PFF Group completes PPristine trial with Nextek’s Nextloopp project

26 Aug 2022 --- UK-based packaging producer PFF Group has completed a production trial with Nextloopp’s food-grade PP (FGrPP). The collaboration says this marks a “key milestone” for the Nextloopp project.

PFF’s trial centered on producing a 350g Desto banderole pot, typically used in hot fill applications such as porridge, where PP is employed for its ability to cope with high temperatures.

Lee Wilkinson, group supply chain director at PFF Group, remarks: “The company’s participation in the project and material trials demonstrate the business’s commitment to being at the forefront of developing a sustainable, circular plastics economy.”

“It is ideal for UK food manufacturers seeking to alleviate the Plastic Packaging Tax and those who are rising to market and customer demands and expectations for more sustainable food packaging.”

An example of the Desto banderole pot made from PPristine.“The new material can ensure post-consumer PP is appreciated as the valuable resource it should be by being recycled into food-approved packaging at scale. It will also greatly reduce CO2 emissions and divert waste from landfill and waste-to-energy.”

The PFF trial
The resin used in the trial contained 30% of FGrPP. PFF is one company tasked with conducting trials to assess the integrity of the material and its viability within its production process.

When the material is commercialized, it can be utilized in PFF’s Desto and thermoformed food packaging, as well as in injection molded packaging, where recycled material use is more challenging.

This is notable as the 30% recycled content would ensure these products are compatible with the UK’s new Plastic Packaging Tax.

Leigh Wilson, group technical manager, says: “PFF has been at the forefront of producing packaging with high levels of post-consumer recycled PET for years, so it is great to see this development in PP recycling. The initial trials were technically very successful, with the final product performing almost identically to our current virgin polymer product.”

Nextek’s PPristine
PP accounts for around 20% of the world’s plastic and is primarily used in food packaging and some non-food household and personal care products.

However, it currently goes to waste-to-energy or landfill or is down-cycled into low-performance applications due to the difficulty of separating food-grade products from non-food products at the recycling stage. This wastes precious resources.

The Nextloopp project was specifically founded to circularize this part of the material supply chain; its principal product is FGrPP, branded PPristine. The project is run by Nextec, a consultancy headed by packaging expert Edward Kosior.

Kosior says the next step for the project will be to expand the commercial production of the PPristine resins from the recycling stream. In June, Nextloopp completed its first full-scale production project of PPristine.

Nextek’s production process uses unique marker technology to separate food-grade packaging at plastic recycling facilities. Innovative decontamination stages ensure compliance with food-grade standards in the EU and the USA.

Nextloopp is currently finalizing dossiers for the application to the European Food Safety Authority and US Food and Drug Administration for food-grade accreditation.

By Louis Gore-Langton

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