Paccor presents recycled HDPE caps ahead of UK Plastic Packaging Tax

21 Feb 2022 --- Paccor is unveiling caps with a minimum 30% recycled HDPE (rHDPE) for dairy products in line with the upcoming UK Plastic Packaging Tax. The tax requires at least 30% recycled plastic in all plastic packaging from April 2022.

However, the company’s production team in Mansfield, UK, faced significant challenges meeting the minimum 30% mark. The post-consumer recycled material has “a different nature” to virgin polymer, but this technical obstacle was overcome through Paccor’s Continuous Compression Molding technology.

In the UK, about 79% of the HDPE bottles collected are recycled, of which a high percentage are milk bottles, the company notes. On average, about 15% of HDPE milk bottles in the UK contain up to 30% recycled rHDPE material. Technical advances in the manufacture of these containers have also led to reduced material use, resulting in a lower weight for the same bottle size.

“The rHDPE produced in the UK is under pressure due to availability and demand,” stresses Andreas Schuette, Paccor’s CEO. “All UK bottle manufacturers are aiming for a minimum share of 30% rHDPE content to avoid plastic tax. However, thanks to our long-term partnership with the supplier, Paccor has now managed to ensure sufficient material availability and increase the content of the caps up to 40%.”The UK Plastic Packaging Tax is expected to impact around 20,000 plastics packaging producers and importers.

Secure material sourcing
Paccor’s procurement team sources the rHDPE through its secure partnership, enabling the company to produce approximately 45 million caps per week.

The engineering and technical team tested various extrusion nozzle diameters and cutter holder profiles until a solution was found and trials with up to 40% inclusion rate were successful. Meanwhile, increased machine setup accuracy ensured consistent cap forming without compromising the customer filling process.

“This development reduces the volume of virgin HDPE used for our closure production by more than 1,000 tons per annum and provides estimated carbon footprint savings of 1.3 kt CO2eq per year,” says Schuette.

“There is great interest in our [environmentally] sustainable caps, and we are doing everything we can to meet the strong demand,” adds Steve Naylor, Paccor’s head of sales UK and Ireland.

Faerch recently agreed to acquire Paccor from private equity firm Lindsay Goldberg for an undisclosed fee. Paccor premiered a “digital ecosystem” for intelligent plastics packaging recycling at FachPack 2021.

Edited by Joshua Poole