portfolio in April. The residual sugarcane fiber trays are commercially compostable and meet US American Society for Testing and Materials compostability certification.
This month, Novolex was named the winner of the 2020 Manufacturing Excellence Award for Innovation. The award, presented by the Association of Washington Business, honors Shields, a Novolex brand located in Washington, US, for retooling its manufacturing capabilities to produce protective isolation gowns during the COVID-19 pandemic.
By Joshua Poole
