Packaging Innovations 2022: Jindal Films presents its flexible barrier solutions

25 May 2022 --- Today marks the launch of Packaging Innovations in Birmingham, UK, where packaging companies are presenting their latest designs and discoveries.

PackagingInsights sits down with Laurent Chantraine, business development manager for flexible plastics at Jindal Films Europe. Chantraine tells us about the film solutions the company is showcasing at the current Packaging Innovations show, as well as the products’ food-grade recycled plastic availability.

We also discuss the impacts of the UK Plastic Packaging Tax on consumer demand and recommendations for the UK government to support the circular plastics economy further. 

Jindal Films at Packaging Innovations
Chantraine explains that what the company is presenting at the Packaging Innovations trade show is a culmination of three to four years of work to develop and improve BOPP and BOPE films to provide solutions to converters and brandowers.

“This is done to convert and remove what we refer to as non-recyclable substrates so paper, aluminum, polyester, metalized or vacuum-coated polyesters are not sealable, so they are usually laminated to polyolefins to seal,” he says.

“However, this means these applications cannot be put into mechanical recycling because the sorting operation is too complex and hard-to-melt materials cannot be placed into the system.”

Jindal Films 
Chantraine highlights Jindal Films is the largest global producer of BOPP and BOPE films with four plants across Europe.

“Our focus is on innovations with PO monomaterial solutions for improved recyclability.”

Jindal Films has been developing and improving BOPP and BOPE films to provide solutions to converters and brandowners.“We are developing improved film properties to help facilitate the replacement of non-recyclable substrates used in laminates, such as Paper, Alu foil, PET and barrier PET films: 

• Improved barrier (moisture, gas, aroma, mineral oils) with water or vacuum-based thin coatings. 
• Improved heat resistance to help replace PET, paper, Alu foil. 
• Down gauging for less virgin plastic usage (e.g. 12µm OPP with very low shrink). 
• Improved seal performance – replace PE with BOPP or replace PP with BOPE. 

Food-grade recycled plastic availability
Chantraine explains that chemically recycled PP resins are currently available but generally in too small a quantity to be deployed across the EU region and across market segments.

“We are working with most suppliers and customers to increase the resin availability and content of chemically recycled resin with more significant growth expected in the next three to five years. However, food compliant PCR resins coming from mechanical recycling do not exist and remain a challenge for BOPP processes.”

Consumer demand impacts 
Chantraine also says the impacts of the UK Plastic Packaging Tax on consumer demands have been “surprisingly little so far.”

He continues by saying while the UK Plastic Packaging Tax is interesting from the company’s industry perspective, it hasn’t seen a debate in place.

“However, we are pursuing BOPP developments to reach the 30% recycled content threshold to help UK customers meet this target if desired.” 

“PP, in particular, is a recycle friendly process as edge trims and in-house reclaim (scraps) have been used for well over 40 years and is part of the reason for OPP being so successful and cost effective,” he adds. 

UK government support for circular plastics economy
When asked what the UK government can do to support the circular plastics economy, particularly for flexibles, Chantraine says the government should do anything to accelerate the deployment of the collection, sorting and recycling streams.“Our focus is on innovations with PO monomaterial solutions for improved recyclability,” highlights business development manager Chantraine.

This should be done as recommended by CEFLEX across the EU and should include PP, PE, Paper, and Aluminum streams.

“Also, the government should drive implementation of EPR schemes that will motivate the industry to transition to recyclable flexible packaging structures.”

Monomaterial plastic films 
Chantraine stresses the biggest hurdle currently is managing the complexity of the change from non-recyclable structures to recyclable structures across the value chain.

“More particularly, a key challenge facing the industry is to replace traditional non-recyclable flexible laminates (e.g. PET/Alu/PE) running on machines that were designed for them and running the new strictures without compromising on filling rates (lower speeds).”

“The solution is to work with motivated ambitious partners (machinery, brand-owner, flexible producer) to adjust the parameters (e.g. forming parts, sealing jaws, cutting knives) that enable this transition which includes the Capex requirements for machine upgrades.”

“Today, this remains the main driver slowing down the conversion to mono-PP or mono-PE structures, along with insufficient EPR scheme differences to accelerate the change.”

Chantraine says the company is “particularly successful” in areas where the parties involved are freely sharing the information required to address these technical hurdles. 

“We find PP and most particularly OPP is very well placed to facilitate the change due to the unique good balance of properties such as stiffness, heat resistance as well as the well established barrier and mechanical properties,” he concludes. 

By Natalie Schwertheim